Brent’s strong arms and ravaged face as she fell.

Brent!

He’d been close to the shooter too—and at least one more shot had been fired after the one she took.

Panic squeezed her heart.

“Where’s Brent?”

“Hey.” Cate gave an indignant sniff. “What are we, chopped liver?”

“And here I came racing in from outstate to see you.” Grace affected an insulted tone, but the squeeze of her fingers and her quick wink communicated affection rather than offense. “I could have gotten a speeding ticket.”

“I would have taken care of it for you, given the circumstances.”

“I know.” Grace smirked at Cate.

“Where’s Brent?” Eve tightened her grip on Grace’s fingers.

“Hey. Chill.” Grace motioned toward the door with her free hand. “He’s in the hall, taking another call. But for most of the time since you were brought up here, he’s been within touching distance of your bed.”

“So he’s not h-hurt?”

“No.”

Thank you, God.

“Did anyone else get injured?”

Grace motioned toward Cate.

Her older sister picked up the narrative. “Minor damage for the most part. What you’d expect when a large crowd gets unruly. The lowlife who went after you is the only one with serious damage, courtesy of two gunshot wounds inflicted by law enforcement. It’s fifty-fifty whether he makes it.” Cate’s expression hardened. “Right or wrong, I’m not wasting any prayers for recovery on his behalf.”

“Me neither.” Grace squeezed her fingers again. “You’re the one I care about.”

“But I’ll be okay, right?”

“Only by the grace of God.” Cate blinked away the out-of-character sheen in her eyes.

Uh-oh.

Eve braced for bad news.

“You’re scaring her, Cate.” Grace sent their eldest sibling a chiding look, then refocused on her. “Yes, you’ll be fine. The bullet clipped your liver and cracked a rib but didn’t hit any other major organs and there was no vascular damage. The liver laceration was grade III, and those don’t require surgery. However, there is bleeding, so they’ll be monitoring that until it stops. You’ll also be on bed rest for a while to avoid any more tearing and to prevent further blood loss. Did I cover it all?” She checked with Cate.

“Other than the entry and exit wounds. They cleaned them up and bandaged them. Those scars will be the only visible signs of today’s trauma. If the bullet had entered—or traveled—a couple of inches to the right, we’d be having a different conversation. Or not.”

In other words, she could have died.

A shiver ran through her.

Cate drew closer and laid a hand on her shoulder, gentling her voice. “It’s okay, Evie. Take a deep breath.”

Evie.

Her big sister hadn’t called her that since the day she broke up with her first high school crush and was certain the world had ended.