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Brandy knelt down, worry in her eyes. “What’s going on? Do you need me to call 911?”
Samantha ran her tongue over her dry lips, her head spinning. “I’m sure it’s low blood sugar because I didn’t eat this morning.”
Brandy pursed her lips. With determination, she said, “That’s it. I’m taking you home.”
Because Samantha felt like crap, she didn’t argue. She rose to her feet and immediately felt herself going down as she blacked out.
***
Later that day, Dex met his brother Jared at the gym near his apartment. The paparazzi had left his residence, allowing him to walk there. He worked out, showered at the gym, and after, they walked outside. The plan was for him and Jared to head downtown for drinks, to talk and catch up. Since their dad’s heart attack, Jared had been working overtime at the office, trying to do things that would take the heavy lifting off their father’s plate.
“Want me to drive us to The Back Door?” Dex asked.
Jared shrugged. “Let’s Uber. We’re going to have to come back uptown after. No need to go get your car from the lot.” He pulled out his phone to request a rideshare.
While waiting, Dex called Samantha to say hello. The phone rang and a familiar female voice answered. “Hi, Dex. It’s Brandy,” Samantha’s friend said.
“Hey. Is Samantha there?” Or was she too bogged down with work to talk, he wondered.
“She can’t come to the phone right now but… hang on.” He heard rustling, and then, “I’m back. Dex, Samantha’s in the hospital.”
His stomach churned at her words. “What happened? What’s wrong?”
“She had an argument with that asshole and passed out.”
“What?!” Dex drew a deep breath, getting control of his anger, and his worry. “Did he touch her?” His heart threatened to beat out of his chest.
“Yeah. After, she was dizzy and I had her sit down. Once she was better, I helped her stand… and she passed out cold. But she woke up pretty quickly.”
He blew out a long breath.
“She said she just hadn’t eaten today,” Brandy went on. “But I insisted she go to the hospital anyway. Someone called 911. She’s fine but I thought you’d want to know.”
“Are you there with her now?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“Which hospital?”
The question had Jared staring in concern. Dex held up a hand. He needed answers before he could explain things to his brother.
He waited for Brandy to give him the name and Samantha’s location. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” He disconnected the call and turned to Jared. “It’s Samantha,” he said. “She’s at Sinai, so I’m heading over. Sorry. We’ll catch up later?”
Jared slapped his shoulder. “Of course. Shoot me a text and let me know she’s okay.”
“Will do.” Dex stepped to the curb and held out a hand to hail an empty taxi, lucky to get one right away.
By the time he arrived at the ER, his need for answers had grown. At least Brandy had said Samantha was okay, but that wasn’t enough until he laid eyes on her himself.
He walked in and saw Brandy in the hallway outside a sliding glass door to an ER room and strode over. “How is she?”
“Okay. They’re giving her fluids for dehydration. Come on in. She’s going to be furious I told you.”
He frowned at that. “Well, I’d be the furious one if I’d been left in the dark.”
Brandy looked at him and smirked. “Well, we wouldn’t want that. Samantha needs you, whether she wants to admit it or not,” she said, grasping his arm. “Samantha, I hope you’re decent because you have company!” Brandy spoke in a singsong voice as she pulled him into the hospital room.
Chapter Seventeen
