He rubs his chin. “I’ll be sending him home with a low-dose anti-anxiety prescription, to take as needed. It should help if the panic returns.”
Fantastic. Still not sure why you’re tellingmethis.
I glance at the clock. Where thehellis Gabriel?
“Would you mind if I stepped out and grabbed his boyfriend?” I ask, keeping my voice polite, even though my patience is slipping. “He’s probably the one who should be hearing all this.”
Dr. Belize looks up from his clipboard—there’s that eyebrow again. “You mean Gabriel? He left with the other gentlemanyou came in with. He seemed very upset. Asked me to explain everything to you.”
Of course he did.
I shift my weight, stuffing my hands deep into my pockets, like I can bury my awkwardness right along with them.
“Sure.” I groan, resigned.
But before he can say anything else, a soft rustling comes from the bed.
Noah stirs beneath the sheets, knees shifting slightly, eyes fluttering open like he’s surfacing from underwater. He blinks against the light, glancing at the doctor—then at me.
“Alex?” he asks, blinking hard. “What are you doing here? Where’s Gabriel?”
His eyes are still cloudy with meds, but… yeah, that’s what I’d like to know too.
“One last thing,” Dr. Belize interrupts, closing the clipboard and shoving the pen into the pocket of his lab coat. “If Meera resurfaces, please let us know.”
I freeze, feeling the blood drain from my face.
29
ELIJAH
“Meera’s hissister?That’s absurd.” I shake my head as Steven rolls to a stop in front of our building, reaching for the door handle.
“That’s what I said!” Gabriel snaps.
“Well… I don’t feel right about this.” I hop down from the SUV and hold a hand out to him. “Noah wouldn’t want us digging through his things.”
“Trust me, Elijah. He’s hiding something.”
I slam the car door and jog to catch up. “Thenaskhim,” I plead. “Breaking into his apartment is wrong. Not to mention illegal. And, honestly, it’s none of our business.”
“It’smybusiness!”
Gabriel spins around, suddenly gripping my shoulders.
“I have a key,” he adds, voice lower, like he knows he’s already crossed a line. “So… it’s nottechnicallybreaking in.”
His face is flushed, eyes red. He gives me a slight shake. “Listen, Elijah. I saw her. Mimi… Meera, whatever—hissister. He calls her Erica. She walked right into his bedroom last nightand scared the shit out of us.” He pauses, raking both hands through his hair. “And that’s not even the fucked-up part.”
I say nothing. Just wait.
“She was expecting Alex.” His voice cracks. “Alex,” he says again to make sure I heard him correctly.
He grabs a fistful of hair and yanks—hard.
“Goddamn it!Noah panicked, Elijah. He went ballistic. I’ve never seen anything like it.” He wipes the back of his wrist across his trembling lips, then goes back to pulling his hair. “I was so scared for him. You should have seen the look on his face.”
He lets go and grabs my shoulders again, tighter this time. His grip hurts, but I don’t flinch.
