Page 162 of Lady and the Hitman
“They both came,” I said quickly. “It’s okay.”
She nodded, too upset to question.
We sat. And waited.
The men hovered nearby, both refusing to leave. Ronan paced. Trevor fetched water. Ronan spoke to the nurse at the desk, demanding updates. Trevor texted my mom’s neighbor to feed her cat. They were opposites—one coiled and dangerous, the other gentle and composed—but both, in their own ways, were trying to be there for me.
I didn’t know how to process it.
Didn’t know what to feel.
I just sat between them, a woman divided.
Ronan finally returned from the nurses’ station andcrouched beside me. “They’re stabilizing him. They’ll let family back soon.”
I nodded, tears welling again.
He touched my knee—gentle, grounding. “I’m not going anywhere.”
Trevor watched from his seat, arms crossed over his chest.
My mom looked between them, eyes clouded with confusion. “Zara … are you seeing both of them?”
The question was a blade straight through my chest.
“No,” I said quickly. “It’s … complicated.”
My mom didn’t press. She just reached for my hand.
It was another twenty minutes before the nurse finally returned.
“You can come back now,” she said.
My mother stood.
“I’ll go with her,” I said.
Trevor stood, too.
Ronan didn’t hesitate. “I’m coming.”
The nurse looked skeptical, but I nodded. “It’s okay. Please.”
She led us down a hall lined with beeping machines and closed doors. The fluorescent lights made everything feel surreal—like we were walking into a dream we couldn’t wake from.
My father lay in the bed, pale and still, an oxygen cannula beneath his nose. His eyes were closed, but the heart monitor beside him beeped steady.
“Dad,” I whispered.
He stirred slightly.
“Oh, my God,” my mom said, clinging to his hand.
I stepped closer and took his other one. “I’m here. We’re all here.”
Ronan hovered behind me, watchful. Trevor stayed near the door, respectful but close.
It was too much.
