Page 18 of Dash

I shifted my gaze to Rivera. “We need to be there.”

“You got it.” He got on the horn and had his men directthe paramedics to the private parking level. “The ambulance just pulled up.”

“Hang in there,” I whispered in Thena’s ear. “We’ll get through this. You’ll see.”

I’d never prayed a day in my life. Now I did.

Chapter Five

Thena

I opened my eyes and discovered I was in a hospital room. The overhead lights were dimmed, but a small table lamp and the blue screen of the monitoring unit in the corner illuminated the space. I had to blink several times to clear the haze from my eyes. Only then was I able to spot the IV hooked to my arm. I felt wooly and weak, but I wasn’t in pain anymore.

The lights of several buildings sifted through the open blinds. Rain pelted the windows, tapping a soothing rhythm on the glass panes. It was dark outside.

Movement caught my eye. I made out the striking figure of Dash, pacing at the foot of my bed, whispering furiously into the cell he held to his ear. He looked a little rough around the edges. Gone were his jacket and his tie. Instead, he wore his dress shirt, undone at the top, with his sleeves pushed up. No longer groomed, his dark whiskers covered his jaw and a wayward strand of hair curled carelessly over his forehead, contributing to his rumpled appearance.

He looked a little… frantic?

Frantic was not a look I associated with Dash. He’d always been the definition of poise, composure, and equanimity under fire.

“What do you mean?” he whisper-shouted into the speaker. “I want them under Tracker Team’s protection right now.”

The memories of everything that had transpired during our meeting crash-landed my slow awakening. Seeing him here, a tiny sliver of hope sparked in my heart, but my hazy brain declined to engage. So many uncertainties. So many fears. My sisters. Had they been found? Were they safe? And then, was Idying?

Explanations. I needed them, in so many different contexts. Overwhelmed, feeble, and disoriented, I didn’t even know where to begin unraveling my confusion. My mouth didn’t work. My throat was parched. Dash must’ve sensed I was awake, because his eyes gleamed as he fixed them on me and his pacing came to a sudden stop.

“Just do it.” He ended his call with a terse, “Omega out.”

“Thena.” His chest rose with a deep breath that strained his shirt. Leaning on his cane, he came around the bed and took my hand, enveloping my fingers in the heat that wafted from him, soothing me just by being here. “At last. You’re awake.”

“What do you mean, ‘at last?’” I cleared the cobwebs from my throat. “What time is it?”

“Don’t worry about the time.” Releasing my hand, he poured a glass of water from the pitcher on the night table, cradled the back of my head, and held the glass against my lips. “Small, slow sips. The nurse said this should be the first thing you did when you came to.”

I drank as he suggested and found the cool water almost as soothing to my senses as he was. I swished the stale flavors from my mouth and drank some more, tiny sips that helped clear my mind. I sipped slowly until my mouth felt fresh again and my throat was properly lubricated.

“Thanks,” I mumbled, still shocked by his presence next to me. “Sit me up a little more, please?”

“Sure thing.” He grabbed the remote and pressed a button, lifting the back of the bed almost to a sitting position. “Better?”

“Better.” I nodded. “What’s going on? How long have I been here?”

His eyes darkened and his expression turned somber. “Don’t be alarmed.”

Now I was officially alarmed.

He eased down on the edge of the bed and, after glancing at his watch, reclaimed my hand gently, naturally, as if he’d never stopped caring for me. “You’ve been in the hospital for forty-three hours and thirty-two minutes.”

“Two days?” I croaked, clinging to his fingers.

My stomach, which had been holding steady until this moment, did an ominous flipflop. It didn’t hurt and I didn’t feel the need to throw up, but my lack of awareness and my time in the hospital didn’t sound like good news. “Is it c—?”

“No,” he stated decisively. “It’s not what we feared.”

The sob that issued from my throat took me by surprise. The tsunami of tears that came with it shocked me. I couldn’t stop crying. From relief. From knowing I wasn’t dying from the same terrible disease that had killed my mother.

“It’s okay.” Dash slid one hand beneath my shoulders and gathered me against his chest. “You’re going to be okay.”

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