Ash slammed through the swinging door and came to an abrupt halt.
Faith lay on the bed, her face even paler than usual, her eyes closed, her lashes dark shadows against her skin.
She was hooked up to some sort of intravenous drip, and she looked so small and helpless that the rage built inside him. He wanted to smash whoever had done this into tiny pieces.
“Hey, get a grip.”
Ash glanced away from Faith to see Ryan standing on the other side of the bed, his brows drawn together in a frown.
“You’re eyes have gone all demonic,” Ryan said. “You might want to calm down before anyone else notices.”
Ash gritted his teeth, took a deep breath…
“She’s going to be all right.”
Some of the tension left him. He moved farther into the room and halted by the bed. For a woman who came across as so tough and in control, he kept seeing Faith vulnerable, and he didn’t like it. Didn’t like the way it made him feel as though he needed to protect her and had no clue how.
He’d been in the Abyss, catching up on some chores—he had a lot of people who relied on him down there and he’d been neglecting his work—and got back to find a message from Ryan saying he was at the hospital with Faith. Ash had immediately thought it must be related to the headache she’d had the other night. Perhaps she’d blacked out again.
He’d rushed over here, not really knowing why, but not slowing down long enough to think about it. Now, he noticed that the sheet was folded down, revealing the faint curve of her breasts and the white bandage wrapped around her.
“What happened?” he asked.
“I’m not sure,” Ryan replied. “She was shot. That’s all I know. I was contacted because she has me down as next of kin.”
“She has no family?”
“None that I know of. She’s lost a lot of blood, but she should be fine.”
Something occurred to Ash. “She was meeting Tara and Roz this evening.”
“Tell me something I don’t fucking know.” Ryan took a deep breath and visibly pulled himself together. “Roz is in the next room, unconscious. But she’s fine, just drugged. The doctor said she should wake with no effects. The same with the two guards on duty.”
“And Tara?”
Ryan glanced away. “We don’t know.”
“What the hell do you mean ‘we don’t know’?”
Ryan took another deep breath; whatever it was he was about to say, he didn’t want to say it. “I think she was taken. I think it was a very neat setup.”
Fear gnawed at Ash’s insides. He’d only recently found his daughter. He couldn’t lose her. “Why would they take Tara?”
“I don’t know. Maybe they came for Roz and took the wrong woman. We’ll know more when Roz or Faith wakes up.”
Ash paced the room. He couldn’t stand the waiting. Outside darkness had fallen. No doubt, Piers and Christian would be here soon and then all hell would break loose.
Literally, if he didn’t keep himself together.
He needed to be strong, stay focused, but he could feel the darkness pulling him. If anything happened to Tara, he would rip those responsible into pieces and cast them into the darkest corners of the Abyss.
A movement in the doorway made him glance up. Roz stood, leaning against the frame for support. Though she was pale, there was no other sign of damage, so at least they wouldn’t have to deal with a demented Piers. Just a demented Christian. Shit, this was going to be bad.
“Is she okay?” Roz asked.
“She will be.” Ryan gave her a curious glance. “Can you heal her, well enough to get her awake?”
Roz stepped closer, but a small frown played across her face. “I don’t like to without permission.”
“Come on, Roz, she’s unconscious and we need her awake. We need to find Tara.”
Roz came to an abrupt standstill and whirled around to face him. “You mean Tara’s not at home safe—I thought she must be.”
“No. We don’t know where she is.”
Roz squeezed her eyes shut. “Oh God. They took Tara? But why? I thought they were after me. I didn’t…” She stumbled the last steps to the bed, sank down beside Faith, and studied her for a moment, before resting her hand, palm down against the bandage.
White, glowing light pulsed between them. Almost immediately, some of the color returned to Faith’s face. Her lashes fluttered, and Roz jumped to her feet and took a step back. Ash took her place by Faith’s side.
After a few seconds, her eyes flickered open. Panic flared for a moment, and then her gaze settled on Ash and the fear faded. “What happened?”
“You were shot. How do you feel?”
Her brows drew together and she peered down at her bandaged shoulder. “I was shot?”
“You were,” Ryan said. “Very careless of you.”
She glanced around the room taking in Ryan leaning against the wall and Roz hovering by the door.
“Oh God, Tara.”
“What happened, Faith?” Ash tried to keep his voice calm, but he needed to know.