Alexander stood by the bed, holding her hand with a grip too careful to be indifferent.
He watched the nurse work, probing for a new vein, the previous site still bleeding sluggishly and each time the needle touched Victoria's skin his jaw tightened by a fraction. His thumb hovered just at the edge of her wrist, not quite stroking, not quite still. When a thin line of blood tracked down her inner arm he felt something move through him that he had no interest in naming. His brow pulled into a hard line and he looked away.
Across the room Lucas was speaking quietly with the doctor, his back turned.
Then his phone buzzed.
Vanessa.
He looked at the screen for a second, then at Victoria her brows pressed together even in unconsciousness, as though whatever she was dreaming offered her no p
