Chapter 109 Outside the ER

• Pain at its peak steals language clean. Zayla Steele’s eyes drooped half‑closed; after barely catching a breath, a low cough racked her. Every cough yanked at her belly, a heavy, tearing ache. In that moment she finally knew what it meant to have a stomach sliced to ribbons and a heart carved raw.
• Blood flooded her throat and burst free at last. The dark red spatter mixed with tears, slid along her jaw, ran down her neck—half her face went damp, and her collar was streaked scarlet.
• Joaquin Latham’s eyes burned at the sight of that bright red on Zayla’s face. He floored it, damn the consequences.