Chapter 3

There was a long, uneven cobblestone path from the truck to the storage building.

I did not find out until after I was hired that Julian was running this health fair. He had clearly given the supervisor specific instructions to make my life miserable.

All thirty crates had to be moved by me alone. No one was allowed to help.

"Pick up the pace! You think you can slack off on my watch?"

The supervisor stood in the shade with a cup of iced water, barking at me.

I kept my mouth shut. I clenched my back teeth and swallowed the warm, metallic taste crawling up my throat.

The old injury in my lower back felt like a ball of fire. Every step pulled at raw nerves, and the tearing pain sent my vision dark around the edges.

Sweat rolled down my forehead and into my eyes, stinging so badly I could barely keep them open. All I could do was move on instinct, dragging myself forward one mechanical step at a time.

I lost count somewhere around the 20th crate. I vaguely realized when I was on the 25th.

By the time I picked up the last one, my hands were shaking beyond my control. A violent cramp seized the left side of my abdomen, sharp as a spike being driven in.

My knee buckled and the crate nearly slipped out of my hands.

"Careful!"

A firm hand shot out from beside me and caught the bottom of the crate just in time. I turned my head with effort.

Dr. Langford stood there in a white coat, a guest specialist badge hanging from his neck, his face tight with alarm.

"Quinn, are you trying to kill yourself?" He kept his voice low, but I could hear the anger and the ache underneath it.

He reached instinctively for my lower back. The second his fingers brushed the old scar, I sucked in a sharp breath, and my whole body flinched.

The color drained from Dr. Langford's face.

He was about to say something when a cold voice cut in from behind.

"Quinn Delaney, so now you're pulling the sympathy card for money?"

I turned around stiffly.

Nicole stood a few steps away in a sharp business suit. She was here today to give a talk at the health fair, and a handful of reporters trailed behind her.

She looked at me with open, undisguised contempt.

"What is it this time? Playing weak, or playing pitiful?"

She walked toward me in her heels and looked down at my pale face.

"Should I just hand you a trophy for Best Actor right now?"

I opened my mouth to explain, but the cramping in my side surged so violently that I could not force out a single word.

Nicole looked at my face, white as a sheet, and something in her eyes flickered. I saw her hand lift slightly, as if she was about to reach for me on reflex.

However, she pulled it back in the next instant, and the cold mask was in place again.

"Nicole, what's going on?" Julian walked up from behind and slipped an arm around her waist.

He glanced at me. The corner of his mouth curled into a barely visible smirk before he turned to Nicole.

"Don't bother with him. He's just fishing for sympathy. Let's go check out the other side."

Nicole did not move. She stared at me, then looked at Dr. Langford standing beside me.

Dr. Langford was one of the most respected surgeons in the field. Getting an appointment with him was nearly impossible. Why would a man like that be this familiar with a day laborer?

Her brow creased slightly, and something she could not quite name stirred in the back of her mind.

Dr. Langford watched Nicole tear into me with that mocking tone. Then he looked at me, bent over in so much pain I could not even straighten my back.

Ten years of silence and biting his tongue all erupted at once.

"Ms. Thatcher, do you have any idea what he—"

His face went dark. He surged forward a step, ready to lay the truth bare right there.

I used every last shred of strength I had and grabbed his sleeve.

"Dr. Langford!"