“This is fun.”

“What’s fun?” I ask Emersyn, walking through the automatic entrance doors to the ER.

“Getting to come to work with my new daddy.” My legs pause. Those words cause my throat to clog up and my chest to warm. A smile finally breaks through my lips.

“What?”

I shake my head, continuing through the waiting room. “Nothing, kiddo. Just hearing you say that makes me happy is all.”

“I’m happy too.”

“Dr. Braden,” a voice greets, surprise laced in her words. About the time I glance away from Emersyn, I realize who’s spoken to me. “I thought you were scheduled off today. Am I wrong?” Catherine, another third-year resident, asks.

“No,” I confirm. “But I got a text from Roderick. You seen him?”

“I’m pretty sure he ran to the cafeteria to grab lunch. Want me to page him?”

“Nah, I’ll call his cell. Thanks though.”

What the hell? I told him I’d be here in twenty. Why call me down here when he wasn’t going to wait on me? Making me wait on him is only going to piss me off. I enjoy my days off just like everyone else around here, and I don’t appreciate—

“Shane.” Roxanne stops my thoughts, making my eyes glance in her direction. She’s standing, rocking on her heels, just inside the entrance to where the registration desk is. “It was me. I asked you to come down.”

“What the . . .?” Jesus Christ. I don’t need this. Not today.

For the last two weeks, since the night she blew up on me in the hallway between our two apartments, I’ve been professional. I’ve been cordial. I haven’t been personable or friendly. She lost those two things when she thought she was going to shove her tongue down my throat.

“Just hear me out. Please.” She motions for me to come through the door that leads away from the waiting room area.

Against my better judgment, I go, hoping I’m not going to regret it later. She sees I have Emersyn with me and this is our place of employment, so surely, she wouldn’t try anything inappropriate. She better not.

“Make it quick,” I say, following her to the dictation room.

Before entering, I place Emersyn down into the plastic chair just outside the small room, handing her my cell phone to keep her entertained while I talk. There’s a coloring app she likes on there. It’ll keep her busy for at least ten minutes. I don’t plan on being here any longer than that.

I hope Roxanne heard the seriousness in my voice when I said she better spit out whatever it is she wants.

“It’s about Whitney’s husband.” My jaw locks. One, I still hate hearing that term used. I fucking hate it. And two, what business is Whitney or Blake, or anyone concerning me, have to do with her?

“What about him?”

“He approached me a couple of weeks ago before she got her memory back. Before you and I had that fight in the hallway. He asked me to help him split the two of you up.” Her cheeks flush, and she bites her lower lip, looking away from me for a split second before returning her green eyes to mine. “I wanted to. At first, I thought it was a brilliant idea. She would leave and go back to him. I would get you.” She shakes her head. “Stupid, I know.”

I don’t say anything. I can’t. Frankly, I don’t know what to say to that. I shouldn’t be surprised he didn’t try to get help to break us apart. We’re stronger together. I see that now. I’ve always had this image of Whitney as strong, independent, and fierce. Not that she wasn’t. But until she returned, and knowing what other people were able to convince her of, I didn’t realize we gave each other strength. We gave each other courage. We’re each other’s rock.

“He’s not right in the head, Shane. He’s obsessed with her.” This I already know. “He’ll stop at nothing to get her back. NOTHING, Shane. He wants to do something. Hurt your daughter, I think.” My breathing stops. “I didn’t want to become a doctor to hurt kids. I love kids. I would never deliberately cause any child harm. Not ever. I refused to help him with any plan. But Shane, someone’s got to do something about him. He’s crazy. I’m worried he really is going to try to hurt your kid. Hell, he may even try to hurt his child if it gets him Whitney back.”

“Why . . .” Is he that fucked-up in the head? “Why do you think he’d hurt one of the girls?”

“I asked him how I could help. I said I’d do anything if it got me you. But I thought he’d ask me to help it look like we”—she points between the two of us—“you know. That we slept together or something like that. Don’t.” She holds up her hand as if she thinks I’m going to say something. I wasn’t, but I don’t correct her. “I know how messed up that was. My sister made me see the light.”

“You still haven’t said why you think he wants to harm one of my kids.” Her eyes grow, catching the fact that I consider them both mine. I do. There’s no point in pretending I don’t.

“He said something that made the alarm bells in my head go off. He said he just needed to get rid of Everly and things could go back to the way they were supposed to be.”

Fury boils beneath my skin, the heat intensifying as it courses through my veins at the mere thought of someone thinking of doing harm to her.

“I freaked out and told him I wanted no part. I didn’t wait for him to explain or change my mind. I hightailed it out of there. And shit.” Her head falls back onto her shoulders. “I should have told you this before now. I just didn’t want to overreact, and you think I was crazy. Well, crazier than you already do anyway.”

I back out of the room, turning and dropping down to my knees, next to where Emersyn is. “Monkey, I need my phone for a sec.”

She hands it over without so much as a fight or a whine.

I locate the tracking app as quickly as I can. Within seconds the app pinpoints Everly’s phone location. Chills crawl up my arms. She’s not at school, which isn’t that alarming. Whitney could have gotten done with her doctor’s appointment and errands before school let out. She might have picked her up early. But she isn’t at home. She isn’t in the city. She, or at least her cell phone, is in another town.

I don’t know what to do. What the fuck do I do? Panic sets in. There’s no stopping it.

“Em, we gotta go.”

“Shane, what is it?”

“She isn’t where she’s supposed to be. I gotta go. I have to call Whit, and I just gotta go.”

“Why don’t you leave her with me?” She nods to where Emersyn is still seated. “Maybe it’s nothing, but she’ll just slow you down. Leave her here. I swear I’ll take care of her.”

“Go find Gavin. Tell him what’s up and ask him to take her home or see if Maria will come get her. Okay?”

“Sure. Just go.”

“Monk, this is Roxanne. She lives across the hall. You know that, right?”

“Uh-huh.”

“I have to run an errand, and I’ll be right back. You’re going to stay with Miss Roxanne, and she’s going to take you to my friend Gavin until I can get back. Okay?”

“Does she have coloring on her phone?”

“I do,” Roxanne says before I can speak. “Go.” She juts her head to the side.

Fuck.

I kiss Emersyn on the forehead real fast and I jet out of the hospital hoping and praying nothing is wrong. I just got her. I can’t lose her. Not now.

Please . . .