Chapter 287

Dominic's biceps flexed as he verified the address. This was definitely Evelyn's apartment. He rapped softly on the window. "Evelyn, it's me. Open up."

No response came after several attempts. His pulse quickened. Could she not hear him? Or was something wrong?

The thought sent ice through his veins. Moving swiftly along the balcony, he reached her bedroom window. The unlocked latch gave way easily under his fingers.

Instead of warmth, the room greeted him with winter's bite. His body shuddered involuntarily.

Darkness and silence enveloped the space like a tomb. His unease deepened as he flung open the bedroom door.

There she was - curled into herself on the sofa, clad only in thin sleepwear, lost in some private torment.

The sight of her isolation struck him like a physical blow. Before he could think, he was kneeling beside her, gathering her feverish form against his chest. The heat radiating from her forehead dissolved his planned reprimands into a single, tender utterance. "Evelyn..."

Her glassy eyes focused slowly. Shock flickered across her features before hardening into icy detachment.

"How did you get in?" Her voice rasped with illness and anger. "Leave."

Dominic exhaled sharply. "You're burning up in this freezing apartment. Where's your common sense?"

"Go to hell." She twisted weakly in his grasp, her movements sluggish from fever and resentment.

His palm cupped her scorching cheek. With a frustrated sigh, he retrieved a down jacket from her bedroom and wrestled her into it despite her protests. "Enough. You need a doctor."

"I don't need anything from you." Her congested voice broke. "We're nothing to each other. Just leave me alone."

On the stairwell, they nearly collided with Tabitha returning from her bridge game. The middle-aged woman's face twisted in disapproval at the sight of the striking man cradling her disreputable neighbor.

As they passed, Tabitha's lips curled. What could such an obviously wealthy man see in that tramp? Her own daughter - a promising journalist at a major newspaper - would be far more suitable. She'd noticed his luxury car parked outside before. The thought of introducing her daughter to him took root in her scheming mind.

Dominic remained oblivious to Tabitha's machinations, his attention wholly consumed by Evelyn's condition. He settled her into the passenger seat, buckling the resistant woman securely.

Evelyn curled inward, her usual vitality extinguished. When the engine rumbled to life, she suddenly lunged for the door handle.

Dominic's reflexes were faster. He seized her wrist and engaged the child locks in one fluid motion. Forcing her to meet his gaze, he demanded, "What's gotten into you?"

"Let me out," she spat, twisting away.

Her refusal to even look at him ignited his temper. His knuckles whitened on the steering wheel. "I've apologized for last night. Tell me what you want from me."

Evelyn kept her eyes shut, fingers scrabbling uselessly at the door mechanism. "Open this door, Dominic."

The chasm between them seemed insurmountable. If apologies could erase all wounds, the world would be overrun with unrepentant sinners.

When the door refused to yield, she whirled on him, fever-bright eyes blazing. "Let me out now!"

Dominic's expression darkened dangerously. He secured her seatbelt with deliberate movements. "Hospital first. We'll talk after."

Evelyn slumped in defeat, the fight draining from her. Arguing with this stubborn man was like shouting into a hurricane.

As the car accelerated, she turned her face to the window, shutting him out completely. Dominic's jaw clenched. He pressed the accelerator harder, the powerful vehicle responding instantly.

At the hospital parking lot, he scooped Evelyn into his arms and sprinted toward the emergency entrance...