numb, stuck on a loop of Preston's "good girl" and her mother's triumphant s
hospital, her phone buz
ICU is locked down
he day before. The guards at the end of the hall were different-bigger, meaner, carr
the door to Ro
n, was standing by the bed, whispering
e on edge. His hands were clasped behind his back, the knuckles whi
ooked up as
charged with an unspoken tension. Dr. Adler looked nervous, shi
aring his throat. "The Colonel was ju
es on the screens. She could feel Jarrod's gaze on her, heavy and assessing. It was the
ted," Jarrod said, his voice low. "He's to
sedation, his pain levels w
t him off, his tone leaving no room for argu
allowed hard
stopped. He was close enough that she could smell him again-cedar,
ere unreadable, but there was an inten
se," he said quietly.
icked shut behind him, and Ca
m, suddenly paranoid. The walls have ears? Wa
Petersen was watching her, his eyes cle
He's... decisive. You just do your job, and he'll handle the r
tersen had already closed his eyes, his
ldier and a cryptic warning from a terrifying colonel, she realized she might be drawing cl
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