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Focus, Jude. Get what you need so you can go to her.

On the worktable near the back, I found a piece of paper and a pen. I approached it but didn’t touch it. I already knew they were going to dust this place for prints, and maybe Ben had touched this?

Words written on the paper were crossed out, and a frantic I love you was written beneath them. One scan of the words she’d tried to get rid of had me seeing red. He was going to make it look like suicide. I didn’t think it would have held up, but the reaction I would have had…

I took a picture of the note with my phone before stepping out of the kitchen. “Charlie?” He turned, looking through the window. “You need to see this.”

He came through, and I pointed to the paper. “I haven’t touched it.”

Reading the words, he shook his head. “Jesus. Yeah, that will help. We’ll dust it for prints too.”

“Do you need anything else from me right now?”

“No. Go see your girl. I know where to find you.”

I clapped him on the arm. “Thanks, Charlie.”

“But keep me posted on your plan. I want to be there. No false alarms this time.”

“No false alarms,” I agreed. I sure as fuck wasn’t going to let that happen.

The police moved their cars to let me through, and I sped to the hospital. At this point, I didn’t care if I was breaking more traffic laws. I needed to see her and hold her. She was everything.

Lucas was waiting for me just inside the doors of the waiting room. “Hey. They moved her upstairs already, and she’s sedated. More out of precaution than anything else.”

“But she’s okay?”

“Doctor wants to monitor her to see if there’re any lingering effects, but at first glance, yes. She just needs rest. All the stress, the copper poisoning on top of this, the doc basically said she needed a long-ass vacation.”

No arguments from me there. I would happily take Lena to the beach for a few weeks, lay her out on the sand, and make sure she relaxed by fucking her to exhaustion every day and every night.

Evie and Grace sat by her bed. Lena herself was pale, oxygen mask in place, and still as death. Only the steady rise and fall of her chest assured me she was here with me, but my stomach twisted anyway.

God, when she was better, I was going to make her mine. Forever. Lena deserved more than a sickbed proposal, so I would make it perfect. But it was happening. It should have happened long before now, and I wasn’t wasting any more time.

“She’s okay.” Evie was red-eyed with tears. “Or she will be.”

I couldn’t even speak. Walking to her side, I knelt next to the bed and pulled her into my arms. It didn’t matter that she was asleep. I needed to feel her safe and warm and breathing. Whispers echoed behind me, along with the scrape of chairs. I didn’t let Lena go.

It wasn’t clear how long I stayed there with her in my arms, listening to her heart beating steadily on the monitor.

“I’m just going to check on her, okay?” A nurse stood on the other side of the bed, smiling sympathetically.

“Yeah.” I laid her back, dropping a kiss on her forehead. “Yeah, okay.”

“The doctor will be back around to talk to you shortly.”

I nodded, standing, and heading out into the hall. There were so many more people here, the nurses at the station were wide-eyed. Everyone from Resting Warrior, come to make sure one of their own was okay.

“Noah?” I pinched the bridge of my nose between my fingers. “Can you call Ellen? About the memorial?”

He cursed. “Shit. Yeah. I’m sure she’ll understand.”

“Thank you.” I looked at Daniel. “I don’t know how long she’ll be under, and I don’t want to wait. Someone stays with her, and we go. We’ll call Charlie on the way.”

“You have a plan?”

I sighed. “Since I already promised Charlie I wouldn’t bury him, I’m aiming for a confession. But we’re going to need a wire and for the rest of you to get comfortable hiding.”