Page 153 of The Ampersand Effect

Grier’s eyes met Tobin’s, and Tobin’s heartbeat quickened, a franticlub dubechoing between her ribs—a relentless reminder of the feelings she hadn’t yet expressed.

The group reached the pen, and Tobin received each pup from the campers as they returned them, growing increasingly certain that they all bore a mischievous grin of victory from their recent escapades—none showing even a hint of remorse at being recaptured. Smooch yipped excitedly as his siblings were returned, and Grier giggled at the enthusiastic butt wiggles the trio unleashed at their reunion.

“By my count, we have them all,” Grier reported, looking up at Tobin before curling her fingers around the top of the gate to recount. “Thirteen, right?”

“Yep!” Anchor hollered from her seat. “I can’t thank you two enough. You make a great team—and teammates. I’d be lost without you.”

“I don’t know ifyou’dbe lost, but several of these escape artists might be.” Grier winked at Tobin before turning her bright smile onto Anchor. It was such a simple sign of affection, but Tobin’s heart fluttered in her chest anyway. She needed to tell Grier how she felt.

The pull of the constantlub dubin her chest was becoming nearly audible in her head, its persistence prodding her toward confession. The crowd was beginning to fill in around them, potential adopters wandering over to peer into the pen of playful dogs. Tobin shifted slightly, aligning her hip with Grier’s, relishing the familiar but thrilling warmth as their body heat collided. She wrapped an arm around Grier’s waist and pecked a quick kiss to the angle of her chin

before whispering, “Do you have plans later?”

She felt the tug of Grier’s answering smile against her lips. “Yeah, I think my girlfriend wants to hang out.”

“Damn. She’s been monopolizing your time lately,” Tobin said playfully.

“She’s hot,” Grier shrugged, as if to imply she’s powerless to the idea of a good-looking woman.

Tobin felt herself blush. She hoped Grier never lost the ability to fluster her like this. She hummed in Grier’s ear, too overwhelmed with emotion to verbalize a response. Grier’s hand slid around her waist, pulling them even closer. Tobin felt a light huff of breath across her neck just before Grier’s whispered response hit her, “Whatever you’re suggesting, I’m in.”

“Seriously?” Delta scoffed, “My eyes are burning!” Her dramatic bemoaning was endorsed by a chorus of giggles from the other campers gathered under the booth’s canopy.

“I think you’re cute,” Anchor offered in rebuttal.

Tobin caught the slight hue of pink spread across Anchor’s cheeks at the admission, and recalled how little she actually knew of Anchor’s romantic affairs.

She was suddenly curious if that had more to do with lack of experience than deliberate withholding. It wasn’t any of her business, but she was abruptly aware of Anchor’s lack of commentary on anything romantic in the years that they’d known each other. It was… peculiar, to say the least.

Tobin was startled from her musings when Grier’s phone buzzed between them, nestled in her back pocket where it pressed against Tobin’s hip.

Grier sidestepped just enough to reach behind her and retrieve the phone. “It’s the hospital—interesting.” Her amber eyes found Tobin’s, who recognized not a small amount of concern etched in her features. She raised a questioning eyebrow, but Grier only shrugged, then slid her thumb across the screen and brought the phone to her ear.

“Hello, this is Dr. Savage.”

Tobin tried to give Grier some privacy, knowing the call was likely related to patient matters. But she couldn’t recall a time when the hospital had contacted Grier when they were together—as far as she knew, it never happened. Adding to that the knowledge that it was a Saturday, Tobin’s stomach began churning with anxiety, her body already aware of the impending news this call was likely to mean.

Tobin watched peripherally, half-listening to Grier’s one-sided responses. She turned to check on the campers and dogs, and was about to delegate some tasks to the campers when shefelt a hand clamp onto her forearm and dig familiar fingers into her skin. It was a telling grip—one of fear and grasping need.

Tobin’s stomach plummeted. She turned to find Grier, tears already streaking down her face, eyes red-rimmed and beginning to swell.

“It’s Jonah…” Grier choked, her face growing paler by the second.

Instantly Tobin centered herself to face Grier, placing both hands on her shoulders. “What’s wrong?” Her voice was somehow steady—a sharp contradiction to the emotions restrained by her torso, which was currently vibrating with all of the adrenaline in her system. Her body was ready to fight, to come to Grier’s aid in any way she could.

Grier released a guttural sob, squeezing her eyes shut as tears continued to fall unchecked. “Vanders circumvented Dr. MilesandCPS.” Her breath shuddered as she spoke, trying and failing to maintain her composure.

Tobin felt something detonate deep inside her chest—watching Grier unravel in a situation that should have been impossible ignited a visceral, primal need to protect.

Tobin knew Grier held a special place in her heart for Jonah— even she had fallen prey to the kid’s charisma during their flight. She hadn’t met Dr. Vanders, but she knew instinctively that he was a small-minded man with a bloated ego, and she wanted nothing more than to silence him for Grier. But this wasn’t her battle. Her only job right now was to listen to Grier, and comfort her however she could.

Still. She had to consciously fight her instincts to try to fix this. Her body buzzed with unspent adrenaline that was ripe for well- executed retaliation. She lifted a hand to Grier’s face, gently wiping at the trail of tears on her cheeks before brushing a strand of hair behind her ear.

Grier looked up at her through tear-laden lashes, the sadness in her eyes hitting Tobin in the center of her chest and stealing her breath.

“Vanders took him from his mother, Tobin. He imposed Healthcare Provider Authority and stripped Jonah’s mom of her medical authority rights. He—Jonah…” Grier faltered, and Tobin’s gut completed a series of flips that would’ve impressed an Olympic panel. She waited, bracing, while Grier summoned the strength to finish. “— He’s in a coma.”

Grier’s strength finally left her.