15. Sonali
Chapter 15
Sonali
I applied the ruby-red lipstick that matched my red dress. Earlier in the day, Kat had come into the conference room I took over and asked me what my plan was. I told her I was unsure since Paolo had only wanted a month, and we lived across the globe from each other.
She was quick to remind me that I didn’t have family or many friends in Paris and I could paint anywhere. She even offered to keep letting me use the office as a studio, so if I had to meet with a potential buyer, it wouldn’t be at the place where I lived. But I pointed out that I had no place to live.
She proceeded to remind me that Paolo barely let me stay at his place alone, and did I really think he would allow me to live at my own place?
The only way to figure out what was next for us was to actually have the conversation. I grabbed my bag from the bench and walked out into the main gym. I’d taken a while to get ready, and Paolo should have been standing out here waiting. Hell, I’m surprised he didn’t come into the bathroom. I peeked my head back into the men’s room and found Paolo on the ground, drool coming out of his mouth.
I grabbed my phone and dialed Sawyer. “Something happened. You need to help me.”
“Breathe, Sonali. Then tell me what’s going on?”
My hand shook as I placed it on Paolo’s wrist. He had a faint pulse. “I just found Paolo on the floor passed out. It looks like he took one of the pills the nurse gave him yesterday.”
“Pills? His treatment does not have any pills. What does the bottle say?”
“Cortaval, and it has the doctor’s name on it.”
“Fuck. I need you to find an EpiPen, and when you do, shoot it into his leg. I need to hang up and make a call to get an ambulance there.”
“Wait, how can I find an EpiPen?”
“We need to hope that Antonio keeps med bags for when his team deploys in the office. Look for where the armory might be and a medical bag. I need to get someone there now.”
The line went dead. I rolled Paolo to his side and grabbed his employee key card. Kat had taken me into the armory before, when she fitted me for a pair of boxing gloves and promised to teach me how to use nun chucks.
“You better not die,” I growled before jumping to my feet and ran through the gym down the long hall to the last door on the right.
I swiped the card over the lock, and ten numbers appeared on the pad. Right, the code. I’d watched Paolo type it in when he unlocked his office and pressed one, six, three, seven. The light flashed green, and I pushed open the door.
To my right was a cage of guns; to the left were cabinets. I threw the first one open, and it contained piles of uniforms. The second had towels, and the third had gauze and bandages—no types of medications. I scanned the room a second time and noticed three backpacks on the floor in the cage. Paolo had told me they were go-bags and had everything you could think of. I pressed his card against the door lock, and it flashed red. “No!” I swiped again, and it was still red.
My hand shook as I pulled out my phone, and the screen blurred as I tried to find Kat’s name. Why hadn’t I just told him how I felt? Now he might never know. It kept ringing, and when I almost clicked off, her voice came through.
“I thought you planned to seduce your man.”
“I need to get into the gun cage, but his badge isn’t working.”
“Is there a break-in?” Kat’s voice went deadly. “Lock yourself in the armory, and we will help Paolo.”
“No, I need to find an EpiPen. I don’t know what exactly happened, but those drugs given to Paolo did something, and Sawyer said to use an EpiPen. I was hoping to find one in these backpacks.”
“You must have his door badge. Give me a second.”
A moment later, the cage light went green, and I heard a small pop. I yanked the metal door open and dropped next to the bag.
“In the front section of the bag is a small red pouch. Inside, you’ll find two EpiPens. Antonio, are you still near the office? We’re going to head back.”
“Okay.”
I ended the call and ripped the red pouch from the duffel, and the zipper stuck. On the wall hung six large, curved knives. I grabbed one and sliced through the fabric. The pen rolled out onto the ground. I wrapped my fingers around the device and sprinted back to Paolo. He was still on his side with his eyes closed.
My fingers gripped his zipper and yanked it. His dead weight made it hard to pull his pants down. I struggled as they slowly moved. When I spotted the top of his thigh, I flipped the cap off the pen and stuck it in his leg. Nothing. He still didn’t move. I’d watched enough medical TV to know people magically start breathing the moment the pen goes in. Except Paolo didn’t budge.
I laid myself next to Paolo and pulled him close. His chest rose and fell. I wasn’t sure how long I was curled up next to him when a loud voice sounded from outside the bathroom. Sawyer came rushing in. He pulled me up from the ground and into his arms. Two men and a gurney came next. Antonio walked in as they squatted down and lifted Paolo onto the medical bed.
“Did you give him the medicine?”
“Yes,” I sobbed. “But he didn’t wake up.”
Sawyer nodded. “I didn’t expect him to. What you did will delay the meds he took. Can you show me the bottle?”
Kat was crouched down on the floor, picking up the bottle and the scattered pills.
“These pills were supposed to be destroyed. Can you tell me what the person looked like?”
“Can I go with Paolo?”
“No, there isn’t room for you in the back of the ambulance. I will take you.”
