The moment I’m on the other side, my world stops turning. Standing at the nurses station, in last night’s clothes, is TrentonTravers. My newfound hope dies with each stomp I make toward him.
I have my fist raised when I get within two feet of him. Putting all the momentum I have into my arm, I reel back but the hit never lands.
Chapter 40
Dalton
THE TIME BETWEEN realizing Trenton’s presence and seeing Raleigh freeze at the end of the hall passes far too quickly. If I had looked up at the man’s inquiry two seconds later, Raleigh would have punched him into next week.
Thankfully, I leap forward and reach them right before Raleigh can strike. I hate putting my hands on her in this way, but we absolutely cannot have her throwing a punch in a hospital. I grasp her wrist, her fist mere inches from Trenton’s face.
“Dalton, let me go!” she growls, straining against the way I’ve caught her entirely in my arms now.
Trenton sneers and leans back with his arms crossed. “Yes, Dalton. Let her go. I’d love to press charges against Ral here.”
The way he has no respect for her in the slightest nearly makes me take a swing myself, but I rein in the emotion. I have to be the voice of reason. No one else here needs a hospital stay.
“You caused this!” Raleigh barks with emotion, pushing against every inch of my resolve. People are looking now, and I know I need to get a handle on what’s happening.
“Raleigh,” I coax. “I need you to go back into Mae’s room.”
Her head jerks my direction. She thinks I’m taking his side, so I quickly rectify it. “Trenton and I are going to go on a little walk. I’d rather you go inside.”
A flicker of fear crosses her face but then pure trust. She nods before turning away. She doesn’t spare Trenton another moment of her attention, leaving it all to me. The chameleon that she’s learned to be returns when she reaches Mae’s door and lets all the tension fall from her shoulders for Mae’s sake.
Trenton has the audacity to take a step toward her, prompting me to rest two firm hands on his shoulders. “We’re going to have that chat I was talking about.”
Annoyance meets me before he huffs out a laugh. “I can get you fired, you know.”
Something snaps, and I grab him by the collar and shove him toward a corner. The whole hallway quiets, but no one makes a move to restrain me. “If you don’t walk away from all of this in the next two minutes, the next conversation will be in the back alley behind this hospital. And that one you will not even have the opportunity to use your legs to get away afterwards.” I release his collar when his eyes finally showcase an ounce of terror. He shifts, but his gaze wanders once again to Mae’s door, so I slam him against the wall for a second time today—not enough to hurt him, just another subtle threat. “I know what you said to Mae and I know every little dirty detail of the way you’ve treated her and every other woman in your life these past months. So fire me if you want, but there’s no way in hell you’re coming near Mae again until she calls for it. You are at her mercy here, no one else's.” Releasing him once again, at the behest of a doctor and security guard coming into my line of sight, I brushoff his shoulders. “I think you better leave before someone whips out their phone and decides to share footage that will finally show the world who you truly are.”
His demeanor turns in the blink of an eye, suddenly turning into the victim. “This man assaulted me!” he shouts toward the security officer.
“How’d you get in here?” the doctor asks, hands on her hips.
Trenton smiles at her. “I’m Trenton Travers.”
Both the doctor and the guard share a glance before the officer steps forward. “Mr. Travers, let's go on a little walk. I’ll escort you back to the waiting room while we sort out how you were allowed in here and if the patient you are here to see would like to entertain a short visit.”
“You saw all of that and you’re not going to take a statement or escort him out with me? This is bullshit!”
“I hear you,” the officer says, trying to deescalate the situation. “Let’s go talk about it.” He puts an arm around Trenton’s shoulders and begins to steer him away.
I hear Trenton mumble expletives on his way down the hall.
“Mr. Cosgrove,” the doctor says, coming up beside me. “Ms. Evans is asking for you. I’m not sure what just happened, but I’ll be speaking to my staff to find out how he got in here.”
She leaves it at that, her ponytail swishing as she turns away.
I run a taming hand through my hair and let the adrenaline and anger wash away. Trenton is sure to tattle to someone. Hopefully it won’t spell the end for me in my role, but I know that whatever the consequences, I’d choose to put him in his place time and time again.
When I enter Mae’s room again, I am the picture of calm and collected. Somewhere underneath, the fear of the unknown lingers, but with one look at Raleigh’s intrigue, I break into a smile.
Mae pats the bed beside her. “I heard yelling.”
Finding strength in Raleigh, I catch her caring glance as I tell the girls what happened. I make it to the end before my voice catches. “If he didn’t care enough to fight for me to get fired before, he’ll certainly care enough now.”
Mae, who has been silent during the whole retelling, suddenly reaches forward and grabs my hand in her bandaged one. Raleigh motions toward the girl on the bed, and I finally find the strength to look at my client.
