the back of the car with Luce, clutching her hands like a lifeline. What if it wasn’t him?
The day Alun disappeared, the police had raided the tunnel and arrested a number of people, before someone literally tripped over a young man lying unconscious in the shadows. He carried no ID, had no phone, and looked as though he’d been in a fight.
They’d made the assumption he was there to buy drugs.
He’d suffered a knife wound and a head trauma, and currently lay in a coma. Until he woke up— if he woke up—they couldn’t identify him.
We walked up endless brightly lit corridors, rode in an elevator, and finally had to wait in a side room, while the police officer talked to the medical staff. Tom paced up and down, his hands shoved into his pockets, his lips a tight line. Luce sat with her arm around my waist. I refused to let anyone examine my shoulder, until we had an answer. I couldn’t waste another minute, or have any other delay.
“What are they doing ?” snarled Tom. “It doesn’t take this fucking long to find out which bed he’s in.” He glanced out of the window at the darkening sky. It was already dusk. “If they don’t come back in the next minute, I swear I’m going to look in every room I come to. This is driving me insane.”
I knew how he felt. I clung to my composure by the finest of threads. My stomach churned endlessly, and I knew—I just knew —I was close to breaking down, and howling. If this wasn’t Alun, if it really was some idiot doing a drug deal…
No. I couldn’t think like that. He hadn’t been on that train. He couldn’t have been.
A young nurse entered the room and looked at us. “Is Olivia Tanner here?”
“Yes.” I pushed to a standing position. “That’s me.”
She took a step closer, and I tried to interpret her expression. Her eyes were kind, and her smile was sympathetic. I felt, rather than saw, Luce stand up next to me.
“The patient you were asking about is in the HDU,” the nurse said.
I knew the letters, but my mind couldn’t make sense of them. I stared at her.
“High Dependency Unit,” she said. “He seemed to be stabilizing, but his condition deteriorated yesterday.”
I heard deteriorated , and very little else. “Please,” I croaked, my throat as dry as the Sahara, “can you take us there?”
“Of course. Follow me.”
My knees felt like jelly, but I knew Tom and Luce would keep me upright. Another set of endless corridors. Another elevator. And finally, two sets of double doors, and a nursing station. Our nurse spoke rapidly with someone behind the counter, and then beckoned us closer.
“He’s in this bay. You can look from the entrance, and see if you recognize him.”
Oh God. This was it.
Chapter Fourteen
Four steps.
My feet could have been encased in lead. I was terrified. There were so many possibilities. If it wasn’t Alun. If it was Alun, and he was dying. If it was Alun, and he never woke up.
I made deals with whatever deity might be listening. I didn’t care if Alun was different. If he was some kind of freaky werewolf. I still loved him anyway. I’d accept him however he was, if he would just come back to me. I’d move anywhere he wanted. I’d marry him, at the absolute earliest opportunity.
The room was larger than I’d expected, with four beds separated by thick white curtains. The low light levels reflected back in the dark windows, and machines beeped and hummed everywhere. The nurse pointed to the second bed. My heart stuttered.
“Alun,” I whispered.
He lay motionless, wires connecting him to a bank of monitors. His face, normally tanned and healthy, was pale, and obscured by a ventilator mask.
He was alive .
I remembered Tom and Luce, and turned around, my eyes filling with tears. Luce clung to Tom, and they both stared at me, matching expressions of hope and fear on their faces. I couldn’t speak. Tears blinded me, but they were tears of happiness. Of utter bone-shaking relief. I nodded and
The day Alun disappeared, the police had raided the tunnel and arrested a number of people, before someone literally tripped over a young man lying unconscious in the shadows. He carried no ID, had no phone, and looked as though he’d been in a fight.
They’d made the assumption he was there to buy drugs.
He’d suffered a knife wound and a head trauma, and currently lay in a coma. Until he woke up— if he woke up—they couldn’t identify him.
We walked up endless brightly lit corridors, rode in an elevator, and finally had to wait in a side room, while the police officer talked to the medical staff. Tom paced up and down, his hands shoved into his pockets, his lips a tight line. Luce sat with her arm around my waist. I refused to let anyone examine my shoulder, until we had an answer. I couldn’t waste another minute, or have any other delay.
“What are they doing ?” snarled Tom. “It doesn’t take this fucking long to find out which bed he’s in.” He glanced out of the window at the darkening sky. It was already dusk. “If they don’t come back in the next minute, I swear I’m going to look in every room I come to. This is driving me insane.”
I knew how he felt. I clung to my composure by the finest of threads. My stomach churned endlessly, and I knew—I just knew —I was close to breaking down, and howling. If this wasn’t Alun, if it really was some idiot doing a drug deal…
No. I couldn’t think like that. He hadn’t been on that train. He couldn’t have been.
A young nurse entered the room and looked at us. “Is Olivia Tanner here?”
“Yes.” I pushed to a standing position. “That’s me.”
She took a step closer, and I tried to interpret her expression. Her eyes were kind, and her smile was sympathetic. I felt, rather than saw, Luce stand up next to me.
“The patient you were asking about is in the HDU,” the nurse said.
I knew the letters, but my mind couldn’t make sense of them. I stared at her.
“High Dependency Unit,” she said. “He seemed to be stabilizing, but his condition deteriorated yesterday.”
I heard deteriorated , and very little else. “Please,” I croaked, my throat as dry as the Sahara, “can you take us there?”
“Of course. Follow me.”
My knees felt like jelly, but I knew Tom and Luce would keep me upright. Another set of endless corridors. Another elevator. And finally, two sets of double doors, and a nursing station. Our nurse spoke rapidly with someone behind the counter, and then beckoned us closer.
“He’s in this bay. You can look from the entrance, and see if you recognize him.”
Oh God. This was it.
Chapter Fourteen
Four steps.
My feet could have been encased in lead. I was terrified. There were so many possibilities. If it wasn’t Alun. If it was Alun, and he was dying. If it was Alun, and he never woke up.
I made deals with whatever deity might be listening. I didn’t care if Alun was different. If he was some kind of freaky werewolf. I still loved him anyway. I’d accept him however he was, if he would just come back to me. I’d move anywhere he wanted. I’d marry him, at the absolute earliest opportunity.
The room was larger than I’d expected, with four beds separated by thick white curtains. The low light levels reflected back in the dark windows, and machines beeped and hummed everywhere. The nurse pointed to the second bed. My heart stuttered.
“Alun,” I whispered.
He lay motionless, wires connecting him to a bank of monitors. His face, normally tanned and healthy, was pale, and obscured by a ventilator mask.
He was alive .
I remembered Tom and Luce, and turned around, my eyes filling with tears. Luce clung to Tom, and they both stared at me, matching expressions of hope and fear on their faces. I couldn’t speak. Tears blinded me, but they were tears of happiness. Of utter bone-shaking relief. I nodded and
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