Chapter 6

The fluorescent lights of the hospital corridor buzzed with a sickening hum.

Emaline stood outside the examination room, her arms wrapped tightly around her chest. Walter had been wheeled inside twenty minutes ago.

Cullen stood two feet away from her. He was leaning against the sterile white wall, his hands in his pockets. He did not hover, but his presence was a heavy, solid weight in the chaotic hallway. It made her feel anchored.

A nurse walked out of the room holding a stack of clipboards.

"Ms. Finley? I need your signature on the admission forms," the nurse said.

Emaline reached for the pen, but her hands were shaking so badly she dropped it.

Cullen stepped forward instantly. He picked up the pen, handed it to her, and placed his large hand flat over the top of the clipboard to steady it.

His knuckles brushed against hers. Emaline sucked in a sharp breath, her skin burning at the contact. Cullen did not pull away. He just watched her sign her name.

Before she could finish the last page, her cell phone shrieked from her pocket.

Emaline pulled it out. The name flashing on the screen made the blood freeze in her veins.

Kitty Hawkins.

Her former best friend. The woman who was now sleeping with her ex-boyfriend, Kendall.

Emaline's thumb hovered over the red reject button, but a sick sense of dread forced her to answer. She pressed the phone to her ear.

"What do you want?" Emaline asked, her voice dropping to a block of ice.

"Emaline! I heard your dad is back in the hospital," Kitty's voice dripped with fake sympathy. "It is just so tragic."

Emaline's fingers dug into the plastic casing of her phone. "Do not talk about my father."

Kitty let out a high, tinkling laugh. "I am just checking in. You know, I felt so bad when I ran into him at the clinic last week. I saw his chart sitting on the desk. I just had to tell him the truth."

The air vanished from the hallway. Emaline stopped breathing.

"What did you tell him?" Emaline whispered.

"I told him he was dying," Kitty said cheerfully. "I told him the treatments were a waste of your money and that he was bleeding you dry. And look! He checked himself out the very next day. I did you a favor, Emmy."

A wave of nausea hit Emaline so hard her knees buckled.

Kitty was the reason Walter gave up. Kitty had murdered his hope just to spite her.

"Are you insane?" Emaline screamed into the phone. People in the hallway turned to stare, but she did not care. "Why would you do that?!"

"Because you are pathetic," Kitty snarled, dropping the sweet act. "You are a poor, miserable loser. Kendall and I are getting engaged next month. You have nothing. Go watch your father die."

The line clicked dead.

Emaline stood frozen. The phone slipped from her hand and clattered onto the linoleum floor.

Her chest heaved. A violent tremor started in her hands and violently spread to her entire body. The walls of the hospital spun.

Cullen moved before she hit the floor.

He closed the distance between them in one stride. He grabbed her arms, pulling her flush against his chest.

"I am here," Cullen said, his voice a fierce rumble against her ear. "Let it out."

Emaline broke.

She buried her face in his expensive wool coat and sobbed. It was an ugly, agonizing sound. She gripped the lapels of his coat, twisting the fabric in her fists as if she were trying to tear it apart.

Cullen's arms wrapped around her, locking her in a cage of warmth and cedarwood. He rested his chin on the top of her head. He did not tell her to calm down. He just held her tighter.

"She told him," Emaline choked out between sobs, her tears soaking through his shirt. "Kitty told my dad he was dying. She made him give up."

She felt the muscles in Cullen's chest turn to stone.

His hand moved up to cup the back of her head, his fingers tangling in her hair.

"I will handle it," Cullen said. The words were quiet, but they carried a terrifying weight.

Emaline pulled back slightly, looking up at his face. His jaw was clenched so tight a muscle ticked in his cheek. His eyes were completely black with rage.

"Handle it?" Emaline sniffled. "She is Kendall Britt's fiancée. You cannot touch her."

Cullen reached up and wiped a tear from her cheek with his thumb.

"I do not care whose fiancée she is," Cullen said softly. "She hurt you. She will pay for it."

Emaline stared at him. Her heart gave a violent, painful thump in her chest. No one had ever defended her like this. No one had ever looked at her like she was something worth protecting.

She looked into Cullen's eyes, and for the first time, she realized she was falling.