Annalise Stark, orphaned after losing her parents in the military, is desperate to find a way to pay off her sister's medical debts. She finds work at the palace, home to the infamous Prince William. Despite her efforts to ignore him, Annalise soon...
"She was powerful, not because she wasn't scared, but because she went on so strongly, despite the fear." ~Atticus
Mia
Will hadn't been joking.
Within half an hour, guards swarmed the hospital, standing outside every possible entrance, inside and outside the building. Helicopters patrolled above, snipers observed carefully from the roof, and police cruised the streets, searching for the culprit behind Annalise's attack.
It created hell for everyone else coming to the hospital to see my sister. Everly had to call Will from the entrance so she and the others could enter. Had she not been so worried about Annalise, I think she would've flown off the handle and chewed Will out.
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"I'm so sorry we're late!" Everly exclaimed, wrapping me in a hug. Mark stood behind her with Reid in his arms. "How's she doing? Any word?"
I shook my head, unable to reply. A knot decided to permanently lodge itself in my throat, making it impossible to talk. James, thankfully, spoke for me. "Anna's still in surgery. We don't know if any of the bullets are still lodged in her, but they hit some organs."
Mark paled, and I sidled up beside him, slipping my arm around him. He returned the gesture, squeezing me tightly.
"Oh goodness," Patty gasped, collapsing into a chair. Walt sat next to her, rubbing her back in an effort to comfort his wife. The Stewarts and Wallaces had much of the same reaction.
"How long have you been waiting?" Everly asked.
"About forty-five minutes," James said. "Will got here not much longer after we did, and we've been waiting to hear about her ever since."
"Oh god, I need to sit down..."
"I think we all do," Mark agreed, taking a seat in the chair closest to him. The rest of us standing followed in suit. I rested my head on James's shoulder, alleviating some of the strain in my neck. All my stress had pooled there, and now I had a splitting headache that encased my entire head. Between crying and the terrific distress, the word 'stress' barely covered the depth of what I felt.
Ten minutes passed.
Then fifty.
Then an hour.
Then two.
And three.
Finally, five and a half hours after Annalise was admitted, Dr. Madej entered the guest room. Everyone simultaneously standing up startled him, but he regained his composure quickly. "I assume you're all here for Miss Stark?"
"Yes, sir," Will said. "Is she going to be okay?"
The doctor grimaced. "We were able to remove the bullet from her stomach. The three other shots seemed to have passed through her cleanly. It's a miracle none of them hit her spine. Otherwise, she'd be paralyzed. We repaired the damaged organs and stitched up her shoulder. She'll require some physical therapy to get it back in working order. However-"
