“Brian fucking James. That’s what just happened.”
I stood up, immediately anxious. “What?”
“Papers just arrived at the office. Divorce papers.”
“Wow, that was fast.”
“Charging Lizzy with adultery.”
My anger was as instant as his. “Fucker,” I swore. “What is he up to?”
“I have no idea. But, I’m going to find out. I need to go somewhere private. Excuse me.”
I watched him walk down the hall and speak to a nurse who pointed to a door further down the hall. Adam disappeared through it, shutting the door loudly.
I sat down, my mind racing. What was he up to? Charging Lizzy with adultery? Still playing games? I shook my head. Why? To try and make himself look good?
I was distracted from my thoughts as the nurse who took Rabbit’s blood earlier appeared and went into Daniel’s office. A few minutes later, she came out and hurried away, reappearing shortly with some sort of machine. Not long after, I watched Dr. Woods enter the office. I stood up, growing concerned. Had there been problems with removing the chip? Was Rabbit okay? My anxiety grew to another level as I saw yet another doctor enter the office. I could feel my panic growing. Rabbit had been in there for almost an hour. Daniel had said it could be done very quickly. What was taking so long? Something had to be wrong.
I began pacing then walked over to the door, trying the handle. It was locked. I could see the swipe card box beside the door, which was how the staff was entering the room, but I had no access. I knocked, but no one came to the door. I walked down the hall, planning on asking someone to call Daniel, but the desk was now empty. Across the hall, I could hear Adam’s muted voice still talking in short angry sentences. I paced a while longer, keeping my eye on Daniel’s door, occasionally pulling on my hair in frustration. I had just about reached my limit and, as I stood unsure what to do next, I heard footsteps and saw Dr. Woods and the other doctor walking down the hall. I hurried towards them. “What’s wrong? Is Rab … Lizzy okay?”
Dr. Woods put a comforting hand on my arm. “She’s fine, Joshua. Dr. Tate just had a few things to discuss with me and my colleague. He’ll be out to collect you in a minute.” Her fingers found my pulse and she frowned. “I think maybe you need to sit down, Joshua. Your pulse is racing.”
“Is it out? Is the chip out?” I asked, shrugging off her concern.
“Ah, almost.”
I looked at her, stunned. “What’s going on?”
She took me by the arm and led me back to the waiting area which was still deserted, thankfully.
“Everything is fine, Joshua. Daniel will be out in a minute. Calm down. Lizzy is fine. I assure you.”
I searched her eyes, desperately looking for a sign she was lying to me, but her gaze reflected nothing but calm assurance. I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding in and my head sank into my hands in relief. For one awful moment I thought something had happened and I had lost Rabbit.
“You care very deeply for her, don’t you?”
I lifted my head and nodded. “More than I can express.”
She smiled. “That is a precious gift. Always treasure it. Ah, here is Daniel.” She stood up. “Take care of her, Joshua.” She went over, speaking quietly to him and then continued down the hallway. I watched Daniel approach. His face was calm but serious. Every instinct was telling me something was wrong, despite what Dr. Woods had said. Why hadn’t the chip been removed yet?
“Come into my office, Joshua.”
Wordlessly, I followed him, my heart in my throat. I sat down at his desk, noticing Rabbit wasn’t in the room. “Daniel?”
“She’s fine, Joshua. She is still in the examination room. You can go see her in a minute.”
“Why isn’t the chip out?”
“It is now.” He leaned over and held up a small vial. “I assume her lawyer will want this.”
I took the vial and placed it in my pocket. “Why the delay then?”
He leaned back. “There was a … surprise with one of the test results. I had to do some follow-up tests to check on it.”
“What sort of surprise?”
He shook his head. “That is private and up to Lizzy to share.” His hand indicated the door. “Go and see her. I’ll be right here.” He smiled at me widely. “I’m sure you’ll have … questions.”
I looked at him, confused. I needed to see for myself that Rabbit was okay.
I pushed the door open and went in. Rabbit was seated on the table, wearing a gown, her hair in a messy bun on the top of her head. I could see she had been crying and I went over, immediately wrapping her in my arms. She was trembling slightly. I could see the small bandage on the back of her neck, a bruise already forming on the area. I gritted my teeth together in anger. The fucker had caused yet another mark on her. I pulled away and kissed her. “Are you in pain?” I asked gently.