Page 26 of Chain Me

“D.H.,” I explained. “One of the board members of St. Mary’s hospital. A donor, I might add, who only appeared after Dr. Wallis vanished. Literally overnight.”

I had two different brochures in my stash at home to prove it. One printed only a week after he’d supposedly left the country.

“That’s why you went to see Gabriel Lanic?” He asked. “If I were to stalk you from afar, Eleanor, don’t you believe I’d hide behind an identity more obscure than my initials?”

He had a point.

“I… Like hell I’ll go to your doctor.” With one hand, I shoved the blankets back and sat upright, facing the window. “You have no right to—”

“Do not fight me on this.” His tone. I had never heard it quite so hard. As if maintaining this conversation alone had stretched his tolerance paper thin.

I twisted around to face him. “And why shouldn’t I?”

He laughed, but his eyes were wide, his mouth partially open—a chilling display of ivory fangs. “You have a rare form ofcancer,” he growled. “And you think that just any doctor in the world can help you?”

“Like you care,” I hissed. “According to you, I’m a harlot who should consult another man for assistance in this matter. Right?”

He didn’t even look insulted. Or guilty. Or contrite.

He met my gaze unflinchingly and said, “You should pray that you accidentally wandered into another man’s bed and developed your cancer. Otherwise…”

My stunned silence seemed to satisfy him enough that he left that statement hanging in the air. He tugged on the hem of his jacket, smoothing the edges, his poised, calculating self once more—but there were cracks. For one, he was still wearing that gray suit from the other day, but it wasn’t so neat anymore. Dark splotches stained the suit jacket, rivaling the deep crimson of his tie. Strangest of all, my cross shone against his chest as if he’d never removed it.

Too much.Closing my eyes brought me seconds to regain control of my thoughts.Focus, Ellie.

He was something to focus on. My rage. My fear. This impending panic surging through my veins. Grasping for stability, I honed it all like a laser, pointed it directly at Dublin Helos.

“I’m sorry if you didn’t realize this,” I croaked. “But you don’t own me. Not anymore. So take your insults and get the hell out!”

It was the last part of that statement that did it. It,as in made his jaw clench and his irises shrink around fathomless pupils.

“Your body is practically decomposing around you.” His eyes lowered to my throat. “And you think this is the time to flaunt something as trivial ownership? If I didn’t bring you here when I did, you would have died.”

Died. He made that word sound too final. Not a joke.

“What are you talking about?” I asked.

His back stiffened as he turned away. “The talisman I’d given you…”

“What?” I demanded. “What did it do?”

When his gaze returned to mine, I barely recognized it. “Let’s just say there was a complication I hadn’t foreseen.”

“So, that’s why you took it back?” I watched it swing from his neck as my fingers brushed my bare throat.

“I brought you here,” he said without confirming it. “I ran the tests. Trust me when I say thatcanceris the last conclusion I would come to. So take this at face value. Or as a warning. Until this is resolved, I’m not letting you out of my sight.”

Alarm bells went off in my head, but I remained silent.

“I don’t intend to spend all of my time fighting with you, either.” A deliberate pause punctuated the air before he asked, “Your sister—have you heard from her?”

Don’t fall for it, Ellie,my inner voice warned. I didn’t like how carefully he had phrased the question. Soft. Almost nonchalant, like a normal change of subject.

Funny, because it was my turn to laugh.

“I told her to leave,” I found myself confessing without understanding why. “And she did. I told her I never wanted to see her again. And I haven’t. So, no, I haven’t heard from her.”

“Not even a phone call?” His tone conveyed the suspicion he didn’t voice—I don’t believe you.