Chapter 78

After entering the building, they went straight to the maternity ward, wound through some back stairs, hijacked an employee-only elevator. A guard stood outside the authorized-personnel-only hallway they emerged from a few moments later and quickly shook Deke’s hand. Then they were down a short hall and inside her father’s room. Kimber nearly crumbled at first sight.

He looked so…fragile. Still sporting muscle and the remnants of his summer tan.

But all the monitors, tubes, and machinery surrounding him in that sterile bed…

The beeping drowning out his light breathing. His salt-and-pepper hair had been shaved completely. And so unlike her dad, he hadn’t moved a muscle in the two minutes she’d been staring.

“It’s okay, kitten,” Deke whispered, sliding a protective arm around her shoulders. “We’ll do this together.”

He led her to the room’s lone chair. Kimber had a sense of Jack drifting out the door, whether to stand guard or give them privacy, she wasn’t sure.