Page 84 of Night and Day

The puff of her breath against my palm didn’t reassure me. I pressed my fingers to her throat. Her pulse was still racing too fast.

The drive to the hospital felt like it took days, but in reality—especially with the way Caden was disregarding the speed limit—we were there in minutes.

He jerked the vehicle to a halt. I gathered Tessa in my arms and when Enzo opened the door, I was out. I strode into the bright, and thankfully quiet, ER.

“Help. She needs help.”

Nurses sprang into action. Then Tessa was being pulled away from me and put on a gurney. I had to hold myself back from lurching forward to grab her again.

“What have we got?” A tall, male doctor in a lab coat appeared. He had light brown hair and looked about my age.

“We were eating dinner, she was fine. She was her usual self. Then she got sick. She vomited, and started complaining that her heart was racing.”

The doctor leaned over her with his stethoscope. “Get the monitors on her. She has an elevated heart rate.”

I swallowed. It felt like there was barbed wire in my throat. “She lost consciousness.”

“What did she eat?”

“Steak.”

“Did you eat it as well?” the doctor asked.

“No. I had the fish. Different meal but made from the same kitchen.”

Shit. She was still and paler than before. I grabbed her hand.Wake up, baby.

“Does she have any allergies?”

“I don’t know. She didn’t mention anything.”

“Did she ingest anything? Medication? Chemicals? Drugs? Poison?”

I shook my head. “No. We had wine. I drank that too.Wait.” I suddenly remembered a news article about a toddler ingesting eyedrops. They were really poisonous. “There were eyedrops on the table beside the food. They weren’t mine. I figured the cleaning staff at the hotel had left them.”

The doctor’s eyes sharpened and he spun to face a nurse. “Do a blood draw. Possible tetrahydrozoline poisoning. Maintain her airway.”

They slipped an oxygen mask over Tessa’s face and whisked her away.

I tried to follow, but a big, black male nurse put a hand to my chest. “Sorry, sir. You’ll need to stay here. We’ll take care of her.”

Dammit, no. I took a step forward.

Arms grabbed me. Caden and Enzo hauled me back.

“We’ve got him,” Caden said.

“What if—?” I couldn’t voice it.

“Sit down, Ro,” Caden said. “She’s going to be fine.”

I didn’t want to sit down. I wanted to punch something.

I dropped into a chair, my hands dangling between my legs.

“I’ll find us some coffee,” Enzo murmured.

I just kept staring at the lino floor. What if she wasn’t all right? What if Tessa didn’t get better?God. I put my hands behind my neck, my gut churning. “Caden…”