Andy drove into an underground carpark. Ben was out of the car the moment it parked, and Andy opened Ellie’s door. The shaking was gone from her hands and the water helped push down an unwelcome wave of nausea. This was one shock too many and she longed to curl in a ball and sob.
The elevator doors opened, and they all got in, Ben and Andy in muted conversation. She needed to pull herself together. She caught a glimpse of herself in the mirrored walls. Her skin was white. Worry lines creased her forehead and her eyes were like a startled rabbit.
“You are the strongest woman I know.” Ben spoke so softly she thought she’d imagined it. But he was only inches away, between her and Andy, who was now on the phone. “This will all pass.”
She closed her eyes and inhaled to fill her lungs before
