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“I ran into Dro-Seph—sorry, Alessandro—at Kings, and he told me of your woes. I apologized to him and I’m apologizing to you. He’s been like a brother to me for the past fifteen years. He saved my life, got me the money to go to med school and open this practice. I’m sorry, Evelyn. Truly. I get possessive over things I feel belong to me, and Alessandro never did. Treating his scars with steroid shots gave me a piece of him he’d never give to anyone else. Seeing your name, it just threw me off.”
“Apology accepted. I’m sorry for pulling you in on what’s clearly a night off for you. I just didn’t know who to call who would take me right away.”
“It’s all good. Tell me what’s going on?”
“I’m throwing up. The idea of thinking about food, which I love, makes me sick.”
“Pregnant?” she asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Doubtful. I have the implant.”
“Right. Okay, well, let me run some tests. I’ll take some blood, do an ultrasound, and let me see, here.” She reaches for my arm and presses gently against the top of it near my shoulder. “That’s no good.”
“What?”
“It’s in pieces,” she says, her eyes glancing up at the ceiling. “Three, if I’m feeling correctly. What happened?”
“Car accident about seven or eight weeks ago. I can’t remember the exact date.”
“Okay, well, the implant is compromised. While it should still work, I’m not sure of the efficacy when it’s in three pieces. We can do a mini-incision for me to pull them out, but let’s settle this one area first.”
Kathleen’s demeanor is upbeat, different around me, and at least I know I wasn’t crazy. The vibes I got weren’t unfounded and she admitted as such. Yet, remnants of envy wrestle with me since she still gets to see Alessandro and I’m not sure I ever will.
When she returns to the office with a clipboard and a few sheets in her hand, she’s staring at it sideways.
“What’s wrong?”
“I think you’re pregnant. I can see the lining of the uterus, thick and ready like a landing strip for little baby Eve-less?”
I giggle. “You’re funny.”
“When I’m not being a possessive twit, I like to be. Seriously. It’s too soon to tell, but I’m pretty sure you are pregnant. We’ll schedule a follow-up in about four weeks. Your levels are elevated, and bloodwork has all the makings of preparing you to carry. I don’t want to tell you anything for certain until you’re further along. When was your last period?”
“I have no idea. I’ve been using the implant for the last two years and it comes for maybe a day? It’s super light if it does come. I just get the tenderness and migraines during that time of the month.”
“Cool, come back and we’ll see if there’s a bean in there next time.”
She lets me get dressed and meets me in the waiting area. Her white jacket is switched out for a peplum plum trench coat that only shows her boots and nothing underneath.
“You look so badass in that outfit.”
“Thank you, I hope I can some action out of it tonight.”
We talk more, leaving the building while I text Jenkins to bring the car around. At the end of it, we have a shopping date where Anita and I can go to her favorite shops to prepare for a girl's night out at a club like Kings. The only difference is it will be suited for more feminine tastes.
Kathleen heads in one direction, and I head toward the street where a car’s idling. It looks like Jenkins’s SUV. He got something sturdier after our car accident. I approach it wondering why he’s not out of the driver’s seat to open the door for me, to survey the street like a super soldier. It’s empty.
The car’s running, but no one’s inside.
“Evelyn!” Jenkins shouts from a distance, but it’s too late.
The prick on the back of my neck takes effect immediately as the world around me fades away and I fall into the arms of a man who has a smile I never want to smile at me.
27
ALESSANDRO
My hands are shaking, the scabs over my knuckles threaten to tear apart with me constantly flexing my fingers in and out. Fists, in and out, as I fight myself. I can’t go after her. I need to let Evelyn go. The danger from our lives, the danger from me, I can’t have too close.
