He took the cold glass case from my hand and stood under the overhead light to read the screen.

His eyes moved slowly down the messages, from the first demand to the link at the end.

The strong muscle along his jaw flexed hard twice under his skin.

He didn’t say a word for almost ten seconds.

“She must think I was discharged yesterday afternoon,” I said, watching his face.

“She probably forgot about the surgery.”

“She didn’t forget anything, Claire,” Kevin said, his voice flat and deliberate.

“I can just call her back and explain that I can’t bake thirty lemon desserts while I’m hooked up to a monitor,” I said.