Page 92 of Sheltered

I looked down at the ground, the images from Harlow’s salon flashing before my eyes. When I returned my attention to her mom, I admitted, “I don’t know. The thought that she won’t survive is far too much to bear, so I want to believe she’ll make it. But she lost a lot of blood. It seems impossible.”

“Do you know who did this to her?” Gary questioned me.

I dipped my chin. “We do now, and my team is working on locating that individual as we speak.”

With that news, silence fell over the room.

And as more time passed, nobody said a word.

Eventually, I joined Harlow’s family by taking a seat across the room from them. I dropped my head into my hands, feeling like I had the weight of the world on my shoulders.

A few minutes later, I felt someone’s hand on my shoulder.

Lifting my head, I saw her brother standing there. He sat down beside me and said, “My sister is strong. She’s going to fight, and she’s going to come back to us.”

I desperately wanted to believe him.

I didn’t doubt just how strong Harlow was. I just wasn’t sure how much she could have been expected to endure.

“I hope you’re right.”

“I am. I have to be. None of us will survive without her. And from what I’m seeing, that especially includes you.”

A rush of air left my lungs as I sighed. Then I gave him a nod of appreciation.

And we all returned to the silence as the minutes ticked by until, finally, the door opened, and the doctor walked in.

TWENTY-FIVE

Blaze

“Only two at a time.”

Those had been the words the doctor said before escorting Harlow’s parents out of the waiting room to where their daughter was lying in a hospital bed.

She was alive.

She’d survived.

And she was expected to make a full recovery.

As it turned out, Harlow had suffered those two gunshot wounds. The one to her leg was, surprisingly, the one that was likely to cause her the most trouble in her rehabilitation. Fortunately, no major arteries or veins had been hit.

By some miracle, the gunshot wound to the head was the best-case scenario. The bullet had glanced off her skull. It resulted in a significant amount of blood loss, and it was likely Harlow was going to experience a colossal headache, but no other significant damage had been done.

She was resting now, and we could visit with her, but only two people could be there at one time.

So, her parents went first.

And more waiting was akin to torture.

God, I just wanted to see her. To hold her and kiss her and promise to do better in everything for her.

But since I had to wait, I couldn’t have been more grateful than to see Huck and Greyson walk in. Forrest and I moved in their direction.

“What’s going on?” I asked.

“How’s Harlow?” Huck returned.