“No,” Erik repeats.
My heart thumps. “What’s going on?”
Dr. Madsen exhales shakily. “There was a request from Dr. Rhys's research group. I was unsure until Dr. Rhys explained how this could help other women.”
Dr. Rhys’s jaw flexes once in irritation or defiance; I can’t tell. Erik steps in front of me, blocking me with his body.
“Claire is not a research subject.”
Dr. Rhys doesn’t move back. “Her biomarkers are extraordinary. It would be medically negligent not to…”
Erik’s voice drops into a growl I’ve never heard before. “You take one more step toward her, and I will break your hands.”
Silence hits the room like a blow. Dr. Madsen gasps. "Erik…" But he isn’t listening. His attention is locked on Dr. Rhys, who finally steps back, slowly, like he’s cataloging every one of Erik’s movements.
I slide off the table on unsteady legs. “I don’t feel safe right now,” I say shakily.
Erik turns to me instantly. “We’re leaving.” Dr. Madsen nods helplessly. “Of course, I don’t want you ever to feel unsafe here. I’ll call in a few days to discuss this with you both.”
Dr. Rhys doesn’t protest, but I can feel his eyes follow me all the way out the clinic doors. And the look in them tells me this isn’t over.
The air outsidefeels like heat rising off asphalt.
Erik walks with one hand on my back. “Get in, little one,” he murmurs, unlocking the passenger door, helping me sit down, and buckling me up.
Before he can close the passenger door, a man steps out from behind a silver SUV, arms crossed, expression blank.
“Halvorsen,” he calls out in a too-smooth voice. Erik goes stone-still. My heart beats fast against my chest. The stranger’s eyes flick to me. He is not looking at my face but rather at my breasts.
He’s assessing, measuring, and calculating.
“Whatever this is, you do not want to start anything, especially here where civilians can get hurt,” Erik says. “Best for you to walk away.”
The man’s smile is thin. “We’ll speak soon.”
“No,” Erik said sternly. “We won’t.”
The man lifts his hands, not in surrender, just as a gesture of inevitability, before slipping away behind the SUV and driving off.
I shake all over. Erik checks to ensure I’m buckled in safely once more, then closes the passenger door and jogs over to the driver’s seat, buckles in quickly, turns on the car, and begins to drive out of the parking lot as swiftly and safely as possible.
“Erik,” I whisper, my voice breaking.
“I know, sweetheart," he says soothingly, both hands on the wheel, gripping it hard enough I can see his knuckles turning white.
When he rounds the corner, I see it in his expression: this wasn’t just a warning… it was a threat.
I collapse onto the couch,trembling. The room feels too bright. My skin feels too tight. My chest aches with heaviness, the kind that signals I need to pump, but fear turns the ache sharp.
Erik kneels in front of me, hands on my thighs. “Look at me.”
I try. “Claire. Look at me.”
My eyes finally meet his, and the moment they do, everything crashes out of me.
“I don’t feel like myself,” I sob. “My body is changing so fast, and it scares me that Dr. Rhys seemedtoo interested, and what if it’s my fault they’re watching, and what if…”
He catches my face in both palms. “Stop.” His voice is deep, steady, and unshakeable.
