Jax rubbed a firm circle in the center of her forehead and turned back to her work. She fiddled with a design, shifting images and changing text over and over, but nothing looked right. Nothing felt right. Jax’s gut twisted with an odd unease she had never felt before. The fine hairs on the back of her neck stood at attention. Her palms began to sweat, and her chest felt heavy. What was wrong with her?

She started at her phone’s vibration. She stared at it, foreboding bubbling up through her stomach into her throat. Jax was afraid to read Amanda’s message. Her heart pounded as she unlocked her screen.

They’re stopping the pentobarbital.

Jax remembered the name from their early days in the hospital, but she could not remember what stopping the drug would do or why they would want to.

What does this mean? She shot the message to Amanda and stared, unwavering, at her screen. Anything less than an immediate response was unacceptable. Do they think she’ll wake up?

I don’t know.

Jax frowned. What did the scan show?

I don’t know.

What do you— She stilled her thumbs. Fighting with Amanda wasn’t going to solve anything, give her answers, or get her to the hospital any faster. She deleted the words and typed again. I’ll be right there.

Jax grabbed her scarf and jacket. She popped her head into Randy’s office and said, “I have to go to the hospital. Send me an email with anything important from the meeting.” She didn’t give him a second to answer before running out the door. She really did not care if Randy fired her.

Her jacket was only halfway on when she climbed into her truck and started the ignition. With midafternoon traffic, it should only take twenty-seven minutes to get to the hospital. Jax hoped the cops had better places to be than Route 18.

She pulled into the parking garage in just under twenty-two minutes. Her moves were graceless as she stumbled to her feet and rushed to the entrance. Sweat was beading her upper lip by the time she turned the corner to Gretchen’s room. Amanda greeted her arrival with wide eyes. Caleb looked just as alarmed.

“Hey,” Jax said breathlessly. She heaved air in and out while gripping her side to alleviate a very painful cramp. She really, really needed to get back to the gym. “Did they stop the meds? What’s going on?”

“Yes, you maniac. Please sit down before you scare people into thinking you should be admitted.” Amanda offered her a drink and Jax waved her off. “And they’re weaning her from the ventilator.”

“Now what?”

“We wait.”

“All we’ve been doing is waiting!” Jax’s voice carried and Caleb flinched. She collected herself and took a deep breath. “Sorry.”

Amanda narrowed her eyes at Jax, but after a moment her hard expression softened. “She’s still unconscious, but now we can hope she wakes up soon.”

Jax looked at Caleb, who was playing with plastic dinosaurs. “Is there a chance?”