Page 86 of The Secrets She Keeps

Someone’s arms held her.

But her eyes were closed. She couldn’t tell who it was. She thought it was Mac. It smelled like him, she thought.

But…she had walked there herself. She had.

Didn’t that mean she’d won this time, just a little bit?

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Gunnar satbetween the two beds, feeling utterly useless. They’d moved Heather in with Powell after she’d been cleared in the trauma department over two hours ago.

So they could be guarded tonight. Together.

Both women were sleeping. They’d sedated Heather—in spite of the concussion, after speaking with her family. She’d been in a massive amount of pain. Heather had been hesitant about the sedation. She’d been worried about expressing drugs when she fed her baby. But her sister, the doctor, had assured her the baby would be taken care of just fine—that they had donated breastmilk for her baby for a few days, courtesy of the hospital’s NICU or PICU or something. That sister dozed in the chair next to her bed now. They weren’t letting Heather out of their sight, he suspected.

The Colesons had thrown a major fit when Daniel had said he was going to stay in Heather’s room overnight to keep her safe.

The Colesons had reacted quickly to that idea. Viciously.

Thatwas a very angry pack of terrifying women right now.

Megan had even threatened to kick Daniel again if he took one step into Heather’s room. Megan had Hope’s face, dark curlyhair, was all of eighteen years old, and no bigger than Powell. She’d worn Wonkus McBubbles on her T-shirt. She’d kicked Daniel before when he’d gotten too close.

There had been fear mixed with the anger in her dark eyes. Her Aunt Heather’s eyes.

None of them wanted Daniel near Heather at all now. For a moment or two, Gunnar had been afraid they were going to physically rip Daniel apart and feast on Daniel’s innards right in front of everyone for even daring to suggest it. With some of Summer’s homemade barbecue sauce on top.

Fangs—he’d heard it said before that the Coleson women had fangs. Gunnar suspected there was some truth to that now. Especially when it came to protecting each other.

Daniel was in the hall instead. Daniel hadn’t liked it at all. But it was as close as the Colesons were lettinghimget.

Daniel had screwed up.

Heather had almost been the price of his mistake, Powell right alongside her.

Cara, Heather’s niece, had been so intensely upset at the thought of Daniel even being in the same building as Heather that Powell’s parents had gotten involved. They’d convinced Daniel to honor the Coleson family’s wishes just to keep Cara calm. Powell’s parents liked that girl a great deal.

But it had been Mac who had told Daniel to stay the hell away from Heather, or Mac would be the one to take Daniel’s head off at the shoulders and launch it all the way to El Paso.

Everyonehad heard Mac’s words. Heard the fury.

Gunnar was convinced Powell’s older brother meant it too.

Mac and Daniel had been close friends for almost two decades now.

The hurt was too damned hard for anyone to miss.

Mac came in—he’d been speaking with Dom and Charlie about what all Heather had said. And the man who had foundher, a medical resident at FCU Med, had recorded her as she’d walked. Talked. He had still been recording her when Mac had lifted her and carried her inside. He’d turned the video over to the TSP, but Gunnar hadn’t seen it yet.

She’d let Mac touch her, but the instant Caine or Rafe—her own damned nephews—had gotten near her, Heather had freaked. Cried out, terrified. Screamed.

Gunnar had heard those details from Rafe’s wife, Jillian. She’d been there too. Had seen it from the doors once Rafe and Caine had run outside at Nikkie Jean’s text.

They had had an all-female team treat Heather after that.

No one knew or was saying if Heather had been sexually assaulted.

Powell hadn’t been, thank God. But Heather had been obviously more battered and abused. And she had been with those bastards five hours longer. No one really knew what had happened to her during those five hours.

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