Chapter 370
[ 512 words ]
Chapter 370:
Caroline looked at her friend, at the fierce loyalty in her eyes, and felt a wave of gratitude so strong it almost brought her to tears. She knew Brenna was right. If she collapsed, she would be useless to everyone. She needed to rest. She needed to regroup.
“Okay,” she whispered, her voice hoarse with exhaustion. “Okay. Just… don’t let anyone in that room. Please.”
“I’ll guard it with my life,” Brenna said with a small, determined smile.
Caroline nodded, a weight lifting from her shoulders. She made her way to the locker room, her body moving on autopilot. She changed out of her scrubs and walked out of the hospital into the bright morning sun. The light was blinding, making her eyes ache.
𝗝𝗈𝗂𝘯 t𝗵𝘦 𝘤o𝗺m𝘂ո𝗶𝘁𝘆 а𝘵 𝗴𝘢l𝗻𝗈𝘃еl𝗌.𝖼o𝗺
She didn’t know how she was going to get through this. But for the first time in twenty-four hours, she didn’t feel completely alone.
Caroline walked through the hospital parking lot, her car keys clutched in her hand. The sunlight felt harsh, abrasive. Each step toward her old Honda Civic felt like it was weighted with lead. All she wanted was to crawl into bed and pull the covers over her head, to block out the world for a few hours.
As she approached her car, a long, black Cadillac Escalade pulled up beside her, its engine a low, powerful hum. It moved with a silent, predatory grace that was utterly out of place among the sensible sedans and minivans.
The tinted passenger window slid down. K.C. Bell, Jarrod’s ever-present, stone-faced subordinate, looked out at her.
Caroline’s heart skipped a beat. A wild, foolish flicker of hope ignited in her chest. Jarrod. Was he back?
K.C. got out of the driver’s seat. He was dressed in his usual tactical pants and a dark polo shirt, his posture ramrod straight. He walked around the front of the vehicle and opened the rear passenger door for her.
“Ms. Thompson,” he said, his voice a respectful, low rumble. “The Colonel sent me to pick you up.”
The flicker of hope died, leaving a familiar ache of disappointment in its place. It wasn’t him.
“Pick me up?” she asked, her voice wary. “For what?”
“He instructed me to take you to the Romero Estate. He said it’s more secure. And that you need proper rest, not to be alone right now.”
Her first instinct was to refuse. The last thing she wanted was to be in that cold, cavernous house, a guest in a life that wasn’t hers. But K.C.’s next words stopped her.
“It was a direct order, ma’am.”
The mention of Jarrod, the thought that even from thousands of miles away, he was thinking of her, trying to take care of her—it broke through her exhaustion. She was too tired to fight. She slid into the plush leather of the back seat without another word.
The SUV pulled smoothly out of the parking lot. Caroline leaned her head against the cool window, watching the familiar streets of D.C. blur past. The silence in the car was heavy, but not uncomfortable.
“When… when is he coming back?” she asked, her voice barely a whisper.
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