The cool fluid trickled into my mouth, providing welcome relief.

“Thanks,” I said when I’d had enough. “Where are we?”

His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed. “You were shot in the shoulder, but you’re safe now. We’re in Christchurch Hospital.”

“Christchurch?” Just how much had I missed? It was a good five- or six-hour drive from Queenstown to Christchurch.

“We flew here,” he explained, as if reading my mind. “They wanted you to have the best possible medical care, and the smaller hospitals wouldn’t have been as well equipped.”

I started to nod, but my head ached. “Tyler?”

“Hopefully he’ll be thrown in prison.” The voice came from my other side. With difficulty, I turned my head and saw Blair sitting in an identical chair. Relief filled my chest.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” I told him. “I wasn’t sure what he’d done to you.”

“Apparently he hid in the bathroom and waited for me to come in, then drugged me,” Blair said. His tone was dull, his expression tortured. “I was fine when I woke. A bit woozy, a bit nauseous, but that’s all.” His lips pressed into a grim line. “I’m so sorry, Kenz. I was supposed to protect you, and I failed completely.”

I reached for his hand but couldn’t stretch far enough. Fortunately, he noticed and scooted closer. “It’s not your fault. He was clever.”

“I should have known there was a monster hiding beneath that nice-guy exterior,” Blair insisted.

My heart clenched. I hated that he was beating himself up over this.

“I didn’t see it either,” I reminded him. “He was good at disguising himself. I never would have guessed he was the one behind everything.”

Blair grimaced. “There were signs.”

“You blaming yourself doesn’t change what happened,” I said as sternly as I could—which was, in fact, quite weakly. “So do me a favor and cut it out.”

One side of his mouth hitched up. “Good to see that getting shot didn’t make you less of a mom.”

“Nothing could do that.” I was pleased when his lips curled into a slight smile. I turned back to Liam, wincing at the pounding in my head. Was it the drugs that had done that? Getting shot? Or had I simply hit the ground a little too hard when I fell? I had a vague memory of going face-first into the dirt. “You got the letter?” I reached for Liam’s hand.

“I did.” His smile was gentle. “That was clever of you. We were able to narrow the search based on your phone’s location.”

“Good.” I’d never been sure if I’d successfully activated the tracker or not. “So, what happened after Tyler drugged me?”

Blair and Liam exchanged a glance.