Abby felt sick to her stomach as she followed Lucas across the compound toward the Commander’s Headquarters. She’d gone back to her room only long enough to shower and change, scrubbing at her skin until it was raw, like she could wash away the fear clinging to her. When she’d finished, Lucas had been waiting outside her door with a sandwich and a cup of coffee, insisting she needed to eat before the meeting.
Now that food sat in her stomach like a stone.
With every step toward the Elder Chambers, her thoughts drifted back to the hospital room. To the steady rise and fall of Joe’s chest. To the warmth of his skin beneath her lips when she’d kissed his forehead. Her heart kicked painfully against her ribs at the thought of him waking up alone, of reaching for her and finding no one there.
