Lost Boy Read Free Page A

outside,” Doyle said. “You’re not going to be able to see her.”
    â€œWhat about over there.” Ryder pointed to two chairs across the hall. “So we’re closer.”
    Doyle looked around. “Yeah, okay. Good.”
    They sat down and Ryder tried to listen through the doors. All he heard was muffled voices. Once in a while there would be the muted bark of an order. The terror weighed on Ryder, making it hard to breathe. His brain spun like a wobbly top.When a nurse hurried out, they stood up and heard a lot of noise from inside. It didn’t sound good. The nurse didn’t pause, but disappeared, only to come rushing back with someone else.
    Ryder’s heart never left his throat. He could feel it beating there, choking him, but he didn’t move. It might have been twenty minutes or twenty hours. He had no idea, only the vague sense that he had to use the bathroom. Hunger never rose its head. His stomach was closed for business. Doyle worked silently on an iPhone, but stayed beside him, solid as stone.
    Finally, the doors burst open and a handful of doctors and nurses emerged, faces drawn tight, scrubs spattered with his mother’s blood. He knew by the way they undid their masks and whisked off their caps that it was over. He and Doyle stood at the same moment. Their eyes went from him to Doyle.
    Doyle choked out the words. “How is she?”
    Everyone turned to the boss, a small woman doctor.
    She cast a disapproving look at Doyle, then her eyes softened when she saw Ryder and she took a deep breath.

“She is alive,” the doctor said in a lilting Indian accent.
    Doyle exhaled in a burst of joy.
    Ryder felt his insides relax. Warmth flooded his entire body.
    When he realized the doctor’s face didn’t match her words, though, everything cramped up again. He looked up at Doyle, who saw it too, and frowned at the doctor.
    â€œWhat’s wrong?” Doyle asked.
    â€œWho are you?” The doctor’s syrupy accent rolled the r ’s softly off her tongue, the o ’s sounding like a song. “You should not even be in here.”
    The other doctors and nurses melted away, leaving just the three of them standing there.
    Doyle put a protective hand on Ryder’s neck. “I’m a fireman, but I’m a close family friend. I’m all they’ve got. This is her son.”
    Ryder only nodded, not happy about lying, but wanting more information about his mom.
    The doctor took a deep breath. “I have another surgery I need to do now. She’s alive, but she’s very sick.”
    â€œLike, it’ll be a long road?” Doyle asked.
    The doctor stared at him hard, then bit into her lower lip and shook her head. “A short road . . . Her heart is very damaged and things are not working right. I think she will need a new valve, maybe two valves. Her heart cannot continue like this.”
    â€œWell.” Doyle brightened. “You guys do that all the time, right? Valves?”
    The doctor shook her head. “It can be done, but this is a very difficult area.”
    The doctor gave a worried look at Ryder and lowered her voice. “It is very costly.”
    â€œWhat about insurance or something?” Doyle asked.
    â€œEven if she has insurance, they don’t pay for everything. It’s very complicated. The hospital administrator can explain more.”
    â€œWell, I can pay for it.” Doyle stuck out his chest. “How much is it?”
    â€œSomething like this?” The doctor’s eyes didn’t waver. “It would be two hundred thousand dollars, at least.”
    â€œTwo . . .” Doyle swallowed and his hand slipped off of Ryder’s neck. “What if they don’t have that kind of money?”
    â€œThese are not my decisions.” The doctor shook her head. “I’m very sorry.”
    â€œHow long do I . . . we have? To get the money?”
    â€œShe