As we walked toward the building’s exit, Antonio and Kat gave Sawyer a rundown of what the person looked like. He explained she was a former member of the nursing staff, but was let go a couple of months ago when some research was leaked.
Antonio stepped in front of Sawyer’s path. “Why Paolo? Does this have anything to do with what the CIA was after?”
Sawyer stared Antonio down. “You can drill me later, but right now I need to save that man’s life.”
When Antonio stepped to the side, I hurried behind Sawyer as he jogged to the car. Neither of us spoke as he weaved through traffic. A nurse was at the front waiting for Sawyer when we walked in. “It’s bad. The EpiPen worked to delay it, but his organs are shutting down. The doc wants to know your decision.”
Sawyer turned to me. “You have to decide. We have one option to save him. If you want, we can use you, but I also know he was adamant about not doing the treatment.”
He would hate me, but I wasn’t going to let him die. “Use me. Where do you need me?”
“This way.” He guided me toward a long hall with a locked metal door at the end. He placed his hand on a small screen, and it slid open. “I’m going to need at least a pint of your blood.”
I slid into the chair and rested my arm on the white armrest. The room was setup like the one my mom would use to draw my blood as a kid. One difference was the equipment was more motorized than what mom had, but test tubes lining the shelves on the wall were identical to mom’s lab. Three medical beds were lined up on the far wall and next to each one was a tray with stainless steel medical instruments. Sawyer washed his hands and put on a pair of gloves. “You’re drawing the blood?”
“Yes, I did spend a lot of time in the lab with Mom. It was the only place I could see her since Dad didn’t want anyone drawing connections to us. He worried it would put me in danger. Flex your hand.”
I pumped my fist, and Sawyer slid the needle into my arm, letting my blood flow through the tube.
“Is she still alive?”
His brows furrowed. “I already told you she was. That nurse was the leak—she worked for the government and was after Mom. So, I had to get Mom out of the country.”
Sawyer reached behind the chair I was in and reclined it a little.
“Did you send her to the UK?”
“Why would you think I sent her there?”
“Because you are a member of the Royal Bones Society.”
“Antonio spoke to Bryson.” Sawyer rubbed a hand over his face. “What else did he tell you?”
“That this company was originally funded by that society. Are Mom and your dad part of it?”
His eyes softened. “He’s your dad as well.”
But he wasn’t. He was a sperm donor who wanted nothing to do with me.
“You didn’t answer my questions.”
“This is information you shouldn’t know, but Bryson and his brothers are high up in the society, and they started the leak. For a long time, the society decided who people ended up with relationship wise. Even though Dad loved Mom, they never approved of their union. Dad’s current marriage is based on the old rules.”
Sawyer reached over, opened the fridge door near the medical chair, pulled out a juice box, and pushed the straw into the hole before handing it to me. The sweet flavor washed over my tongue.
“Then why did you send her there if she is not part of the society?”
“Mom has always worked on cutting-edge research. Even though the Society didn’t want her married to Dad, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t follow her. So, when she got into trouble all those years ago, they helped her disappear if she continued her research for their facility. Her latest project had a breakthrough, which that nurse leaked. She had also took a picture of Mom. The CIA has been after mom’s research for years. In the wrong hands, it will link back to?—”
“You,” I finished for him. “Which was why Devon willed you all the research. Did he know about all of this?”
“Everything but the society, and they will do anything to protect Mom.”
“I still don’t get why she targeted Paolo.”
“I’m not sure, but we will figure it out. You’re almost done. I will run it through the process and have the doctor give Paolo the treatment. It should take about an hour for him to feel better.”
“It used to take longer than that and used a lot more blood.”
“Years of research and the process changed.”
He pulled the needle from my arm and wrapped a pink bandage around the wound. “Rest here while I work on the treatment.”
On the counter was a pad of paper. I grabbed it off the counter and scribbled down Paolo’s name to start. There was no way he would understand her decision. A tear dropped on the page as I wrote the first line. I poured my soul into the letter, hoping he wouldn’t hate me.
“Why are you crying? He will make it.”
“But he won’t forgive me for this. I can’t face him. Neither of us talked about what would happen after I left. I think it’s best I just go now. There is a flight to Paris in four hours.”
“That’s a horrible idea.”
I stood and wrapped Sawyer in a hug. “Please do this for me.”
“I’ll call my pilot. Take my plane, and here are my keys. Just leave it at the airport, and I will have someone get it. I will do this as long as you promise to stay at the place Devon willed you.”
After my time with Paolo, I was sure no place would feel like home. “Yes.”
I left the paper on the counter and walked toward the exit. Sawyer grumbled something, but I ignored him and kept walking. Tears kept falling as I stepped into the parking garage. Not wanting to hear from Kat, I turned off my phone.
Sawyer’s G-Wagon was parked in the first spot. I clicked the unlock button on the fob. My fingers wrapped around the door handle as the reflection of a person in the window caught my attention, but it was too late. The prick of a needle in my neck was all I felt before I slumped to the ground.