Lara’s head felt as if it were splitting open even before she managed to pry her eyes open. A steady pounding pulsed behind her eyes and with each beat came splintering pain that was only made worse by the brightness of the white-walled room. She closed her eyes tightly against the brightness but Greg must have seen her open eyes before she’d shut them again.
“Lara?” his too-loud voice asked.
She flinched at the sound and lifted her stiff and heavy arm and pressed her hand to her forehead.
“I’m here, Lara. You’re okay,” Greg said in a thankfully much quieter voice. His fingers squeezed around her clammy hand. “It’s over now.”
His words reminded her of why she had woken up in a hospital room, and bile rose in her throat. The images that she’d seen of Jackson and the dark-haired stra
