Page 147 of The Restoration Program

He would see that face full of life again. He would hold her in his hands again.

Notif, butwhen.

DAY ONE

Her mouth had never been so dry. Nicole wet her lips and drew a deep breath, nearly gagging on the taste of cold, sterile air. Sleep beckoned her back into its arms, but she resisted. Her eyelids fluttered and fought against the urge to open them. She won the battle just enough to squint, immediately regretting it. White light burned from directly above.

Before she could groan for Ryan to shut the curtains, Nicole turned her head and was met with more white. A white pillow cradled her pounding skull, white sheets weighed her down. All of it was blinding—nothing like the apartment she was still getting used to. Shuddering, she squeezed her eyes shut and blinked timidly to adjust.

Hospital, her groggy mind supplied. Had to be.

A cold gasp raced down her throat. It all blared through her at once—the heavy rain pounding the pavement. The car hydroplaning in her grasp. A deafening squeal of tires and the sound of mangled metal and light more blinding than the one assaulting her now. Then, nothing.

No… not nothing.

Her fingers dug into the bedsheets. She desperately wished the memory ended there. No. There had been crippling pain as she lay helpless in the crushed husk of the driver’s seat. She remembered a beat of numb shock that came first before white-hot agony had settled in—the horrible awareness that her body was utterly broken. Unconsciousness had been a blessing.

Hospital. Against all odds, she was still breathing. She had survived.

Steeling herself, she sat up slowly. Whatever miracle meds were in her system must have been working overtime. Not even a twinge of discomfort to be felt. She glanced around the bed with a frown. There was no heart monitor, no machines, not even an IV drip connected to her arm.

Her gaze trailed further. Her surroundings made no sense. Everything seemed to stretch on forever, as though her hospital bed was contained within a warehouse. Except… It looked like a well-lit hospital room, onlymassive.

The air was cool on her skin, and midday sunlight streamed in from the expansive window on her left. She set her fingertips on the cool glass. A city bustled far below, cars and buildings sparkling like gems, making her eyes ache from the brightness.

What the hell is going on?

Her reflection was faint. All she could really make out was the confusion on her face and her hand shaking on the glass.

Another reflection stirred behind her own.

“You’re finally awake.”

Nicole sharply turned all the way to her other side. A scream lodged in her throat. She sat up straight, shoving her back against the glass. A person, perfectly scaled to the colossal room, leaned toward her.

Ryan.

He was in a chair right by her bed. He stood, rising like a building come to life. She clamped a hand over her mouth and breathed heavily through her fingers.

She should have been purely relieved to see his familiar face—but the fact that it was billboard-sized drenched all her comfort in cold fear. His expression was soft and patient as he took a knee by her bed.

His hands approached, filling her vision before she could react. Fingers and palms scooped under her legs and behind her shoulders to take her into a firm grasp. There was nothing she could do except go rigid as Ryan pushed her into his shoulder; his embrace was like being hugged by a monument.

Over his shoulder, she caught a glimpse of another person in the room. A well-kempt man in his early twenties stood behind Ryan, watching. Also massive. His gaze, though polite and pleasant enough, unnerved her further.

“R-Ryan,” she finally gasped into the mass of Ryan’s shoulder. “Ryan—Ryan, what thefuck—”

Frightened tears began to build as she looked around wildly for anything to make sense of. An ID badge was clipped to the young man’s blazer pocket. She squinted when she spotted Ryan’s last name on it:Callahan-Northe & Associates.

“Who is that?” she asked.

Ryan turned and gave something of a nod.

“I’ll give you a minute, sir,” the man said.

Ryan barely acknowledged his departure, burying himself back into Nicole. He hushed her and murmured assurances. She couldn’t focus on the words, only on the way they rumbled through her like a distant earthquake. He let his cheek rest against the top of her head when she began to squirm. When she settled, he finally pulled her away and held her in front of him.

Adoration filled his gaze as he inspected her.