Page 81 of Dragonfly

Her eyes are wide as she takes a step away from me. A moment later, she seems to collect herself. “I don’t know. But I know who can find out.”

Before she says another word, she dashes out the door. I poke Orion, trying to wake him up. He’s not responding at all. It’s almost like he’s been sedated or something, knocked out so entirely, he didn’t even close his eyes.

“Come on, Orion. Wake up, baby. I know you’re okay. Please. Please, please, please…”

He doesn’t answer, and I’m seconds away from throwing up all over Genevieve’s floor.

This time, when she’s on the phone, she doesn’t even bother with the speakerphone. Slightly panicked by more than a little firm, she’s already speaking to someone on the other end as she rushes back in, patting Orion’s head with her trembling fingers.

“Dr. Liz? It’s Genevieve. Yeah. Hi. No, it’s not my ankle again. It’s actually about that shot you gave me this morning. The one you said was for the… Right. The cat.” I whimper as she pauses. “Uh-huh. What was in it? You… you don’t know. Well, something’s wrong with Orion. He’s… he’s, like, passed out or something. Who was the vet… what do you mean, they’re on vacation? Doc, we need help.”

Gen is quiet for a few seconds before she starts to nod. “Okay. I guess that’s better than nothing. We’ll be right there.”

She hangs up the phone, and I cling to my cat. “What did she say?”

“To bring him to the clinic. She might not be a vet, but she swears she can help. The vet who prescribed the medicine left for a cruise this morning. Dr. Liz has the bag it came in, though, and medical knowledge.”

Liz was the one who helped us when Orion got constipated…

“What are we waiting for? Let’s go!”

The clinic is closed.

It took close to half an hour to arrive, and I felt every one of those seconds like a piece of glass jabbing into my skin. Orion was no better or worse during the wait, but I couldn’t stop myself from thinking that, the longer it takes to get to the clinic, the closer to death my baby is getting.

Part of the wait was because of Vin. Damien’s cousin heard me and Genevieve panicking, stampeding around the house, searching for keys and the cat carrier. We woke him up, but before the grumpy giant could ask us what we were doing, Gen launched into an explanation that made the whole thing sound so much worse than it is.

She thinks it’s all her fault. I try to tell her that, if a doctor gave me medicine and told me to pass it along to a patient, I’d do the same thing. Maybe not if it was my cat unless I did some research first, but there are a few people in this world you just think you can trust.

Doctors should be at the top of that list.

For Dr. Liz, it’s probably the vet friend who gave her the injection to begin with.

To my surprise, instead of telling Gen to calm down, Vin waits until she’s finished, then announces he’ll be the one to take us to the clinic. That’s how I found out that Damien told him he’s responsible for watching me when the boss can’t. And since Genevieve is Damien’s beloved baby sister, that goes double for her.

I’ll give him credit. He knew better than to insist on bringing Orion to see Dr. Liz himself. I have to go, and because Gen’s still convinced she killed him, it would do more harm than good if we left her behind.

Explaining everything to Vin ate up time. So did the inevitable call to Damien.

Vin was right. If the three of us left the house and didn’t tell him, my husband wouldn’t like that one bit. Not like we could hide it from him, either. Me and Vin have the trackers, and despite proclaiming that Genevieve doesn’t, the overprotective Dragonfly I’ve come to know and love has some way of keeping an eye on her. I’d put money on it.

Damien didn’t try to stop us, either. Instead, earning himself even more credit in my books, he says he’ll be right there. He wants to be support for his sister and me—and Orion—and if Dr. Liz can’t help or it’s bad news, he doesn’t want us to be alone, either.

Only one problem. We’re standing in front of the clinic, the lights are off, the door’s locked, and there’s no sign of Dr. Liz or Damien.

Vin started calling him the moment we pulled up in front of the clinic. Too distracted by the dark windows, I didn’t realize that he kept disconnecting and starting over until it’s about the fourth time.

I swallow dryly. “Is… is he not answering?”

Vin stares at his phone as if he can make it put Damien on the line. “No. He should’ve been here already. He told me he’d be waiting for us. Damien doesn’t lie.”

No. He doesn’t.

So where is he? Where’s Liz? She knew we were on our way, and the clinic is open for a few more hours at least. Why did she shut down for the night before we got here?

What the hell is going on?

I don’t know, but just as the panic starts to well up inside of me again, I remember the phone he gave me.

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