Chapter 170

The hospital waiting room smelled of bleach and coffee gone cold. Camille sat rigid in an uncomfortable plastic chair, staring at the double doors where they’d rushed Stefan an hour ago. Blood stained her clothes, his blood. She hadn’t changed, couldn’t bring herself to leave, even when a kind nurse had offered scrubs.

“He’ll pull through,” Alexander said, his fingers laced with hers. “Stefan’s tough.”

Camille nodded without speaking. The image of Stefan leaping in front of her, taking the bullet meant for her chest, played on endless loop in her mind. His body jerking backward. The surprised look in his eyes. The spreading red stain on his shirt.

“Why did he do it?” she whispered. “After everything...”

Alexander squeezed her hand. “He wanted to make things right. In the only way he could.”

Thunder rattled the windows. The storm that had masked their approach to the cabin now battered the hospital, as if nature itself shared their turmoil. Camille shive