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Noah scoffed. “I’ve been better.”

Paul’s attention shifted back to Ruth, and Noah knew what was coming before his brother even spoke. “She stable?”

“For now,” Noah said. The words felt like a lie.

Paul studied her, taking in the monitors, the bandages, the oxygen. Noah didn’t miss the way his brother’s posture stiffened, the way his fingers flexed slightly at his sides. He saw it. The thing Noah hadn’t said yet.

Paul’s frown deepened. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Noah met his gaze and held it. “Someone’s still trying to kill her.”

Paul’s body went rigid. “The car bomb?”

Noah shook his head. “No. That wasn’t enough for them.” His voice dropped. “Someone got into this hospital. Dressed as a nurse. They tried to inject something into her IV.”

Paul inhaled sharply. That got his attention.

The easy-going, relaxed brother was gone. In his place stood the ER physician, the man trained to stay calm in the worst kind of chaos.

“Jesus, Noah,” Paul said, his voice lower now.

Noah didn’t respond. There was nothing to say.

Paul exhaled, rubbing a hand over his face. “Do we know what it was?”

“Brad’s getting it tested now,” Noah said. “But whatever it was, it wasn’t good.”

Silence stretched between them. Noah had expected a lecture, a warning that he was too involved, that this wasn’t his fight, that he needed to let the police handle it.

But when Paul looked at him, his expression shifted. Understanding. His brother had already figured it out. Noah wasn’t going to sit back and let someone else protect her.

And when he spoke again, his voice was quieter. More certain. “Tell me what you need.”

Noah blinked. “You’re serious?”

Paul shrugged. “You’re my brother. And I know you. You’re not going to sit back and do nothing.” He exhaled, shaking his head. “So, if you’re running off into the wilderness with a critically injured woman and a target on your back, you’re sure as hell not doing it alone.”

For the first time in days, Noah felt a small fraction of the weight on his chest lift. Paul wasn’t here to stop him. He was here to help.

Noah nodded once. “Then let’s get to work.”

* * *

Ruth drifted awake slowly,as if emerging from deep water. The first thing she registered was the murmur of voices. Low, steady, familiar and unfamiliar all at once.

She blinked, but darkness met her.

Panic flared in her chest before she remembered—she couldn’t see.

Disoriented, she tried to make sense of where she was. The air smelled too sterile, too clean.A hospital. But why?

Something was wrong. Something was missing.

Her mind grasped at fragments—pain, voices, fear.

And then—Noah.

Her fingers twitched against the blanket.