I remembered when Birdie was little, she got a few fevers that terrified me. I was so certain I would lose her each time that I wouldn’t even sleep until she was better. She always tried to put on a brave face for my benefit, and even though I was hardly the nursing type, it seemed like Lucian was also downplaying how awful he felt. Sure enough, when I rested my hand against his forehead, he was burning up.
He seized my wrist. “Go back to your desk, Gypsy.”
“You have a fever,” I snapped. “You can’t work like this.”
“I’m fine,” he insisted. “Now leave.”
But he wasn’t fine. He launched into another coughing fit, and I stood by helplessly. It caught me off guard to see such a strong-willed man suffering. He was accustomed to controlling every aspect of his life, but right now, he couldn’t see that he was being ridiculous.
“Fine.” I walked around the desk and rummaged through his jacket pocket until I found his car keys. “I will leave, and you can either come with me or stay here. Your choice.”
“Gypsy.” His voice was a warning, but I ignored it as I fled from the office and down the hallway.
His black Dodge Demon was parked in the company lot, and I jogged in my heels to get there before he did even though I was fairly certain he wouldn’t be running in his condition. I was already behind the wheel with the engine fired up when he made an appearance at the driver’s side door.
“Get out,” he ordered.
“No.” I pointed at the passenger side. “You get in. I’m driving.”
“You are not driving my car.”
“Don’t you mean our car?” I smirked. “What’s yours is mine, honey.”
“You can’t handle this much horsepower, pet.”
“Bullshit I can’t.”
We glared at each other, and he broke into another coughing fit before doubling over in pain. I got out of the car and approached him the way one would approach a wild animal.
“Lucian.” My voice was soft, and I couldn’t remember being soft with anyone besides Birdie. “Please get in. Let me take you home.”
Finally, he looked up at me and nodded, his eyes filled with defeat. I wrapped my arm around his side and helped him into the passenger seat. I could tell he didn’t like it, but at this point, he really wasn’t in a position to argue.
I returned to my seat and drove the entire way home with him bitching about every little thing I did. Lucian did not like being out of control, and that was a fact. But I let him have this one because he was weak and tired and cranky as hell.
I helped him into the house until he shrugged me off and insisted he would be fine before collapsing onto the sofa, which was as far as he could make it. I offered him a couple of Tylenol from the kitchen and a glass of water, along with a cool cloth for his forehead. It was all I could really do. I expected he would be better in a couple of hours.
But he wasn’t.
He wasn’t better even after four hours, and by the time the moon came out, his fever had spiked to a dangerous level. He was delirious but still managed to respond when I roused him.
“Lucian, we need to go to the hospital. This isn’t normal.”
“My phone,” he croaked.
I fished around in his pocket for his phone, and he gestured for it. He typed out two texts before dropping it beside him and sinking back into the couch.
He wasn’t moving, and I didn’t know what to do. I checked the last message he sent, and realized he’d asked Ace to come over. But Ace wasn’t the only one to show up. When the doorbell sounded, and I answered it, I was surprised to see the same priest I’d been confessing my sins to for the last year.
“Father Hawk, what are you doing here?”
“Lucian texted me,” he explained. “I’m here to take him to the hospital.”
“Oh.” I opened the door and let him inside. “Thank you. I’ll just grab my shoes, and we can go.”
He stopped and shook his head. “I’m sorry, but you can’t. He just wants me to take him.”
“But—”