Dr. Stedmeyer nodded. “Yes and it seems her brain has steadily been developing in the weeks since we last scanned her.”
“Developing?” Elio snapped, looking more ragged than I had ever seen him as he threaded his fingers through Cini’s. They had been inseparable the entire morning like they were planets orbiting each other. Probably thanks to the matching pair of bondmarks they both shared. “Developing how?”
“Growing—sort-of. Now, I’m no neurologist, but it seems the glands that create designation have been swelling in order to accommodate the sudden flush of new hormones and pressingagainst other parts of her brain which may explain some of the seizure activity we have been seeing.”
“And how exactly does that equal telepathy?” Ranieri growled, running a frustrated hand through his hair.
“We’re not completely sure to be honest. The only thing I can think of is that the growing glands have something to do with it and when Elio here bit her neck last night it was almost like completing some kind of circuit between their bond marks allowing them to communicate with each other rather than just feeling each other’s emotions. It’s actually very fascinating and I’m sure there are loads of endocrinologists who are anxious to really figure it out—”
“She won’t be poked and prodded like a lab rat.” The words rippled out of me in a low, dangerous growl.
All eyes in the room moved to me, surprised as always to hear me speak.
“She’s been through enough,” I finished, feeling suddenly awkward at the amount of attention I was receiving.
Dr. Stedmeyer, seeming to realize just how overzealous he was in the name of scientific progress, shot me a sheepish smile. “Right, you’re right. I’m sorry.”
Ranieri, ever the one to try and smooth things over, leaned forward in his seat. “You said that parts of her brain are growing. Is that something we should worry about?”
The air in the room seemed to cool off several degrees as we waited for him to answer.
“Truthfully? I’m not sure. The seizures are definitely something we need to keep an eye on, but as far as I’m aware it’s been weeks since her last one?”
We turned to Cini who nodded, nibbling on her bottom lip.
“She had one a week before the wedding,” Elio said suddenly, earning himself a glare from the woman next to him. “I’m not going to lie to them, Cini.”
‘Stop reading my mind without permission,’she signed, making it clear she didn’t appreciate him outing her as she pulled her hand away from his.
Elio’s expression dropped like a puppy being abandoned by its owner which was completely different from his usual demeanor.
Somehow we had truly gone to bed and ended up in theTwilight Zone, or maybe theX-Menwas more appropriate considering Cini’s new psychic abilities.
“Well that is to be expected. I’d like to keep her coming in consistently so we can monitor the growths in her brain because if worse comes to worst…” The doctor trailed off uncomfortably.
“If worse comes to worst?” Nico prodded, looking irritated.
“Well, then we would have to consider brain surgery.”
***
Night soon fell and the car was silent as we drove back to the Amante estate. The old man had allowed us to take her to the doctor—probably scared the prize he’d paid so dearly for was getting sick.
And he had paid dearly for the Russians to kidnap her and use her in their fucked up experiments. Ranieri had finally uncovered the transaction after combing forensically through their accounts for weeks.
Amante had decided to take a huge risk with Cini and she’d nearly died from it.
My hands tightened painfully around the steering wheel at the thought as I glanced back to where the woman in question was quietly napping.
She looked damned exhausted these days, a constant smudge of purple underneath her blue eyes.
Yesterday, it had been easy to forget how much of a toll the changes to her body had taken on her thanks to her bridal makeup, but now it was obvious and it nagged at my senses.
With a growl, I pulled the SUV I was driving onto the shoulder of the winding road that led to the Amante estate and put it into park.
“What are you doing?” Ranieri asked from the passenger seat, his face aglow from his phone screen.
I turned to face them. “We can’t just take her back there. Not anymore.”
