Free Corinne (Book One of The Red Diamond Saga) by Jennifer Janne

her, when large hands grabbed her roughly and shook her.
    She cringed as she was jostled back into reality and the pain overwhelmed her once more, making her stomach retch.
    “It's okay.” The voice promised her. “We have all been through it.” She felt a pinprick of pain as something was injected into her arm, and a moment later the pain began to subside. She took a long deep breath that made her lungs burn, and as she exhaled, the voice that was just beside her became just a figment of her imagination.
    There was no one there.
    She was alone in the bathroom.
    There was a pounding on the front door. Someone was shouting her name. “Corinne!”
    She knew the voice. She ached for the voice.
    “Daniel.” She wanted to shout his name, but all she could do was whisper it. She heard him use his key to unlock the door. She heard its subtle squeak as it swung open. The pain continued to fade away, but the weakness she felt was akin to being paralyzed. When his frame filled the bathroom doorway she gazed up at him from the floor with such gratitude that it brought tears to his eyes. She was pale, and her eyes were bloodshot. Her lips were tinged with blue and when he crouched beside her and gently touched her wrist, her pulse was faint and her skin was cool.
    He called for an ambulance as he gingerly massaged her arms and fingers. His eyes never left hers; holding on to the life that he saw within them, as if he was afraid if he blinked she might be gone forever.
    “Corinne,” He spoke in a commanding tone. “Just breathe. In and out.” He drew in a breath and exhaled, as if he could force her to do the same. She struggled to breathe at the same rate he was, but she was too weak to match his pace.
    “Did you eat or drink anything?” Daniel asked quickly, afraid that she would pass out without him knowing how she had become so ill.
    Corinne could not get her head to move to answer him; she could only stare up into his eyes, using them as an anchor for her focus, to keep her mind from drifting and spinning away again.
    “It's going to be okay.” Daniel promised as the medics rushed in behind him. There was not enough room for all of them in the bathroom, and they insisted that Daniel leave. Letting go of Corinne's hand was hard, but letting go of her gaze was torturous. His eyes flooded with tears as he felt an ominous sensation that he might never see them open, and gazing up at him again.
    The medics worked quickly evaluating her vital signs. They did not waste a moment before lifting her on to a stretcher and wheeling her out of the apartment. Daniel followed closely behind but he was not allowed to ride in the ambulance with her. They were performing CPR on her as the ambulance doors slammed shut, and Daniel buckled over with the stomach wrenching certainty that she was gone.

25
    “I was too late.” He gasped as he ran his hands back through his blonde hair and tried to slow his anxious breaths.
    “You don't know that.” Lisa said as she reached out to try to comfort Aaron. “I am sure she will be fine.” She could not hide a twinge of jealousy at Aaron's concern. For so long it had just been the two of them, and now there was Corinne. Of course for many years she had known that Corinne would eventually be a part of their lives, she had just never realized how much animosity she held toward the other woman.
    When the door to the small office burst open, both Aaron and Lisa jumped and shrunk back away from the furious presence that was Conner.
    “What have you done?” He growled at Aaron as the man, who by all accounts was more physically capable than Conner could ever be, shuddered like a little boy anticipating discipline.
    “I had to.” He whispered without lifting his eyes from the floor he was staring hard at.
    “No,” Conner hissed as he prowled closer to Aaron. “You did not have to defy me, and risk all of our safety to do something so blatantly stupid.” He lifted his hand as if he might strike