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"Hi again," I said, and he nodded, letting us into their room I looked from hi favor of you"

"What?" Claire asked

"Can you watch Emily?"

"What?" This ti "Noooooooooooooo," she began yelling, in an air-raid-siren squeal

"I’ed?" Claire asked, with a sideways glance towardbelly

"He said he’d be back by now He’s not" I realized that for anyone who didn’t know Asher or ht sound foolish, but--"My fiancé He’s never made a promise he didn’t keep"

Claire frowned "It’s probably not safe yet, dear--"

But as it safe for? Waiting around wasn’t going to change anything, not while people were acting crazy and flinging the to do so about it, there’d be a fleet of helicopters overhead by now, airlifting us off

So the Maraschino as his personal petri dish--and Asher’s attempt to stop him hadn’t worked It was up to s out

"I’ll be careful," I said, before she could dear-ain I held my room key out to her "There’s plenty of food in n of trouble" E

"Why does everyone always leave me?" she yelled, each word louder than the last

She didn’t know the half of it But I steeledher family back--I needed to find the other half of ht I’ll keep the girl here" She reached out and took the key froht spot"

I was shaking my head before she could finish the words "I believe you, but I’s in a rush I appreciated your help earlier and your help now, but--"

Claire frowned--she was unused to being told no All the sa elderly ht slow me down on my search "Your loss," she warned "Do you at least have a plan?"

I nodded As plans went, it wasn’t a great one, but it counted "I’ ful Even though I kneasn’t sounfairness of her situation, it h to stop and console her, but bad

I let myself out of Hal and Claire’s rooate Liz--he ht still just be trapped down there by the quarantine for all I knew But given that Emily’s dad had been able to come up somehow, and that Asher ho he was--the chances that he’d been stopped byood a place as any to start figuring out what

I reached the stairhere t members were stationed outside "Hi I’m a nurse I caht"

The crew ave ht I ht have whatever it was But I’ive the man a trustworthy smile

It worked He s if they still needed help He leaned forward so his voice wouldn’t carry far "I don’t want to worry you, o down there if I were you"

The radio in his coworker’s hand crackled to life in response "Send theetic smile "Too late"

I walked down the central stair unescorted, although at each landing crew uards waved me on, until I reached the third floor

"The hospital’s down that way," one of theuessed from the smell My stomach lurched, and I pressed a hand to it to calm it Not now, baby Luckily no one else was there to seea big mistake What if I did come dohatever it was? I’d trusted in my nurse’s immune syste, and I certainly didn’t want to hurt our child But if Asher hadn’t co nancy test that the medical office was on the first floor, and I also knew from that short trip that there’d be no way they’d have been able to fit everyone as ill downstairs As the ser, my path became more familiar, and I remembered that the medical staff had commandeered a restaurant The Dolphin Where Asher and I had eaten breakfast just two days ago

The entrance to the restaurant was partitioned off with freestanding curtains like they use in waiting rooe They created a small room and blocked the view of the restaurant beyond, but they couldn’t keep out the s

There was a table in the curtain-roonancy test sat behind it, papers scattered everywhere in front of hi copious notes--he looked like a cop near the end of a serial killer TV show: frantic, about to break

"Na up

"Edie Spence, room six thirty-one," I said

The doctor found e line "And you’re sure you’re not sick?" he asked, finally looking up at nition