Page 126 of Time to Bounce

I couldn’t draw in a breath of air.

My lungs weren’t working.

“I’m Mary Beth. Athena’s sister,” the woman explained.

Mary Beth.

Mary Beth.

“What?” Garnett asked, sounding just as stunned as I felt.

Garnett caught my hand over Gable’s sleeping form and squeezed.

My hip rested against the side of the bed, Gable nestled protectively between us.

I drew in two sharp breaths before saying, “What are you doing here?”

Garnett’s head whipped around, and she stared at me, realizing something was wrong.

She had no idea of what had happened.

I hadn’t told any of them.

I was waiting for Gable to be awake so I could tell him first.

But besides those initial minutes when we’d first arrived in his recovery room, Gable hadn’t been awake or aware enough to listen to me talk, let alone explain something so complicated.

“I’m your sister, why wouldn’t I be here?” she asked.

I inadvertently squeezed Garnett’s hand and said, “Why now?”

Mary Beth’s eyes flitted momentarily to the side before she returned her gaze and said, “I was worried about you. Him.”

“Tell me what’s going on,” Garnett ordered, surprising me with her forcefulness.

I’d, of course, known she was a bad ass.

She was one of the longest standing employees of Dallas Police Department. You didn’t become that without having a little badass in you.

But this…

She sounded scary.

I’d never seen her this way before.

“I, uh, I…” Mary Beth stuttered.

“Wait outside,” she ordered.

Mary Beth stumbled, then nodded. “Okay, sure. Okay.”

Then she left, leaving me reeling.

“Athena Grace Murphy, look at me,” Garnett ordered.

She punctuated that order by squeezing my hand.

I had no other choice but to turn her way.

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