The woman did not ask Tessa whether she would live.
She watched the pressure of Tessa’s hands instead, looking from the dressing to the open medical bag and back. Eli held the lamp low enough to keep the light out of her eyes. Her gaze followed it briefly, then found the device still caught beneath her fingers.
“Not to the office,” she whispered.
Tessa leaned closer. “The device?”
“My daughter. First.”
“We can write the contact down. Keep breathing with me.”
The woman tried to shake her head and stopped because the movement hurt. Her breath caught. Tessa changed the dressing position, asking Bram for another folded pad, and kept speaking to her about what she was doing. Nothing in her voice suggested that the message was the price of receiving care.
Eli crouched where the woman could see him without turning.
