Page 102 of Every Last One

Her heart sank. “So…?”

“Jordon Maddox’s and Colby Mahoney’s surgeries went well. Both are expected to make a full recovery.”

“That’s great news.” She told him about Phoebe’s heart.

“Thank God. I didn’t just call about Maddox and Mahoney. You did a great job today, Sandra. If you’re like me you’re probably giving yourself a rough time about Ashmore, but she’s not your weight to carry. She made her decisions. You gave her every chance. Please remember that.”

“Thank you for the kind words.” That’s about as deep as she could let them sink in. Words, surface level. She’d need to process what transpired today in her own time. “And I appreciate the updates.”

“Don’t mention it. Night.”

“Night.” She ended the call and put her phone away.

Eric came up and put his arm around her, resting his hand on the small of her back. She turned to him. “It’s so nice that you’re here. It means a lot to me.”

He leaned in and kissed her.

“Did you pick up Liv?” She assumed he probably had when she saw Olivia here.

“I did. We’ve been here for about an hour.”

“By the way, great thinking to have Trudy Hall on standby. She helped save the day.” She gave him the overview, leaving out Mindy Ashmore’s demise.

“Glad to hear everything worked out.”

She pressed on a smile, which he saw through. His facial expression tightened.

“What didn’t you tell me?”

“The shot caller died. It was tragic, unnecessary.”

“Oh, Sandra. I’m sorry to hear that.”

“The worst part? I was right there when it happened.”Her brain matter was on my face, in my hair, in my mouth…

“You can’t control everything. Sometimes bad things happen.”

“Somber, but you’re right.”

“From my side of things, Stevie Cross will go away for his role in today’s incident.”

“As he should. Did he really think he’d get away with it?”

“You know what they say? Some people are stupid. But I don’t really think he cared if he got caught. Cross seemed to think he owed his nephew. He was estranged from the boy’s mother for several years. But he saw how Sullivan’s death destroyed her at the funeral. So when Shane came to him for help, there was no way he was letting his nephew, or his sister, down again.”

“What a person will do for family…” Her thoughts turned completely to Margo. “We need to find Mom’s doctor.”

“That’s him there.” He nudged his head toward a fifty-something man in a white lab coat striding toward them.

“Sandra Vos?” the doctor said.

“I am.”

“I’m Doctor Friedman. If you have any other family members in the room you’d like out here, please, go ahead and get them. Considering Margo’s mental state, I feel updating her would only confuse her more.”

“I agree.”

“I’ll get Olivia and Dana.” Eric swept into the room, and quickly returned with them.