security chief in his ear-it was all just white noise. The only thing that was real was Helena's blood

scooped her up, her head lolling against his shoulder, and sprinted towar

at her face, as pale as bleached bone, her lips tinged with blue. A primal fear, cold and sharp, pierced through the layers of his ca

k against the wall, sliding down until he was sitting on the floor, cradling her a

, from a time before the anger and the mistrust, when she was just the quiet, sad-eyed girl

ade. It was his name for her, from a time when he was her only friend, her protector. The sound was a tiny, flickering

cal team. They swarmed him, their faces grim and profession

precise slit just below the left shoulder blade. But the depth was the problem. The blade had driven deep into her back at a downwa

his eyes told a different story. "The angle of entry-punctured lung is likely. S

a firm hand on his chest. The doors to the surgical wing swung shut

n the white, s

fist into the wall, once, twice, the sharp crack of his own knuckles breaking ag

er is in NYPD custody. He's a former miner from the Nevada

ant a name." He turned to Caleb, his voice dropping to a lethal whisper. "And lock this down. No one breathes a

s,

ed the corridor like a caged wolf, ignoring the

nt out. The surgeon emerg

less than an inch. We've repaired the damage and stabi

profound it was like a physical blow washed over him, and he

ained to her back. She blinked, her eyes adjusting to the soft light of a private hospital room. It

wasn'

she truly trusted, was asleep in a chair by the windo

, rushing to the bed and taking her unin

?" Helena's voice was

and her eyes darted away, refusing to meet Helena's. "He, uh..

he had known Chloe since they were roommates in

r voice gaining a sliver

ng. You nee

ed." The demand was

eat, she reached for her purse and pulled out her tablet. He

a TMZ article, publishe

ers: VAUGHN HEIR IN POST-ATTACK RENDEZVOU

, his face grim, was ushering a woman in oversized sunglasses out of a bla

g the same suit. Th

fabric, just over his hear

bl

blood while he was

of the air conditioning, Chloe's worried breathing-it all f

li

she'd clung to in the darkness was brutally extinguished. It was all a lie. The panic

e illusion of the last few hours, the fantasy that her sacr

dy. The movement sent a bolt of pure agony through her back, teari

let and fumbling for the nurse's call butt

thing she heard before the darkness reclaimed her was the echo of his