CHAPTER 24

Adam’s POV

I hadn’t planned to show up unannounced.

The original idea was simple get the transfer, settle into the city, let Amanda know I was here after I had my footing. But after the call we’d had yesterday the panic in her voice, the helpless tremor she tried so hard to hide waiting wasn’t an option.

So I walked through the hospital corridors, the smell of antiseptic burning my nose, scanning every passing face for hers. It wasn’t hard to find her. The sound of her voice carried before I even turned the corner sharp, controlled, but vibrating with fury.

I froze in the doorway of her office.

Amanda stood rigid, her phone angled at the trembling nurse in front of her. The camera was rolling, and the words spilling from the nurse’s mouth turned my blood to ice.

“It wasn’t poison! It was just a sedative Selene gave me the vial—”

Selene.

The name punched through me like a fist.

Selene? What the hell was she doing mixed up in this?

Amanda’s expression didn’t flicker. She looked like carved steel, her voice low and lethal as she cut in: “You’ll repeat everything you just said in front of a judge. Do you understand me?”

The nurse nodded frantically, tears streaking her face.

Amanda’s tone sharpened. “Good. Because if you vanish before that hearing, I will make sure no hospital in this state or any other ever hires you again.”

The nurse muttered a trembling “Yes, ma’am,” then turned and practically bolted, shame clinging to her like a second skin.

Amanda lowered the phone, her hand trembling slightly. She took a slow breath, pressing the device against her chest for a moment like it was the only thing holding her together.

That was when I stepped in.

“You always did know how to make an impression.”

Her head snapped up so fast I thought she’d get whiplash. For a second, shock stole every feature from her face, then her eyes widened, shimmering with something I couldn’t quite name.

“Adam?”

I smiled, soft but sure. “Hey, Doc.”

And then she was in my arms before I could brace for it slamming against me like a tidal wave. Her arms wound around my neck, her face pressed into my shoulder, and for a second I forgot how to breathe.

God, I’d missed this woman.

I held her tighter than I should have, breathing in the faint trace of her perfume under the sterile hospital air. She was shaking, but whether it was anger, relief, or exhaustion, I couldn’t tell. Maybe all three.

When she finally pulled back, there were tears clinging to her lashes, though she tried to blink them away. “What… what are you doing here?”

“I asked for a transfer,” I said simply. “Got approved this morning. Thought I’d surprise you.”

Her lips parted, like she wanted to argue, but the words didn’t come. Instead, she let out a shaky laugh, running a hand through her hair. “Of all days to walk in…”

“Yeah,” I said, my eyes flicking to the door the nurse had fled through. “What the hell did I just walk into?”

Her expression hardened again, that steel sliding back into place. “A confession,” she said flatly. “That nurse? She spiked a drink Selene sent for me. Levi drank it instead.”

My pulse slammed in my ears. “What?”

“He’s okay,” she added quickly, reading the panic that flashed across my face. “Hyper, restless, but they said it’ll burn out in a few hours.”

I dragged a hand down my face, teeth grinding. “Jesus Christ, Amanda.”

“She wanted to make me look unfit,” Amanda went on, her voice trembling with barely restrained rage. “She thought if I showed up in court impaired, Ryan would win by default. And when I left before drinking it, Levi…” Her throat closed, the words cracking like glass.

I didn’t think. I just pulled her back into me, one hand at the back of her head, the other gripping her waist like I could anchor her against the storm.

“Breathe,” I murmured against her hair. “He’s safe. That’s what matters.”

For a long second, she stayed there, her body tight, vibrating with all the things she wasn’t saying. Then she eased back slowly, swiping at her eyes like she hated me seeing her that raw.

“You got the confession on video?” I asked, forcing my voice steady.

She held up her phone. “Every word.”

“Good,” I said, my jaw locking. “Because that? That’s your ticket out of this ‘mentally unstable’ crap they’re throwing at you. That video clears everything.”

Her gaze softened, the faintest hint of relief breaking through the anger. “You think so?”

“I know so,” I said firmly. “The judge sees that, and Ryan’s whole case takes a nosedive.”

The name made her flinch, and something ugly twisted in my gut.

I hated him. Not in a casual, rival kind of way but in a deep, primal sense. Because Ryan wasn’t just fighting dirty he was dragging Amanda through hell and using Levi as a pawn. And that… that I’d never forgive.

“Where’s Levi now?” I asked, pushing the thought aside.

“In my office,” she said. “Sleeping it off.”

“Good.” I nodded, then forced a grin I didn’t feel. “Because now you can sit for five damn minutes without the sky falling.”

That earned me a tired laugh. She sank into the chair behind her desk, shoulders sagging like the weight of the day was finally catching up.

For a moment, we just… breathed. The chaos outside this room felt like another world.

Then she looked up at me, and for the first time in hours, her eyes weren’t blazing they were soft, warm in a way that punched the air out of my lungs.

“I can’t believe you’re here,” she said quietly.

“Believe it,” I said with a grin, dropping into the chair across from her. “I told you I had your back.”

“Yeah,” she murmured, smiling faintly. “You did.”

The silence stretched not awkward, but heavy with everything unspoken. I found myself studying her like I hadn’t in years: the way her hair framed her face, the stubborn tilt of her chin, the way even exhaustion couldn’t dull her beauty.

God, I’d missed this. Missed her.

“You’re staring,” she said suddenly, a teasing edge to her voice that didn’t quite hide the flush creeping up her neck.

I smirked. “Can you blame me? I haven’t seen you in forever.”

Her laugh this time was softer, a fragile thread of sound that tugged at something deep in me.

And that was when the thought settled in, sharp and unyielding:

I wasn’t leaving her alone in this.

Not now. Not ever.

If Ryan wanted a fight, fine. Let him come swinging with all the money and lawyers in the world. Because I’d burn through every ounce of myself before I let him or Selene lay another finger on Amanda or levi.