Legend (Arizona Vengeance #3)(77)

“Know what?” I ask her, feeling an impending sense of doom. “What exactly is wrong with you?”

Her gaze drifts around the empty apartment before coming back to me. “A few years ago, I wasn’t feeling well. Tired, shortness of breath. Nothing huge but going on long enough I went to the doctor. Lots of tests later, I was diagnosed with a condition known as paroxysmal nocturnal hemoglobinuria.”

“What?” I ask, not only feeling lost over that mouthful of words but feeling suddenly helpless for some reason on her behalf.

The corners of her lips tip upward. “PNH is a lot easier. But it’s a disease that destroys my red blood cells.”

“Is it serious?” For a brief moment I want to kill Lance all over again for not sharing this with me.

Regan’s chin lifts and her eyes shimmer with bravery. “It can be. But there’s a medication that helps.”

“And let me guess,” I say dryly. “It’s incredibly expensive.”

“It costs the average PNH patient over $400,000 per year,” she says simply.

“Holy fuck,” I exclaim. “Who can afford that?”

“Insurance covers some of it but my out of pocket expenses are pretty substantial.”

And it’s clear why she’s so distressed. “And now that Lance is dead, your insurance is gone and you don’t have the funds to pay for it.”

Rather than affirm what I just said, she backpedals and gives another super bright, overly fake smile. “But that’s not your problem and I’m sure I’ll figure things out. This is why I didn’t want anyone to know, so—”

    “Are your bags packed?” I say, cutting her words off.

Her brow furrows. “Excuse me?”

“You said you were flying back to California tomorrow, right?”

“Right,” she agrees slowly.

“Change of plans,” I advise her. “You’re coming back to Phoenix with me.”

“What?” she exclaims in shock. “Are you crazy?”

“Not at all. You’re coming back with me and we’re getting married. You’ll have my insurance coverage and I’ll pay the out of pocket expenses.”

“You’re nuts,” she sputters.

“And you’re going to be my wife.”

“I’m not,” she hisses at me.

“You are,” I tell her confidently. “Mark my words.”