Page 53 of Savage Redemption

Adan is lying in the bed, on his back, his eyes closed. An oxygen mask covers his lower face, and a drip is suspended above him, discharging a clear fluid into his arm. I gasp at the sight of the bandages on his hands and feet, but otherwise he appears peaceful. He could just be asleep, ready to wake up at any time.

There’s a chair beside the bed, and I drop onto it. I reach for his hand, think better of it, and lay my fingers on his wrist instead.

“Adan,” I whisper. “Can you hear me?”

Erin chunters her contribution.

I watch his features, scanning for the slightest signs of recognition, of returning consciousness.

“Adan, it’s me. Rosa. And… and Erin is here, too. Come to see her daddy.” I’m scanning his face for anything, the most minute sign that he knows I’m here. Anything. Anything at all.

His features remain deathly still, the only sound the faint whoosh of the oxygen mask and the sporadic beep of the machine monitoring his heartbeat. I glance up at the technology, but none of it means anything to me.

“You idiot,” I murmur. “You were almost killed. Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to rush into burning buildings? You saved those kids, though. You’re a hero, and Ethan will realise that. He has to. But even so, best he doesn’t know who you are or why you’re really here. I won’t tell anyone, I swear. Just… just you get better, you hear me?”

Did his hand twitch? Just briefly?

I hold my breath.

“Adan, I?—”

“Rosie?”

I leap up, whirl around. Megan is outlined in the doorway, flanked by two guards.

“What are you doing here, Rosie?” She bustles in to check her patient. “How did you even get in?”

“The… the door was unlocked,” I stammer. “I was just…”

“You were speaking to him. In Spanish.”

Spanish? Was I?I hadn’t even realised, but it had felt natural to slip back into that. We always spoke in Spanish.

“How did you know he speaks Spanish?” the doctor asks. “Do you know him?”

I shake my head. “No, no, I don’t know him. I just thought, maybe… I was worried about him. And Nataliya, too, obviously.”

“She’s in the next room, if you were thinking of visiting her, too.”

“Right. Yes, yes, of course.”

“You’ll have to leave now, miss. He’s not allowed visitors. Boss’s orders.” One of the guards has stepped forward and is ready to escort me out.

“Yes, I’m going. Sorry, sorry to have bothered you, Megan.”

She bows her head and watches me leave, the guard on my heels. Out in the waiting area, he asks if I want to drop in on Nataliya, so I thank him and pop my head around her door.

“Are you up to visitors?”

“Oh, yes. Come in.”

I spend a tense ten minutes or so making conversation, most of which is dominated by her account of her recent ordeal. Any doubts I might have had regarding Adan’s part in the rescue are dispelled. Nataliya is singing his praises. Well, croaking them. He really is a hero, and she’s keen for everyone to know it.

“I was so scared. I was trying to drag Andrej out, but I just couldn’t and… I don’t know what I’d have done if he hadn’t come.”

“Did you tell Ethan that?”

“Yes, yes, I think I did.”

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