"I—" Max started, but Ruby gently pressed a finger to his lips, cutting him off before he could spiral.
"Stop," she whispered, her voice a mix of iron and velvet. "Rest, we can talk about it when you're back among the living."
Just as Max settled into the pillows, Ruby's phone buzzed. It was a call from the hospital, where Nancy was receiving treatment. She had spoken to them not long ago, so she wondered if something had happened to her.
The news wasn't great, the toxins in Nancy's system were putting up a fight, and the general ward just wasn't equipped for the fallout. She needed a specialized facility, somewhere secure, somewhere that could handle the jagged edges of withdrawal and addiction.
Ruby didn't hesitate. "Do it," she told the doctor, her knuckles whitening as she gripped the phone. "Move her. Just promise me one thing: keep her safe. If a hair on her head is touched, we're going to have a very different kind of conversation."
