The Heart They Gave Away

Nathaniel Whitcomb's face froze.

Then his brows drew together.

"Are you questioning my professional judgment as your attending surgeon? You could last another month. You could probably last another year."

I let out a laugh that wasn't one.

Of course he believed that. He hadn't asked about my condition in a full year.

Twelve months ago, he'd been running my scans when Jocelyn Crane came by with lunch for him, and he missed her. She cried, and from that moment every ounce of his attention swung to her. I got handed off to Dr. Theo Lang, then a first-year cardiology fellow.

From that day on, everything that should have gone to his patient and his sister went to Jocelyn instead. I was left with Theo and all but forgotten.

When I didn't answer, Nathaniel called the fellow. "Theo, bring me every report in Rosalie's chart for the past year. Now."

Theo came through the door a few minutes later with a thick file.

Nathaniel had barely opened the cover when his phone rang.

The tension went out of his face at once.

"Jocelyn, I'm on my way. I got you that diamond bracelet you wanted. Wait for me, sweetheart."

He hung up without reading a single page, pushed the file back into Theo's hands, and glanced at the cast on my leg. "I'll pick you up for the wedding tomorrow. Stay in bed until then."

He turned for the door.

I called after him, panicked. "Aren't you going to read the reports?"

He didn't slow down. He just waved a hand. "A few days won't kill you. Get some sleep."

The door slammed hard enough to shake the wall, and something in my chest went cold with it.

A traffic investigator called a few minutes later.

"Ms. Whitcomb, we've identified the vehicle that hit you. It was running cloned plates, and it had been following you from the moment you left home. We're treating this as a possible deliberate assault. Is there anyone who might have wanted to hurt you, or scare you?"

My pulse took off.

I thought about the post Jocelyn had put up the day before.

She'd written that she wanted one birthday without an outsider getting in the way.

Miles and all three of my brothers had liked it. Marcus, my oldest brother, had left a comment. "Don't worry. I'll take care of it."

So that was it, then.

Something hot and metallic pushed up my throat. I couldn't hold it back any longer, and the room tipped away as I fell back against the bed.