The first thing I felt was a heavy dull weight pressing against my side where the bullet had torn through me then the sterile tang of disinfectant hit my nose, sharp and unforgiving, pulling me into consciousness.
I opened my eyes again to white walls, muted beeps, and the faint hum of a machine keeping track of my heartbeat. For a second, I didn’t know where I was. The ceiling seemed too bright, the sheets too stiff, and the smell… the smell was nothing like home. Then it came back in pieces Catherine, the cabin, Nova’s cries, the gunshot.
My breath caught.
“Grace?”
The voice was soft but frayed. I turned and found Noah in the chair beside my bed, slouched forward, elbows braced on his knees. His eyes were shadowed, his tie loose, and his jaw unshaven like he hadn’t left since…
“How
