Page 96 of Be With Me
“Wanna tell me what’s wrong with you first?”
She dropped her hands in her lap and stared out into the street. “I don’t see why I should.”
Un-fucking-believable. “How about because I want to be sure you don’t have another episode like that while I’m inside you?”
The blush deepened. “That’s not how it works.”
My Aston Martin appeared in front of us. I helped her to her feet, deposited her into the passenger seat, and went around to the driver’s side.
I untied my mask and tossed it into the center console while the car’s engine purred to life. Doc lived in Midtown, not far from here. I didn’t make a habit of showing up at his place—he usually came to us—but it would be faster that way.
My foot pressed on the gas.
“I live in East Village,” she said.
“I know where you live.”
“Uh, okay. We’ll come back to how you know that after you tell me why you’re taking us the wrong way.”
“I’m taking you to a doctor.” And I was going to be in the same room where I could hear everything being said. Whatever this was, there was bound to be some clinical trial somewhere that would get her all back to good.
“Romolo, I don’t need to see a doctor. I told you, I’m fine.”
“And I’ve decided to ignore you, since you’re obviously not. People don’t just pass out like that while in the middle of a dance,” I ground out, frustrated by her nonchalance.
She rubbed her temples. “I can’t risk being seen with you at a hospital.”
“I’m not taking you to a hospital. I’m taking you to my family’s doctor. He’s on our payroll, and he won’t say a word to anyone.”
“That’s unnecessary. You need to calm down.”
“Iamcalm.” The fuck I was. I was angry at her for being so cagey and at the world for making her sick in the first place.
“It’s called vasovagal syncope.”
Panic gripped my chest. That sounded bad. Terrible, really. Did it have something to do with seizures? Was it a brain condition? Fuck.
She huffed. “God, you look like I just told you I’m dying.”
“Are you?”
“No. It’s a condition where the vagus nerve overreacts to certain triggers. It makes your heart rate and blood pressure drop suddenly, causing you to faint.”
“And?”
“And nothing. I just try to manage it. It’s not a big deal.”
That was objectively untrue. “What if you were behind the wheel?”
“I rarely drive. I don’t even own a car.”
“And if you’re alone somewhere? With no one there to catch you?”
She hesitated. “Yeah…that could be dangerous. But it’s never happened when I'm alone. It usually happens when I get some surprising news.” She shot me a look. “Like when someone tells me they ran my rival out of town.”
My shoulders squared.Icaused this?
“Why did you do that, Romolo?”
