I cock my head in confusion when, instead of answering the doctor’s question,Briar looks at me.There’s uncertainty on her face. “I—um,” she stumbles, “I don’t?—”
“What did you discuss last time?” I ask, anxious to know what has Briar tongue-tied all of a sudden.
The doctor’s gaze slides to mine. “I’m sorry, I don’t believe we’ve had the pleasure…” She sizes me up. “I’m Doctor Haven, Remi’s pulmonologist,” she says curtly, “and you are?”
“Koen O’Rourke. What did you discuss last time?” I reiterate. The anxious look on Briar’s face isstressing me the fuck out.
Surprise shines on Doctor Haven’s face; sherecognizesthe name. “I’m sorry, I didn’t realize—-” She doesn’t finish her sentence, instead looking to Briar for confirmation before continuing.
Briar nods, reluctantly.
“There’s a new drug on the market. An injectable, but it’s given yearly instead of monthly, with a much higher success rate at minimizing and preventing these types of attacks altogether.”
“Do it.” I push off the wall I’ve been leaning on, rising to my full height and crossing my arms while eyeing Briar with confusion. The two nurses in the room each take a step back, and Doctor Haven rolls back her shoulders, gripping tightly to her laptop. “If she’s such an excellent candidate, what are you waiting for? Give her the drug.” There’s a tension emanating from everyone in the room.I’m missing something, and it’s starting to piss me off.
“Well, it’s very expensive, and we do require the payment up front in order to proceed.” She lifts her chin, but catching a glimpse of the ire in my eye, she loses a bit of bravado.
“You have a medication that will make my daughter’s life infinitely better, and you’rewithholdingit until you get thecash?” Doctor Haven's eyes widen, and she gulps, shifting uncomfortably. “Am I understanding that correctly?” I ask, well aware of the intensity of my gaze on her.
She mumbles something about policy, but I wave her off.
“How much?”
“I—uh—” Doctor Haven fumbles with the laptop in her hand, sensing my growing irritation with every second passing. “The estimate for the injection alone is $10,700, and then—” I don’t hear anything else she says after that. A quiet realization spreads through me when I hear that number.
That veryspecificnumber.
My eyes slide to Briar, but she’s staring at the floor. Remi’s watching me with a little smile on her face, not a fan ofDoctor Haven,it would seem.
“It doesn’t matter,” I cut off the doctor’s whole spiel. “I’ll take care of it, just give it to her now.”
The room is a flurry of activity as the hospital staff set Remi up for her injection, and people are in and out, continuing to monitor her breathing and oxygen levels.
I learn Remi is not a big fan of needles.
They have to hold her down, and it takes everything in me not to fight every one of those nurses when I hear her screams.
Remi has to stay at the hospital for a couple of hours to monitor her progress, but she should be able to go home tonight. She falls asleep in Briar’s arms not long after she gets her injection, exhausted from all the excitement.
Briar and I sit in silence. There’s a lot that needs to be said, but now is not the time.
My phone rings and I pull it out to answer quickly, not wanting to wake Remi up.
“Giovanni’s surfaced,” is all I hear on the other end of the call.
“I’m on my way,” making eye contact with Briar as I speak the words before I hang up the phone.
“I've gotta go.” I see a flash of hurt in her blue eyes, and it’s almost enough to make me sit back down.Almost. I was ready to burn the world to the ground a couple of hours ago, but right now, I’m willing to settle for a verysmallpiece of Italy.
“Have someone call me if anything changes,” I tell her.
Briar’s face is carefully blank again, mask back in place when she nods absently toward me, pretending not to care if I stay or go.
“I’ll be back,” I promise both of them, hovering by the door for another second, before stepping out into the hall where I find Liam, Aidan, Mac, and Jace, all guarding the door to the hospital room. Their towering forms—and pissed-off expressions—seem to be keeping everyone who doesn’t need to be in thisparticularhallway out of it, seeing as it’s dead quiet. I spy Rory, too, nearly hidden behind Aidan where she’s curled up in a chair reading a book.
“Rory, could you stay with Briar while I’m gone? I don’t want her to be alone.” She nods and stands, reaching out to squeeze my hand before disappearing into the room.
My eyes connect with Liam, and with a slight nod of my head, he follows me a few feet down the hall. I lower my voice. “Briar says she showed up at Last Call when she first found out she was pregnant… that she was going to tell me—about Remi,” I swallow hard, “and thatyouwere there...”
