“Where is she?” he demands once she’s gone.

“Just sit down for a minute.”

Hector’s eyes dart past me, scanning up and down the hall as if he can’t wrap his head around anything but Cameron. He brought his sister here, carried her until his arms cried out with fatigue, but now he’s a stranger again. No one knows who he is except me.

“How did you end up in the woods, Hector? I was pretty shocked to see you there.”

“I’ve been going crazy lately, not knowing how to help. I was in my car across from the sheriff’s office when I saw all the patrol cars light up and race out of town. So I followed you. I guess that’s not cool, but it turned out okay, right? I got to her in time.”

“You did,” I say, knowing exactly how much those words mean. “She’s been through a lot, but it could have been so much worse. Her ribs are badly bruised, and she has torn ligaments in her shoulder. She’ll need surgery, but I’m sure she’ll come through just fine. She’s a fighter, right?”

He nods, and then his pupils narrow to pinpoints. “Did he…hurt her?”

From the pressure he’s put on the word, how he can’t quite make himself say what he means, I know he’s asking if Cameron was raped. I wish that there was some way to spare him the truth, but it’s too late for that. All I can do is nod slowly while his face contracts. Raw pain becoming fury and then despair.

“What can I do for her?” he asks in an anguished way.

“Oh, Hector. I’m so sorry. Right now we have to let the doctors take over. You’ll have to be patient, if you can. The healing process will be very involved for her. But if you really love your sister, and I know you do, you won’t get in the way or force your own feelings on her. In time, though, she should know who you are. You hold all those memories. You can give back that part of her life to her.”

His eyes glass over and he swallows hard. “That guy who took her, he’s still on the loose.”

“He is. But we’re going to catch him.”

“You can’t expect me just to sit here.” He’s clenching his fists so tightly they whiten at the knuckles. “Not while he could turn up here or hurt someone else.”

“He can’t get to Cameron here. We’ve placed armed officers outside her room, and no one is going to leave her unprotected for a moment. I promise you that.”

He just sits there, his whole body seeming to tick. I recognize what’s driving him now, that if he doesn’t take some sort of action, he’s going to fly apart.