“You do if you want to keep breathing.”

His eyes flashed with anger, but then another wave hit him and his knees buckled. Maya caught his arm before he fell and guided him into the leather chair.

“Mrs. Gordon, call Dr. Bennett—now,” she shouted toward the hallway.

Arthur tried to stand again, but Maya pressed one hand to his shoulder, keeping him grounded. “Don’t move.”

For one strange second, they stared at each other in the dark, lit only by a flash of lightning outside. No one had touched him like that in years—carefully, without wanting something, without fear.

Arthur stopped fighting and leaned back.