Jack (Eidolon Black Ops #8) - Maddie Wade Page 0,59

things she could about Adeline. The way Addie hated having her hair cut, the fact she’d spend hours reading when Astrid wanted to play outside. She’d missed her so much, but in the middle of all her anguish, she found solace in the fact that she had people around her who would hold her up when she was down and a man who would catch her when she fell.

She lifted her head to look at him handsome in full tactical gear, with scruff on his strong jawline but softness in his eyes which held hers. “Thank you, Jack.”

“You don’t have to ever thank me for being here for you, firefly. There’s nowhere else I would be.”

“I love you, Jack.”

A small grin tipped his lips. “I know you do, and I love you too.”

A commotion had her turning as a doctor in scrubs came towards her. “Are you the family of Victoria George?”

Astrid hadn’t given Adeline’s name and instead used the fake ID the paramedics had found in her pocket, and Astrid prayed it held up. The last thing she wanted was for whoever Adeline was hiding from to find her. “Yes. I’m her sister.”

The doctor looked her up and down and then must have decided to believe her because he sat down beside her. “Your sister has suffered some very grave injuries indeed. We have repaired the bullet wound but it damaged her spleen, so we removed that. She has a broken jaw, three broken ribs, a fractured femur, and a dislocated shoulder. She’ll require further surgeries, but the biggest worry is the bleed on her brain. We think a blunt instrument caused it and we’ve placed her in an induced coma to allow her time to heal.”

Astrid pulled her lip between her teeth to try and control the sob forming and gripped Jack tighter. “Will she be okay?”

The doctor patted her shoulder gently. “We’ll do our very best. We have a neurosurgeon on route who is the best in the world. Right now she’s stable, and that’s the best we can hope for.”

Astrid heard every word he didn’t say, and that was that Adeline probably wouldn’t survive, but she was alive for now, and Astrid had to have hope. “Can I see her?”

“In a little while. The nurses need to get her settled in the ICU and then you can but only two at a time. She needs rest.”

“Thank you.” Taking a deep breath, she slowly blew it out, trying to hold on to her composure for a minute longer. “I need some air.”

Jack nodded and steered her towards the doors that led out to the cool early afternoon air of Montreal in October. The sun shone brightly despite the cold and Astrid tipped her face to it, trying to absorb it and the hope it represented to her. Adeline had a battle on her hands, but she was a fighter, and so was Astrid. They’d get through this together.

Chapter Twenty-One

Jack rolled over into the soft warmth of the woman who’d become his life and stroked his hand over her skin. It was three am, and he couldn’t sleep. He’d fallen to sleep okay but had woken and wasn’t sure why. He suspected it was because of the quiet, the lack of movement or action.

It had been six weeks since they’d flown home from Montreal after the tour was postponed, the Palace sighting the Prince Consort’s mother being unwell for the reason which he’d learned was, in part, genuine. Adeline had been flown over as well and had been transferred to a private hospital in Hereford but was still in a coma, which he knew was churning Astrid up inside.

Her injuries were healing well, but the induced coma was now a real coma. That could happen, especially if it involved a head trauma. Doctor Savannah Sankey was a shock to him, not least because she was the same age as he was and was utterly brilliant. She’d won over Astrid’s trust immediately. She was honest and open about Adeline’s injuries and chances of recovery, and a full recovery was slim but not impossible. She was using new techniques to stimulate Adeline’s brain.

The one holdout was Decker, who’d taken a dislike to the good doctor and looked for fault in everything she did, at least until this last week when he’d seemed to mellow a little. Jack wondered if it was because he was used to being the smartest person in a room, and the doctor challenged him. Decker needed