Page 73 of Searching Blind

He tightened his grip on Lucy’s hand. “Then I’ll be here when she does.”

Before Ash could respond, the door opened again. “What part of ‘you need rest’ do you not understand?” a female voice asked tersely.

Anna Hendricks.

Sawyer sighed. “Not you, too.”

“Yes, me too,” she retorted. “Someone has to keep you bullheaded alpha males in line. Sawyer, you’re no good to anyone if you’re flat on your back because you ignored doctor’s orders.”

He was quiet for a long moment, stroking Lucy’s hand, a lump rising up in his throat, choking him. “I can’t leave her again, Anna.”

“You’re not,” she replied, softer now. “You’ll be back first thing in the morning. Ash will drive you. Right, Ash?”

Ash grunted something that might have been agreement. At least, Anna seemed to take it as such, and nobody knew the taciturn sheriff’s grunts better than his twin sister.

She placed a gentle hand on Sawyer’s shoulder. “You have to take care of yourself for Lucy. She’ll need you when she wakes up, but not a version of you that’s half-dead from exhaustion.”

Part of him recognized the truth in her words— he wasn’t in the best shape and staying here wouldn’t help Lucy if he ended up collapsing beside her.

But… he just couldn’t bring himself to leave.

“I’ll stay with her,” Anna said. “I’ll call if anything changes.”

The offer eased some of the worry roiling inside him. Anna was strong, resourceful, and had a stubborn streak to rival his own. She wouldn’t let anything happen to Lucy.

Sawyer took a deep breath, the tension in his body deflating just a fraction. “Okay,” he finally agreed. “But you call me the second she wakes up.”

“Deal,” Anna said, patting his shoulder reassuringly.

Ash shifted from where he’d been leaning against the wall and moved toward the door. “All right, Murphy. Let’s get you out of here before you fall over.”

It took all Sawyer’s willpower to relinquish Lucy’s hand and push himself to stand. His knee protested, pain flaring hot and sharp, but he gritted his teeth and pushed through it. Zelda moved from her spot by his feet to guide him out of the room.

He’d be back in a few hours.

Anna was with her.

There was nothing to worry about.

So why couldn’t he shake off the gnawing dread in his gut?

Something was off. Something he couldn’t quite put his finger on. He paused in the doorway, taking one last look toward the bed. He knew she was there, but she was so still that without having his hand on her, he couldn’t tell. All he could see was the steady spike of her heart rate moving across the screen behind her bed. He watched it for a long moment.

Anna waved a hand, drawing his attention. “Go. Shoo. I’ve got her.”

“Come on,” Ash said softly, nudging his shoulder.

He sucked in a steading breath and stepped into the hallway.

“Left,” Ash said.

He turned in the direction and stopped short when he heard a familiar, grating voice that set his teeth on edge. “You found Chuck.”

“And his son,” Ash confirmed. “The boy’s in a room down the hall recovering from surgery.”

While he was relieved to hear that Joel was okay, he really didn’t want to deal with Chuck right now. “Any chance we can avoid him?”

“Unfortunately, no. He’s right by the elevators.”

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