TIME TICKED BY—OR IT would have had there been a clock. The cold iron of the bars dug into my back, and my arse lost all sensation once the chill of concrete took effect. I didn’t move, though. What little energy I had needed preserving. Just in case.
“How bad is Gabe?” Kyle’s voice came out low.
“I already told you. He’s holding up.”
“That tells me nothing, and you know it.”
I peered over my shoulder. Kyle’s intense stare, as it met mine, and the tightness around his eyes, told me everything I needed to know about his fear for his own health. “He’s fixable.” I gave a slight nod, hoping I’d told him the truth, but my frown crept in, when he began to self-study—a repeat of his earlier behaviour.
With his fingers splayed out before him, Kyle seemed to be staring down at them as though l
