Page 127 of With this Ring

The nurse softened, but didn’t bend.

“They need to stabilize him first,” she explained. “Probably a few hours, maybe more. If all looks good, you might be able to sit with him for a bit.”

Hours.

She hated the way the word settled in her heart, like lead.

But pushing wouldn’t help. She knew that.

Slowly, she unclenched her fists, forcing herself to nod, to breathe.

“I’ll let you know as soon as it’s possible,” the nurse added.

Sasha gave a small nod. “Thank you.”

The nurse lingered another moment, as if debating whether to say something else, then gave her a small, tight smile before leaving.

Moments later, Inamorata followed her from the room.

When they were alone, silence rushed back in behind her.

Sasha sagged against the pillows, staring up at the ceiling.

Stryker finally released his grip.

“We’ll ensure he has the best care on the planet,” Hawkeye promised.

“He’s hanging in there,” Stryker said.

That wasn’t enough.

She had to get out of this bed and out of here.

Inamorata opened the door a little, and she and Hawkeye excused themselves. There really wasn’t any sense in them hanging around.

“You still need to call your parents,” Stryker reminded her. “You need the support.”

Was that what she was going to get?

She sighed over the pounding headache.

“Anyone else?”

“Damien. From the Den. He’d want to know about Gregorio.”

“Do you have his contact information?”

She shook her head, then regretted the movement.

“I’ll take care of it. Anyone else?”

Even though she and Gregorio had shared something hot and combustible, she didn’t know much about his ordinary life. His parents had been killed in a car bomb explosion when he was a child. To her knowledge, he didn’t keep in touch with any of the foster parents whose homes he’d been shuffled between. As far as close friends, she had no idea. “I’m not sure,” she admitted. “Maybe Damien knows.”

“On it.”

She tried to get out of the bed to find her phone, but the room wobbled beneath her.

“Stop pushing it, tiger.” Stryker captured her upper arms and helped her to sit back down. “Where you going?”

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