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“I’m on it,” he said, running up the stairs to get her bag.
Vera took a moment to hug Jessa close. “I’ll protect you, baby girl. Whatever this is? I’ll take care of it before you ever have to worry about it.”
She was grateful for Rami’s trust in her, the way he’d accepted what she had to do without question. It reminded her of all the ways they’d worked so well. Until he'd smashed it all up.
By the time he came back down with her leather bag, she’d schooled her face into a mask of calm.
“Here, I’ll take Jessa and make a few calls. Let me know if you need anything else.” He took Jessa from her arms, their fingers brushing.
Even that light touch sent a jolt through her body. It yearned for her mate. Yearned for more than just accidental brushes. Vera forced the thought from her mind and yanked her hair back into a tight ponytail, out of her face.
Rami stepped into the kitchen to dial Jonah, his voice fading into the background. Vera began her exam, inspecting the stranger from head to toe. She was a veterinarian, not a doctor, but it would have to do.
He slept through her exam even when she peeled his eyes open to inspect them, finding them glassy, pupils still blown.
“Can you help me turn him?” Vera asked.
Rami came back in, Jessa asleep in his arms now. She held the girl while he flipped the man over, then passed the still-sleeping child back to him.
“I let Jonah know, and he’s going to try to intercept Spencer. Are you sure this is a good idea? If it’s the curse, having him here might be a risk.” He spoke softly, not wanting to wake up the baby.
“I need to help him. Who else would? I can’t just bring him to a regular hospital. If this is the curse we’re dealing with, I doubt it’s spread by contact. But you’re right, there’s still a risk, and I don’t know any more than you do. Do you want me to move him somewhere else?”
He looked down at Jessa in his arms, then back at Vera. “I trust you. You wouldn’t put her in danger; you’re the smartestperson I know. He’s in good hands. Just be careful, okay? I don’t want you putting yourself at risk to help someone else. I’m sure he’s great and all but you’re you.”
Her eyebrows went up at that, and Rami turned away, embarrassed. He couldn’t take back what he’d said, though, and Vera went back to work on the stranger with a tiny blossom of joy in her chest, repeating his words over and over.
She examined the man’s head and found it free of lumps or swelling, anything indicating a blow to the head. Moving down, her fingers stopped when they reached his neck. Inky black vines spread like veins over the man’s skin.
“Rami?” She called him back in.
He’d put Jessa down for her nap, and this time, he came in holding two steaming mugs of coffee. “For you. Have a feeling we’ll be up late tonight.”
“I think you’re right. Take a look at this.” She stepped back so he could see the strange pattern on the stranger’s neck. “It’s not a tattoo like I thought at first.”
“Is it some kind of poison? A blood infection? I have no idea what I’m saying; it’s just stuff I’ve heard of from books.”
“Nothing I’ve ever heard of,” she said. But the sight of it filled her with that same unnerving sensation she’d felt around the cabin.
Doubt tore through her. Was she over her head with this, and putting the people she cared about at risk? Without thinking, she leaned against Rami, seeking the reassurance his warm body always provided. She felt him stiffen, and then he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her closer.
“We’ll be okay,” he promised, his lips against the top of her head.
In his arms, she could almost believe it.
Chapter 10 - Rami
Sunday dawned grey, the promise of more rain heavy in the air. Rami took his time on his run around the neighborhood, using it as a chance to patrol for any sign of the curse. He’d helped Vera transport the shifter they’d found to the Rosewood headquarters after he’d roused enough to give them his name, James, and Vera had deemed him stable. It had taken some convincing to get her to relinquish her patient, but in the end, they’d agreed it would be better for Jessa, and after three days of monitoring him, she’d accepted that there wasn’t much she could do.
According to the schedule he’d created, Vera would be out for the day after ten o’clock. He’d have Jessa and the house to himself and some breathing room from Vera. Every moment they spent together had him burning with the desire to hold her again. That night, when she’d reached for him after they’d found James, he hadn’t been able to resist embracing her back, and it’d taken every ounce of self-control he’d had to stop it from going further.
Rami jogged back to the house and up the drive, getting a whiff of something cooking. Sniffing suspiciously, he went in and kicked his sneakers off beside the door. If she was cooking, she wasn’t on her way out, and that meant she wasn’t paying attention to the schedule.
Jessa was cooing in the kitchen. He followed the sound of her bubbling laughter and found her in Vera’s arms as Vera swayed to the beat of a song pumping through the radio. A tray of muffins sat on the counter behind them. Vera, baking? She could barely boil water. She’d certainly never made anything when they were together.
“Those look good,” he said, warily. “Is Moira here?”
“What, you don’t think I could make them myself? It doesn’t take a genius to follow a recipe.”
