the night.
He wanted to reach Blackwood Ridge before anyone had time to prepare a story.
He wanted to find Luke and Reid before they found a lawyer, a police officer, or another relative willing to call brutality a misunderstanding.
For one terrible minute, he imagined giving them the confrontation they expected.
Then he thought of Anna in a hospital bed, waiting to learn whether her father would come home as her protector or become another problem she had to survive.
Ronald chose the harder form of strength.
He began making calls.
Twelve hours later, he entered the hospital carrying a paper coffee cup he had forgotten to drink.
The corridor smelled of antiseptic, overheated plastic, and burnt coffee from a vending station near the elevators.
A supply cart squeaked past him.
A monitor pulsed softly behind a half-closed door.
Dr. Megan Foster met him outside Anna’s room and did
