hesia began to lift. E

urces Daxton had orchestrated had done its job. He had ruthlessly strong-armed the hospital's board of directors, threatening to liquidate their fundi

thick IV needle was taped to her skin, dr

nd ripped the need

welled up, dripping down her knuckles and staining the

wide with panic. "Emaline! What are y

ight foot hit the floor. Her left leg-encased in a heavy, titanium pros

ite as she forced herself to stand. Her entire body shook with

houlder against the wall for support. She limped out

the corner, sh

st Side, likely to handle the PR fallout of his wife dying in a hospit

a second, his pupils dilated. A flash of genuine shock crossed his perf

frame. She stared at the man she had loved for years, the man who had just

ed his shock with a

choing in the empty corridor. "It seems even hell d

the wall. She channeled every ounce of s

back and slapped

of flesh hitting flesh exp

bright red handprint instantly bloom

asped, taking a s

k to face Emaline. The temperature in the hallway seemed to drop ten degrees. His e

r dry throat. "Are you sad you didn't get to zip me up in a body bag? Just like

his forehead bulged against his skin. It was the ultimate tab

on lu

hand clamped around Emaline's slender throat. The sheer force of his momentum th

one liner of her prosthetic was knocked loose, but the sound was completely swallowed by t

ong fingers tightening around her windpipe. He squeezed, cutting off

ir. She brought both hands up, her fingernails digging desperately i

inches from hers. His brea

yton hissed through his teeth. "This is what y

orced its way into her chest. A suffocating sense of déjà vu, a phantom heartache tied to a dark, forgotten trauma she couldn't name, gripped

He looked exactly like the man who

lips into a gruesom

d," she choked out, her voice a

his arm trembled, and his grip on her throat loosened by a fraction of an inch. The accusat

es and the rattle of a medical cart bro

im. He pulled a crisp white handkerchief from his pocket and agg

ll, hitting the floor hard. She grabbed her bruised throat, coughing

her, looking down a

ton ordered, his voice devoid of any human emotion.

ead up. Her eyes were bloodshot, but they

aline whispered, her voice raw and steady.

reath on her. He turned on his heel and wa

nd the corner. The adrenaline began to fade, and t

osthetic. The hard carbon-fiber socket was now grinding dir

oor, trying to push herself up. She

ave out c

r the brutal impact of her face sma