Page 125 of With this Ring

“Feds will be picking him up. He’ll be safer in custody than he will be out there alone.”

“When that happens, I will want to update Mrs. Santos,” Sasha said. “Get her back home when it’s safe.” Hopefully he’d cooperate with the investigation and testify against Argentum. In a perfect world, the couple would be approved for acceptance into the witness protection program.

The door opened again, and a nurse entered.

“You wanted an update.”

“Yes,” she said before anyone else could speak.

The nurse offered a small, careful smile that revealed nothing.

“Mr. Conti is out of surgery.”

Sasha’s lungs locked. The words seemed to echo in the suddenly too-small room. Her fingers curled deeper in the blanket, heart hammering so loud it drowned out the steady beeping of the monitors. She swallowed against the tightness in her throat.

“And…?” Her question was a desperate whisper.

The nurse hesitated, and Sasha’s world teetered on the edge of a knife.

Stryker’s hand tightened almost imperceptibly on her shoulder, offering silent support as they waited for the news that would either save or shatter her.

“He’s—”

Chapter Twenty

The pause stretched.

Too long.

Oh God.No.

Her heart stopped.

She saw it in the nurse’s eyes—the hesitation, the cautious way she shifted her weight from one foot to the other.

He wasn’t out of the woods.

Say it.For God’s sake, just say it.

Desperately, she clenched her fists to stop her hands from shaking. Behind her, Stryker’s grip on her shoulder tightened fractionally, grounding her.

Finally, the nurse exhaled.

“He made it through the operation,” she said gently. “But he lost a lot of blood. We had to perform an emergency transfusion.”

Sasha nodded automatically, processing facts like she was collecting pieces of evidence. Around her, the tension in the room shifted a little. Hawkeye’s stance loosened slightly, and Inamorata exhaled sharply.

“Thank fuck,” Stryker said.

Gregorio had made it.

“He’s alive.” Her words were barely audible, and tears burned her eyes, clinging to her eyelashes.

But there was more, had to be with the way the nurse kept watching her.

The way the air in the room felt too still.

“What aren’t you telling me?” Sasha’s voice was steady, but clipped, a blade’s edge away from breaking.

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