Page 74 of Off Balance

"Can you do me a favor?" I ask him. "Make sure the girl, Daphne, gets out of here and home safe. Don't let her leave with any of these brainwashed idiots. If she doesn't have any family to leave with, we'll be at Atlanta General. I'm sure she'll want to check on Cam."

To his credit, Nash doesn't hesitate. He nods and takes off towards the dressing rooms.

The cooler air makes Cam stir in my arms. He tries to blink but can't seem to hold his eyes open.

"Dom?"

"I've got you, tiny dancer."

"Emile, he?—"

"I know, baby. I know. We're going to take him down, don't you worry."

"—scared."

"I'm not going to let you out of my sight," I promise.

When Dwayne pulls the car around into the alleyway, I keep Cam in my arms and slide into the back. Cora stares at me while I get us situated, and then closes the door and climbs in front. She shoots a glance back at her son being cradled in my lap, and then shares a look with her husband. I don't know how to read it, and right now I don't care. All I want is to make sure my tiny dancer is okay.

They won't let me stay in the room with Cam when we bring him in. I carried him into the emergency room, and they rolled out a gurney for me to lay him on, and then wheeled him away from me.

"You don't understand," I tell the nurse charged with getting me to sit back in the lobby. "I promised I wouldn't let him out of my sight. You have to let me back with him."

Several security guards show up, but I am at least reasonable enough not to force my way back there. I know I can't help him if I'm arrested for causing a nuisance or threatening the hospital staff.

I startle when Cora's hand lands on my shoulder, and she pulls it back fearfully.

"I'm sorry," I tell her, reaching for her hand and holding it in both of mine. "I'm on edge, but I'm not going to do anything stupid. I just… I promised that I wouldn't let anybody hurt him, and now I'm letting him down again. What if he wakes up and I'm not there?"

A tear falls down her cheek, and she nods. "I'll see what I can do."

I plop down in the closest available chair to the doors he was wheeled through and rest my head in my hands. If I was a religious man, I'd pray, but I never believed anyone was listening. My mother believed, though. I look up at the ceiling and imagine her looking down on me, wondering what she'd say about all of this. When I look up at Dwayne, who has always beenthe voice of reason, he looks away from me and watches his wife at the front desk instead. Cora works here during the week, so she's familiar with the staff and rules.

Finally, the same nurse that shut me out before comes back into the waiting room and ushers the three of us to a private waiting room. She points towards an exam room and asks us to stay put so she doesn't lose her job. Cora hugs her and I give her my thanks, eyes glued to the room she pointed us to. There's a small gap in the blinds, and while I can't see much, I'm at least able to get eyes on part of him. I can tell that they're sticking electrodes to his skin, and someone is lifting his eyelids to shine a light.

Dwayne comforts Cora in his arms while I pace the room like a caged animal.After what feels like hours, but might only be minutes, a woman in a white coat leaves the room and notices us waiting nervously.

She gives us a tight smile and introduces herself as Dr. Johansen before asking some basic questions. Cora answers everything until she starts asking about what happened tonight.

"I don't know the details, but he was drugged. I'mpositive that his boss is responsible, but I can't prove it," I say honestly.

"Mr. Stevens is severely dehydrated and shows signs of malnutrition," the doctor says.

"That you can blame on his boss, too," I interject. "Sorry, I know I sound unhinged. But that man has been psychologically abusing Cam since he started there."

"Cameron is a professional dancer, and his boyfriend owns the dance company. He takes his job very seriously and has been slimming down for his role, not that he needed it. He was doing fine?—"

"—until Alistar felt Cam pulling away and felt the need to assert his control. He's been messing with his head and making threats."

"What kind of threats?" Dwayne asks, staring at me like I've grown an extra head. "Look, it's obvious that you're jealous, but?—"

"You know what he did already, Dwayne. You know what he's capable of. Well, let me tell you, it's much worse than we imagined."

"What is he talking about?" Cora asks Dwayne, who pulls her into his arms again.

"Look, this is Cam's story to tell. I'm only saying this much so you know what's going on." I look at the doctor. "He didn't do this to himself."

Dr. Johansen nods, still not looking convinced. "I'm going to run a full tox screen, blood alcohol test, CBC, and chem panel. His heart rate is a little on the high side, but that can be common with dehydration and isn't anything to worry about yet. His blood pressure is dangerously low. The fluids should help, but we're also doing an EKG. We'll monitor him closely for the next several hours, and potentially overnight." She looks at Cora. "Once the nurses are done, one family member may stay with him at a time." Dr. Johansen turns a hard glare at me. "One, Mr. Connor."

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