Page 14 of Fury of Affliction
Something that was never guaranteed.
Something she believed Hamersveld had the power to make happen.
Breaking her word to him didn’t come easy. She understood the danger—the threat her reappearance in his life represented—but refused to turn away. Dire circumstances dictated the path. She needed him now. Was in the worse sort of trouble. The kind instinct warned she wouldn’t survive without him by herside. Staying away, living her life without him in a small house overlooking the Bay of Monterey, was no longer an option. The only one available to her now involved finding and convincing him before she ran out of time.
A death-grip on the railing, she adjusted the duffle bag strap on her shoulder, and feet tapping on wooden treads, made her way down a steep set of stairs. Carefully. Slowly. Terrified of taking a tumble and splitting her skull open on the flagstone path below. A distinct possibility given her shaky state. To be expected, she guessed, given she carried?—
Her phone rang.
Halfway across the driveway, she tugged the iPhone from her back pocket. Flipping it upright, she glanced at the locked screen. Dread rose hard. Her stomach clenched as she went nine rounds with unease, flipping through a deck calledWorse Case Scenarios.She debated a moment. Ignore the call? Let it go to voicemail or answer it?
The ringtone trilled again.
Blowing out a long breath, she settled her emotions and tapped go.
“Hello?”
“Natalie?”
“Hey, Doc.”
“Ah, hey,” Dr. Angles said, a note of hesitancy in the voice. OB-GYN to the rich and famous, the doctor had a reputation around town. She was the best of the best. Competent. Professional. Personable while bringing excellence to her work. Natalie liked Dr. Angles the instant she met her. “Just checking in to see how you’re feeling.”
“Pretty crappy.”
“I need you to come in.”
Natalie frowned. “To the clinic?”
“Community Hospital off Highway 68. I want to run more tests.”
“Why?” Stupid question given she’d had blood work done two days ago. Her levels must be off. Irregular. Off baseline. Or something. Made sense given the way she felt—and what intuition kept telling her. “How bad is it?”
Silence came over the line, then…
“I’d like you to come in. How soon can you get here?”
All right, then. No need to sugarcoat it.
Whatever was in her bloodwork landed north of bad.Really, really bad.Which meant she didn’t have time to spend in a hospital. Human medicine wouldn’t help. As good as she was, Dr. Angles, and her tests, wouldn’t save her. She needed Hamersveld—his touch, his time, his bio-energy—to sustain her through the coming months. To stop her slow slide into a nasty decline. She’d delayed long enough, wanting to be sure before she broke her promise, rolled back into Seattle, and disrupted his life.
“Natalie?”
“Give me an hour,” she said, lying through her teeth to get off the line and on the road. “Where am I meeting you?”
“The ER. Give the nurse at reception your name. She’ll bring you to me right away.”
“Okay.”
“And Natalie?”
“Yeah?”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got you covered. Everything’s going to be all right.”
“Thanks, Dr. Angles.”
“See you in a bit.”