Free Critical Diagnosis by Alison Stone

the implications for investors if something should happen to you.” He’d do whatever it took to convince Lily to go someplace safe.
    “Isn’t that sweet?” Her tone sounded droll. She paced the small space, pulling the sleeves of her sweatshirt down over her hands.
    “Take some time away until the police find this guy.”
    Lily stopped pacing and gave him a look of defiance. “I’m not going anywhere.”
    * * *
    Standing by the sink in her kitchen, Lily turned her back to James and closed her eyes. Neither of them spoke. Nausea welled in the pit of her stomach. She drew in a deep breath through her nose, then released it slowly through her mouth. Pressing a hand to her chest, she opened the cabinet door and got out a glass. She filled it with water from the tap and took a long drink. Her nerves were shot. She had to pray for understanding. This was a cruel joke—to have the rug pulled out from under her. To have her world turned upside down. She stared out the window, not bothering to look at him.
    “I’m really tired.” She needed to be alone.
    The legs of his chair scraping across the hardwood floor made her flinch. “This is only temporary. You’ll be back in the lab soon. I promise.” She sensed James approaching.
    Tamping back the panic welling inside her, she spun around. “I’m afraid this might delay bringing Regen to market. I can’t risk that. I won’t risk that.”
    “I can’t risk your safety.”
    Lily leaned back against the counter and wrapped her fingers around the edge of it. “What if someone told you that you had to close the clinic because it wasn’t safe?”
    James jerked back his head. She had hit him square between the eyes. That was exactly what he feared. His grandmother was particularly skittish after losing her only son in a plane crash. If she felt her grandson was in jeopardy, she’d pressure her husband to cut funding for the clinic. Fear made people react irrationally. Was that what she was doing? Was it irrational for her not to want to run and hide? Was it irrational for James to want her to?
    James stepped closer and cupped her elbow. “I know you’re scared. Please do this for me.”
    She grew lightheaded. She wasn’t used to having someone take care of her. Ever since her mother’s death, she had been the caretaker. The problem solver. Her strong faith had been her only constant companion, helping her achieve, to move forward, when a weaker person would have folded.
    Lily bowed her head, resting her forehead on his broad shoulder. He reached around her and pulled her close, rubbing her back in a soothing gesture. She’d forgotten how good it felt to have someone to lean on. But that was all she was doing: getting moral support so she could plow forward. Nothing more. There could never be anything more.
    A small chirping sounded from across the room. She slipped away from his embrace. Shaking her head in frustration, she grabbed her purse from the back of the chair and dug for her cell phone. She furrowed her brow at the caller ID . Bethany. Her sister. Alarm bells clamored in her head. Bethany never called this late.
    “Hello?”
    “I’m so glad you answered. I don’t know what to do.” Bethany’s words came out in a breathless rush.
    Lily pressed the phone firmly to her ear and strained to listen. “What’s wrong? Is Emily okay?”
    “She’s been running a fever all day. I didn’t think it was anything. I just kept alternating between fever reducers.” The panicky sound in her sister’s voice sent fear rushing in, pushing out any sense of well-being she might have felt moments ago in James’s arms. “I gave her the last dose two hours ago and she’s still burning up.”
    “Listen to me. You need to call her doctor and tell the answering service what’s going on.” The thought of little Emily in pain made her stomach hurt.
    Bethany sobbed. “That’s the problem. She doesn’t have a doctor.”
    “What? Who’s been monitoring her