Chapter 994

Falcon’s men just crumpled to the floor, sobbing and begging for mercy. Connor
didn’t even look at them. He just kept walking, Lydia held tight in his arms, headed straight for the helipad. Those guys had done so much evil, they deserved way worse than death.
The next time Lydia woke up, she was in the best hospital in town. Not only was Connor there, but Garrett was too. Connor had been so worried about the poison and Lydia’s injuries that he’d called Garrett right away. Garrett looked like he hadn’t slept at all. Lydia was so pale, lying there in that hospital bed, and he would’ve traded places with her in a heartbeat. If Lydia hadn’t had such a strong body, and if she hadn’t taken those antidote pills and medicine to repair her organs, Garrett didn’t even want to think about how bad things could have gotten. The poison was under control for now, but it could come back at any time. Garrett was seriously freaked out.
When Lydia opened her eyes, both Connor and Garrett let out a breath of relief.
“Lydia!”
“Lydia!”
She glanced at their anxious faces and tried to joke, her voice barely more than a scratch. “Don’t worry, I’m not planning to die.”
The truth was, the pain from her wound was still sharp, the poison burning through her, but she kept it to herself.
Garrett’s eyes were full of worry and guilt. “Lydia, I already sent your blood sample to Kevin back home. Just focus on getting better. We’re going to find an antidote as fast as we can.”
The poison in Lydia was complicated, almost weird. But no matter what, they were going to find a cure.
Lydia nodded. “I trust you guys. And even if you can’t do it, I’m still here. If Miracle Hands dies, I’d ruin my own reputation, right?”
Connor could tell she was only saying that to make them feel better. He and Garrett had already talked about it last night. The poison was super strong and aggressive. Finding a cure was going to be really tough.
Garrett frowned. “You are going to live a long, long life.”
“Yeah, Lydia has to live to be a hundred,” Connor added, trying to smile.
Lydia gave them a small, tired smile. Then she looked up. “Where’s Luke?” Suddenly, the room went silent.
Lydia’s brows knitted, dread creeping in. “Is he badly hurt?”
She was sure she’d heard Falcon say last night that Luke was on the cruise ship.
Connor and Garrett shared a heavy glance.
“What’s with that look? What does it mean?” Lydia sat up in bed so fast she yanked at her wound. The pain was intense, but she forced herself not to show it. Still, her face went even paler.
“Lydia, please, try to stay calm.” Garrett looked like he wanted to say more, but couldn’t get the words out.
Connor couldn’t meet her eyes. He didn’t want to lie to Lydia, but he just couldn’t say it out loud either. She was too smart to be fooled anyway.
Lydia stared at both of them, her heart sinking. She already knew, but she still needed to hear it. “Did something happen to him?”
Her voice was barely there, suddenly so fragile. The Lydia who never seemed afraid of anything was scared now.
Connor’s hands curled into fists. He
stared at Lydia, saw that she already guessed the truth but couldn’t accept it, and he finally spoke, slow and heavy. “Luke’s injuries were really bad. His organs got infected. By the time we found him he was already gone. He wasn’t breathing.”
The truth was, Luke’s situation had been even worse than that. Connor couldn’t hear to describe it. Just thinking about it made his stomach turn. He didn’t want Lydia to have to picture it too.
Lydia’s eyes widened, and her hands grabbed tight onto the sheets.
Garrett was desperate to comfort her. “Lydia, you did everything you could. It was ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ
those monsters who did this. They killed Luke, not you.”
He barely finished before Lydia suddenly coughed up blood, unable to hold it back.
“Lydia!” Connor shouted, panic in his voice. He rushed to her side, trying to calm her down. “Lydia, I promise, the people who hurt Luke won’t get away with it. We’ll make them pay. We’ll get justice for him.”