Free Surrender by Tawny Taylor

temperature. Then she recorded everything on her clipboard and pulled open the curtain. “The doctor will be in soon.”
    And then I sat. And sat. And sat some more. Bored out of my mind, I lay back and closed my eyes. I wasn’t dizzy anymore, but I still felt tired, hung over. I had almost drifted off when I heard the curtains gliding in the metal track overhead. I blinked open my eyes.
    The nurse.
    “There’s a gentleman in the lobby asking to see you. Would you like me to bring him back?”
    “Well . . .” I felt my face turning red. “I’m here because—”
    “Got it. I’ll tell him our policy is to only allow family members back.”
    “Thank you.”
    Off she went.
    I tried to relax. But it was hard, knowing Kameron was out there waiting, probably frustrated he wasn’t being allowed back to see me. Was he trying to get back here so he could keep track of what was going on? Was he trying to cover up what he’d done? Or attempting to keep me from finding out?
    The more I thought about it, the more I began to suspect him. If he was low enough to use what my brother allegedly did to blackmail me into becoming his personal plaything, what more was he capable of?
    My brother had been so right about this. So, so right. And of course, since he’d been such a train wreck lately, I didn’t believe him. Instead, I believed what I wanted to about my new employer and his shady actions.
    A young woman in a pair of scrubs strolled in, a clipboard in her hand. She extended an arm, introducing herself as a doctor, and I gave her hand a shake. She asked me some questions, then told me they were going to be collecting both blood and urine samples for testing.
    “Will I know the results right away?” I asked.
    “It’ll take a while. Probably a few hours.”
    “Oh.”
    That meant I’d have to return to the condo with Kameron before the test results were in. That also meant it would give me some time to decide what I was going to do if the results came back positive.
    It wasn’t in my nature to hide my feelings, so I knew, in my gut, this was going to blow up in my face. If I learned I’d been drugged, I wouldn’t be able to trust Kameron. And I wouldn’t be able to pretend I did. He’d know.
    A few minutes later, the nurse returned, took the blood, and left me with a little plastic cup with a lid. She directed me to the bathroom. Once I’d collected the specimen, I returned to my curtained safe zone and stayed put until I was discharged.
    Kameron jumped up when he saw me in the lobby, charged up to me. “Are you okay? What did the doctor say?”
    “She didn’t have a diagnosis yet,” I said. “They’re running some tests.”
    “Okay. Let’s get you back to the condo.” He wrapped an arm around my waist as we walked toward the exit. “I’ve cancelled all my appointments for the rest of the day. I’m not going to leave your side until you’re one hundred percent.”
    “I hate for you to miss—”
    “Nothing is more important than you right now,” he said, cutting me off. He sounded so sincere.
    We stepped outside, and the black BMW, driven by someone else, crawled up, stopping directly in front of us. Kameron opened the door for me, and I ducked in and buckled myself up.
    “You didn’t eat the lunch I had sent up. Are you hungry?” he asked as he buckled his own belt.
    My stomach rumbled. “A little, I guess.”
    “I’ll order something right now. It’ll be in the suite when we get there.” He whipped out his phone and dialed.
    I sat beside him, fighting the urge to cry.
     
    Hours later, I’d eaten and was lying in my bed, staring at the television but not seeing it. My phone was set on vibrate so Kameron wouldn’t hear it. He’d hovered around me for the first couple of hours, fussing over me like I was a sick toddler. I was extremely relieved when he finally gave up on the helicopter act. He didn’t leave the suite, though. I heard him out there, moving around. Footsteps thumping on the