Page 107 of Girl Lost
She opened her eyes, looking at the faces around her—the team that had become her family. Each one bore the marks of their pasts but also the light of hope and the strength of their bond.
Stryker lay still, his chest rising and falling in a steady rhythm. Tubes and wires seemed to sprout from every inch of his body.His face, usually so animated and full of life, was slack and pale. But she could feel the healing energy in the room. An almost tangible force born of love, faith, and the power of prayer. For the first time, she allowed herself to believe that Stryker would truly be okay.
“I remember when I first met Stryker.” Harlee’s fingers stroked his hair. “He looked at me like I was the most precious thing in the world.”
A sad smile tugged at Tori’s lips. “He never stopped looking at you that way, carnalita.”
“Even when I was at my worst,” Blade said, “he never gave up on me.”
Stryker had never given up on anyone, had he? Not on Trinity, not on any of them. He’d been the one constant in their traumatic worlds. The steady rock they could all lean on. And now...
The door opened with a soft click, and the doctor stepped in. Luna straightened, her body tensing as if preparing for a fight.
“Hello, I’m Dr. Shannon, the attending neurologist for Mr. King. I understand you all are his family?” The doctor, her soft brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, her round eyes kind and concerned, glanced from one person to the next. She wore a white lab coat over dark blue scrubs, her name badge clipped to the pocket.
“Pleasure to meet you, Doctor,” Jett said. “What can you tell us about his condition?”
“Mr. King remains critical. The edema is still a major concern. We’ve induced a coma to give his brain a chance to heal, but I must warn you—even if he wakes up, there may be long-term effects we can’t predict at this stage.”
Luna heard the words, understood their meaning, but they felt distant, as if they were being spoken about someone else. Not Stryker. Not the man who had risked everything to save Trinity, who had stood by them all, through thick and thin.
As Dr. Shannon continued to explain the intricacies of Stryker’s condition, Luna felt a familiar weight settle in her chest. Guilt. If she hadn’t triggered those events at the research center, if she had been faster, smarter, better...
She blinked hard, forcing back the tears that threatened to spill. This wasn’t about her. This was about Stryker, about the price he’d paid for their freedom. The cost of Dr. Forest’s twisted ambitions.
The doctor left, and the room once again fell into a heavy silence. Luna felt suffocated by it, by the grief and fear that hung in the air like a tangible thing. She closed her eyes and offered another silent prayer for Stryker’s healing. The peace she’d felt earlier that morning seemed harder to grasp now, but she reached for it anyway.
“He wouldn’t want us to lose hope,” Corbin said, his gaze sweeping over the group. “Stryker’s faith was always his strength. And you were right before, Luna. We need to have faith and trust God now, not just ourselves.”
Faith. The word resonated differently now than it had just days ago. Her own rekindled faith had given her strength through this nightmare, even if it still felt fragile at times.
Corbin was right—Stryker wouldn’t want them to give up hope. And neither would God. She was learning, step by uncertain step, to trust him again after all this time.
Corbin wrapped an arm around her. For a moment, they just stood there, watching Stryker breathe.
“I know what you’re thinking,” Corbin said. “This isn’t your fault.”
Her quiet laugh was sharp and bitter. “Isn’t it? If I hadn’t—”
“If you hadn’t what? Tried to find our daughter?” Corbin faced her now. “Luna, you did the best thing. You brought down a corrupt organization. Saved Trinity and Stryker. You found our daughter.”
Our daughter. Summer. The child they had given up all thoseyears ago was now back in their lives, carrying the weight of her own guilt and confusion.
Luna glanced at the faces of her friends gathered around Stryker. There was no judgment there, no accusation. Just understanding and ... Corbin. Watching her like she was the only person in the room.
37
CORBIN SHIFTEDinthe leather chair in the commissioner’s office,wincing atthe streak of pain shooting through his body. A littleover a month later,and his injuries still nagged athim. Luna sat close,her presence grounding him ina way nothing else could. Her hand brushed his,areassurance of support after everything they’d been through. Everything they’d overcome.
The past several weeks had turned his world inside out, leaving him adrift in a sea of change, but Tinch’s office remained exactly the same. Actually, something was different. The air felt lighter, tinged with a weariness that seemed to emanate from Commissioner Tinch himself. Gone was the fiery determination that had driven Tinch to push so hard for answers about Carlie. In its place sat a man worn down by grief and the weight of his position. Corbin recognized the look. He’d seen it in his own eyes often enough.
“Agent King,” Tinch began, his voice lacking its usual bite, “you’ve been cleared of any wrongdoing in the deaths of Jed Steven Kaplow and Jason Cossic.”
Kaplow, aka Steve, who attacked him at the skate park and who later was shot with Corbin’s own service weapon at the marina when he’d used his body as a shield. Cossic, the man he’d calledHitch, electrocuted in the data vault. The memory of that night flashed through his mind, vivid and visceral.
He nodded, not trusting his voice. The deaths may have been justified, may have saved their lives, but that didn’t make them any easier to bear.
“We’ve also confirmed that Kaplow and his men were behind the arson at Abercorn’s house,” Tinch added. “Abercorn’s plea agreement revealed he’d sold the Tasers directly to Kaplow. Forensics matched the accelerant used in the fire to some found at Chiron. It was a direct attempt to eliminate a potential witness.”
