Page 162 of Coveted

“I’ll send you a copy of Parker’s journal, along with the progress we’ve made on deciphering the code,” I say to the detectives. “My cousin might be able to tell us Worthington’s motive from beyond the grave.”

“Thank you, Mr. Hale. That’s all for now.”

Around dinnertime, a nurse wheels in a tray set with food and juice for Sadie. He checks her IV and leaves the tray on the over-bed table, before nodding to me and leaving us again.

The soft beeps of the machines subtly increase.

I sit forward, alert.

Wake up, Sadie. Please wake up.

Behind her closed eyelids, her eyes start moving. Her heart rate on the monitor becomes stronger and her toes squirm beneath the blanket.

She inhales deeply and her eyelids flutter open.

For a few moments, she stares straight at the ceiling and blinks, like she’s only halfway back to reality.

Then she licks her swollen, bruised lips and frowns.

“Sadie,” I say quietly, not wanting to startle her.

Her head lolls to the left to face me. The second her eyes find mine, something inside my chest finally unclenches.

Her voice comes out in a croak. “Hey.”

“Hey.”

“You look rough.”

I chuckle. “I’m sure I do.”

She gingerly lifts an arm to inspect the bruising. “Not like me. I bet I look a million bucks.”

The movement seems to tire her, her arm falling back to the bed.

“Are you in pain?” I ask.

“No,” she says eventually, seeming distracted.

Her frown has returned, her eyes unfocused and shifting minutely, like she’s reliving something.

“You’re okay,” I say, to interrupt any troubling lines of thought.

“You came for me,” she says. “I thought I was dead, but you came for me.”

The sentence is barely audible, like she still can’t quite believe it.

“Always,” I say.

Her gray gaze locks onto me. “He’s gone?”

“He’s gone. I don’t want you to worry about that now though. Any of it.”

“But Lucan.” She swallows thickly. “There’s something you need to know. Your whole family does.”

“It can wait. Please rest.”

“I need to get it out,” she says. “To tell someone. You’re her family, you should know.”