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

casually. “Aaron, you really should not have interfered.”
    Aaron frowned, but he ducked his head to hide the expression.
    “Now, I must clean up your mess.” He hissed at Aaron as he lifted his hand from the top of the man's head. Instantly Aaron stood up, but he was careful not to show any hint of displeasure.
    “I'm sorry.” He stated mechanically and folded his hand behind his back. “I thought she was going to die, I should have trusted that you would not have let that happen.”
    Conner nodded confidently and with one more disapproving rake of his gaze over Aaron he turned and left the office. Once outside he sighed with relief. He had no idea Corinne would have such a strong reaction to the resurfacing of her abilities, or that she would be alone when the illness struck.
    In truth, if Aaron had not gone to her and dosed her with a medication to limit her body's physical reaction she might have died alone on the bathroom floor. As it was, he was not sure if she was still alive.

26
    In the hospital Daniel was pacing back and forth in the waiting room. He had been told that everything possible was being done for Corinne but had heard nothing else since. He could not get the memory of her nearly lifeless expression to leave his mind, no matter how hard he tried to replace it with a memory of her vibrant smile.
    Again it haunted him that he may have arrived too late. He had awoken from a nightmare with a strange fearful sensation. When he tried to reach Corinne repeatedly and she did not answer, he assumed she was still sleeping.
    When hours went by and he had not been able to reach her, it reminded him of how she had been snatched off the street without him ever knowing. He had rushed to her apartment.
    After she did not answer the door and he heard her cell phone ringing inside of the apartment, he had let himself in. Now he could only think of the moments he wasted calling and knocking. If he had just gone sooner, perhaps she would have been okay.
    “Daniel?” The nurse who had led him to the waiting room was standing in the doorway. She was pretty and young, but as she looked at him, her face grew weary. “You can see her now.” She said softly with a hint of sadness in her voice.
    “Is she okay?” He asked desperately as he followed the nurse.
    “Her father's with her.” The nurse answered, without actually answering her question.
    “Her father?” Daniel asked, puzzled by her words. When the nurse opened the door to Corinne's room, a man was standing beside her bed. He had one of Corinne's hands curled in his own. His hair was thinning on top and full at the base of his neck. He wore dress trousers and a plaid button down shirt that resembled another era of style. When he turned to glance over his shoulder at Daniel his expression was grave.
    Daniel recognized him immediately from the mug shot he had seen.
    “Conner Mitchell.” He said flatly. Before the nurse could sense the quick anger that rose through Daniel she was shoved out of the way and Daniel had his hands around Conner's shoulders. He shoved him hard against the hospital wall, wrenching Conner's hand away from Corinne's.
    “Did you do this to her, you bastard?” He demanded as he slammed the older, physically more fragile man against the wall. The nurse had alerted security, and despite the fact that Daniel was a police officer he knew that he would be held responsible for his actions and likely arrested if Conner decided to press charges.
    However, he did not care. The moment he laid eyes on the man who had claimed to be Corinne's father he wanted to tear him asunder. He wanted to break every bone in his body to make him pay for the terror he had put Daniel through in the past when he had taken Corinne, and now, he was certain that he had something to do with the illness that Corinne was suffering from.
    “Daniel.” The man managed to breathe out through gasps of pain. “You are making a mistake.” Daniel shook his head as he