Chapter Twenty-One
What the phuk is taking so long? Ruyn paced. The waiting and uncertainty were killing him.
There’d been others in the “comfort room,” but either they got called away, or they relocated to another comfort station where a crazy man didn’t stomp back and forth.
Come on. Come on. Come on. He feared the longer the wait, the worse the outcome. What if she didn’t come out of this? What if they couldn’t cure her?
What if she died? Again.
When he’d returned to the bedroom and found her, she’d been nonresponsive, her face and throat hugely swollen. He’d detected no respiration, no heartbeat. He’d given her the shot Dr. Adanna had sent with them then called the medic and started CPR.
They got there right away, letting themselves in with a first responder’s bypass so he didn’t have to stop CPR to open the door. They’d taken over and, with their portable resuscitator, got her heart beating and her lungs working.
She’d looked terrible, her face and throat swollen beyond recognition. He was no doctor, but he could see this episode was much, much worse than the second, which had been worse than the first. The severity is escalating. He feared another attack would kill her.
He’d never forgive himself for not being there, for not catching it sooner. What if he hadn’t gone back to the bedroom for his tech tab?
What is taking them so long? I should have insisted on joining her no matter what the doctor said.
“Ruyn!”
He whipped around. “Korsan? What are you doing here?”
“I got your message.” His brother hugged him.
Whatever Korsan had gotten into didn’t matter.
Only Michaela did. When they’d taken her away, he’d turned to the one person he’d always relied on when he had a problem, even if he was the one who’d caused the problem.
He needed to hear his big brother tell him everything would be all right.
In the wee hours of the morning, his hail had gone straight to messaging.
“How is she?” Korsan asked.
“I don’t know. I haven’t heard. They’re running tests. They took her away—” How long had it been? An hour? He sank into a seat and rested his elbows on his knees.
Korsan sat next to him. “What happened?”
“She had another allergic reaction. She—she—” He swallowed.
“I found her, and she was unresponsive. She wasn’t breathing.
Thank the Starlight doctor’s diligence in giving us an extra injector for the flight home.
I used it and performed rescue breathing.
” He glanced at his brother. “Thank you for coming.” Korsan had pulled some stupid shit—but he always came through when needed.
“Of course, I came.”
“I don’t know what I’ll do if I lose her.” It would kill him.
Korsan squeezed his shoulder. “You’re not going to lose her. To begin with, she’s in the right place. This hospital is one of the best. People come from around the galaxy to be treated here. Second, if I know anything about Michaela, she’s a fighter.”
“She is.” He gave a small grin. “She kicked a Prellim’s ass.”
“What? When?”
“Right after we got home from Elyxis 4. He’d broken into her apartment while we were at the office. He grabbed her when she stepped inside. She beat the crap out of him then pulled her weapon, and he ran off.”
“Phuk! Why didn’t you tell me?”
“It had just happened, and we were still investigating the incident.” We were investigating you, too. “We didn’t know he was Prellim at the time.”
Korsan got to his feet and shoved his hands in his pockets. “Please tell me what happened tonight has nothing to do with that.”
Ruyn frowned. “I’m sure it doesn’t. Why would it?”
He shook his head and took his seat again. “I hired her. I’m freaked out at the thought of something happening to her.”
“You and me both. A lot of strange things have occurred lately, but I don’t see a connection between a break-in by a member of a criminal cartel and her going into anaphylactic shock two nights later.”
“I am so sorry you’re going through this. That she’s going through this. I love you. I’m so sorry.” He sounded, not just sympathetic but apologetic. Why should he be sorry?
Ruyn suddenly got a bad feeling.
“Ruyn?” A nurse-tech appeared. “You may see Michaela now. And the doctor wishes to speak to you.”
He got to his feet, torn between seeing Michaela and pursuing the conversation. Michaela came first. “Will you wait?” he asked.
His brother nodded. “I’ll be here.”