The Officer's Runaway Wife & Secret Son novel Chapter 309

The private room was quiet. Rhys leaned against the headboard, the drawing smoothed out on his lap, his eyes tracing its lines over and over.

Daniel stood by the window, unable to resist a jab. "It's just a drawing. You've been staring at it for an hour."

Rhys didn't even look at him.

Daniel felt a twinge of regret for his earlier harsh words. "The doctor said you have a long recovery ahead. You should probably request an extended leave from the team."

Rhys mumbled an acknowledgment, his gaze never leaving the paper.

...

By the time they got back to Harbor Loop, Eloise had already made dinner. Simon peeked out to greet them, scooping Felix into his arms. "How did it go?"

Clara got out of the car, avoiding the question. "You guys take Felix and eat first. I need to talk to Noah."

Clara's mom saw the look on her daughter's face and knew something was wrong. She shot Simon a meaningful glance, and they coaxed the boy toward the dining room.

As they passed the cat tree, Felix squirmed out of his arms and crouched down to pet the kitten.

"Orange, you have to grow up fast, or you won't be worthy of the person who saved your life."

Clara looked down at the small, furry ball.

All for this.

Emily saw Clara return but didn't dare speak. Thankfully, Clara didn't ask her anything else, simply averting her gaze and heading straight for the study.

Noah stood where he was, rubbing his thumb over the car key before following her.

The study door closed, and he pulled out a chair to sit.

"What do you want to ask?" he said calmly, as if he'd been expecting this.

Clara began, "At the hospital just now, you said he was in rough shape from old injuries."

"That's right."

"What old injuries? How do you know about them?"

Noah said, "Clara, you saw his scars last night when I was treating his wound. He has a lot of them."

After what happened with Emily, Clara wasn't buying it.

"Tell me the truth. Did you know something back in Brighton City, too?"

"I don't know the specific details. But the burns on his back cover a large area. Scar tissue like that impairs the skin's ability to sweat, which means he has poor body temperature regulation."

Noah stood up and walked over to her, his hand hovering over her chest.

"The serious damage is to his lungs. Inhalation injuries. Explosions produce high-temperature smoke and toxic gases. His lungs are full of irreversible fibrotic lesions."

"In other words, a bad cold or an infection that would mean pills and a shot for a normal person could mean pneumonia or even organ failure for him."

"The reason he got sick and developed a fever so quickly wasn't just because of the rain. It's because his body was already compromised."

Clara's throat felt dry. Her mind was filled with the image of the vibrant, high-spirited Rhys from four years ago.

Last night, her mother had asked if all SWAT officers had to suffer so much.

He had said, "More or less. Depends on your luck."

What did he consider lucky?

Just being alive?

"Four years ago..." Clara murmured, repeating the timeframe. "November 20th."