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"How is she sitting?"

"I’ve got her laid out on the front bench" The car was a little larger than nor s so that people would be able to view us at one of the scheduled stops

"Prop her up and bend her knees some We want her heart to work as little as possible"

"Got it" Yanking ht jacket off I tucked it under her head and then lifted her feet; scooting them back so her knees were bent

"Good We’re not far from the hospital" Jameson told me

"What else should I do?" I found Selene’s hand and squeezed it Her palms were claht before my eyes at any minute

"You’ve done all you can at this point" There was a muffled sound as Jameson spoke to someone in his car "Mark, take the next turn The authorities have cleared that one-way road for us"

"Tell them thank you" I said the words automatically It wasn’t that I didn’t appreciate their help, but thatthatSelene taken care of, and quickly

"Please hang in there" I brushed the hair out of her face "You’re going to be fine You’re too tough to let soet you down Okay?"

"Fine" Her voice was so weak I could barely make out the word, but I knehat she meant She’d be fine Selene was always fine

God, please let her be okay

ELEVEN

THE WAITING ROOM was bright and cheerful Flowers sat on every table, surrounded byand health and fitness Paintings of beautiful places lined the walls in an atte helpless

I wanted to rip every painting off the wall and stonizable

Helpless was not a place I liked to be I’d rather have been in the operating roo back and forth between a painting of an Irish cliff and the i me from his seat with a worried look, and that irritatedat me like that?"