Binding the Shadows (Arcadia Bell #3)(70)

And a peace offering.

His fingers brushed mine when he gave me the cup. I was so needy for his attention, the tiniest touch sent a wave of longing crashing through me. His eyes met mine for a moment, anxious and searching. I wanted to be alone with him. To talk about everything that happened and find out what was going on behind his impenetrable poker face. But even that small, arbitrary touch and momentary shared gaze was a kind of sustenance.

It was alarming how much better I felt when he was around. I wasn’t used to this level of emotional dependence. So I looked away in embarrassment, unwilling to submit to it for too long. When I glanced back at him moments later, he was focused on drinking his own hot tea out of a matching paper cup, blowing on the surface to cool it.

We said nothing. Several minutes passed. As I was starting to make headway on my drink, a tall doctor with dark reddish-brown hair and a bright blue halo strode toward us.

“She’s out of the woods,” the doctor announced with a calm smile.

I could practically feel Lon’s sigh of relief aligning with mine.

“This is her sister,” Lon said to the doctor as she strode back to over to join us. “Adella Giovanni. Mick Bright.”

The infamous Dr. Mick. Lon’s friend, and one of the best healers in La Sirena.

“I think we’ve met before,” he said, squinting at her.

“We did,” Adella confirmed. “You pumped Yvonne’s stomach when she overdosed on New Year’s Eve about ten years ago. She nearly died.”

The doctor scratched his ear and nodded. “Yeah, I actually remember that quite vividly. You’ll be happy to know that this is more hopeful news. She had a seizure. Thought maybe it was an aneurism, but I’ve studied all the scans and they’re clear. Looks like she did, however, suffer a concussion. She’s also severely dehydrated and has some bruised ribs, but nothing major. We’re going to keep her here to watch the concussion.”

“Did my mama tell you she can’t have any pain medication?”

“Yes, I’m very familiar with her medical history,” he said. “She’s resting. You can go talk to her if you’d like. Your mother’s with her now.”

He waved down a nurse to escort her. Adella thanked him and made her way back.

Mick turned to me with an outstretched hand. “You must be Cady.” He surprised me with a big, toothy smile and shook my hand with a slightly jarring amount of strength. “Wish we were meeting under better circumstances, but I’ll take what I can get. You’re even lovelier in person than in the photos I’ve seen.”

I wanted to ask about these mysterious photos, but he just kept talking. And I let him, because he was so blindingly handsome, with ruddy hair tinged with gray near the temples and a perfect square jaw. A little too clean-cut and friendly for my preferences, but on him it was somehow appealing. Maybe it was the white doctor coat.

“I’ve been telling Lon we should all have dinner but our schedules haven’t synched. Maybe we can plan something after the holidays, when things cool down. Before you head out to France.”

He knows about France? I felt like I’d entered some weird alternate reality in which Lon had a normal relationship with a close friend he confided in. Sadly, this almost made me jealous, because I selfishly thought I was his only confidant. Every time I believed I had Lon all mapped out, along came a new road that led to some strange place I didn’t know existed. The secret Oreo stash I’d recently uncovered was one thing, but this? Fairly unnerving.

“Dinner sounds good,” I said. “But can we back up a moment? Because I think you should understand that I might’ve caused Yvonne’s concussion. I don’t know how much you know about what I am—”

“In regards to the mage thing, or the bartender thing?”

“Uh, the mage thing.”

“I know a little,” he said with a sly smile. He crossed his arms and nodded toward Lon. “He’s extremely protective of you. I suppose that’s no surprise.”

Lon grunted. I cleared my throat. God, we were so dysfunctional. “Well, anyway. I sort of used magick on her. That’s what caused the seizure. And probably the concussion.”

“I see. And on the bright side, should I assume that’s why her halo’s back to normal?”

Was Mick Hellfire? I tried to remember. I didn’t think he was, but surely he knew the story behind Lon’s dual-colored halo; if so, he also knew about Yvonne’s. “Yes,” I said simply.

“Don’t worry yourself,” Mick assured me. “I handled it. She’ll be fine. And your secret’s safe with me. Impressive, by the way.”

I didn’t know what to say to that.

He slapped Lon on the shoulder with affection and a startling familiarity. “Go home to Jupe. Nothing you can do here. If Rose and Adella want to spend the night in her room, they’re welcome. But I gotta get back now. Duty calls.”

“Thanks,” Lon said.

“Don’t worry. I’m charging you double for making me save her. Joyce would have a cow if she knew Yvonne was anywhere near the hospital. It’s a miracle I never got caught in her web. I’d like to maintain my clean record.”

He hadn’t slept with Yvonne? I liked him more and more.

“If only I’d been so lucky,” Lon mumbled. “Go on, then. Heal the dead with your smile, or whatever the hell it is you do around here.”