Chapter 4 ✦ʚ♡ɞ✦

I was halfway through telling Knox I would scatter Wayne alone when Brick slapped a hand against his neck and swore.

Maeve turned toward him. “What happened?”

Brick rubbed the side of his neck. “Wasp.”

A yellow jacket bounced against the clubhouse window behind him, trapped between the glass and a faded curtain.

My irritation disappeared.

I set Wayne’s folder on the chair and moved closer. “Are you allergic?”

Brick glanced at me. “I’ve been stung before.”

I held his gaze. “That isn’t what I meant.”

Knox stepped around the desk. “He carries epinephrine.”

I looked back at Brick. “Where?”

Brick’s attention shifted toward Knox. “My bike.”

I pointed toward the hall. “Go get it.”

Brick gave me a dismissive look. “I’m fine.”

I had heard that sentence from too many patients whose bodies had already made a different decision.

The sting itself was red, which meant very little. What bothered me was the blotchy color extending above his collar.

I kept my voice calm. “How long ago?”

Brick glanced toward the hallway. “A minute. Maybe two.”

I watched his hands. “Any itching anywhere besides your neck?”

Brick scratched beneath the edge of his cut before catching himself.

I turned toward Knox. “Get the epinephrine.”

Knox moved immediately.

Brick caught his forearm. “Don’t.”

I pointed at Brick’s hand. “Let him go.”

Brick’s eyes narrowed. “I know what an allergic reaction feels like.”

I kept my voice level. “Then you know why I’m not ignoring this.”

Maeve stepped closer and frowned at his shoulder. “Your neck is getting red.”

Brick glanced down. “It’s a sting.”

I indicated the chair. “Sit.”

Brick’s eyebrows rose. “No.”

I stayed in front of him. “Sit down so I can look at you.”

Brick folded his arms. “I don’t need a nurse.”

I matched his stare. “You currently have one.”

For a second, I thought stubbornness might win.

The nurse in me took over before the widow or the irritated stranger had time to object. I had spent too many years watching tiny changes become emergencies because someone wanted to believe they could wait another five minutes. Brick was still upright and talking, but that did not make the reaction harmless. Fast mattered. Progression mattered. The fact that he was built like a wall did not matter at all.

Then Knox disappeared into the hallway, and Brick seemed to decide arguing with all three of us required more energy than sitting. He lowered himself into the chair with obvious resentment.

I stepped close enough to examine his neck properly.

Raised welts had appeared beyond the sting site. More were spreading over the top of his chest.

That changed things.

I studied his face. “Any trouble breathing?”

Brick shook his head. “No.”

I continued the assessment. “Dizzy?”

Brick shook his head again. “No.”

I watched his mouth. “Nauseous? Tongue swelling?”

Brick answered more slowly. “No.”

I kept going. “Throat?”

Brick’s reply came clipped. “Fine.”

Maeve moved around behind him and touched the edge of his shirt. “You’ve got hives across your shoulder too.”

Brick twisted toward her. “How bad?”

Maeve pointed. “Bad enough that Serena should look.”

I gestured toward his leather vest. “Take the cut off.”

Brick frowned at me. “I’m not stripping in Knox’s office.”

Maeve snorted. “Nobody requested a floor show.”

I pointed at the vest again. “The cut, Brick.”

He muttered under his breath but shrugged it off.

Underneath, his black T-shirt stretched across a chest broad enough that the office furniture looked undersized around him. Tattoos covered most of one arm and disappeared beneath his sleeve.

Any other time, I might have noticed more.

Right now, I was looking at skin.

Hives crossed his shoulder and spread down the inside of his forearm.

I checked the pattern. “How severe was your last reaction?”

Brick looked down at the welts. “Not like this.”

I kept my attention on him. “What happened last time?”

Brick rubbed his palm over his thigh. “Swelling. Hives. Took Benadryl.”

I nodded toward the hallway. “Ever use the epinephrine?”

Brick shook his head. “No.”

Knox returned carrying a black zippered pouch.

Brick reached for it, but I took it first and opened it.

Two auto-injectors.

Current prescription.

Good.

Brick glared at me. “I know how to use my own medication.”

I handed the pouch back. “Good. Keep it in your hand.”

Knox lifted his phone. “EMS is usually under ten minutes.”

Brick exhaled sharply. “Nobody is calling an ambulance.”

I looked straight at him. “If this progresses, somebody absolutely is.”

Brick’s mouth flattened. “It won’t.”

I counted the facts off calmly. “You have widespread hives within minutes of a sting and a history serious enough that somebody prescribed you epinephrine. I’m not betting your airway on optimism.”

Brick started to answer, then cleared his throat.

Once.

Then again.

I stopped thinking about everything except him.

His voice had been rough from the moment I met him, but when he finally spoke, the sound was different.

Brick frowned at me. “What?”

I pointed toward his throat. “Talk again.”

Brick’s expression hardened. “Why?”

I kept watching him. “Because your voice changed.”

His annoyance faded by a fraction.

Brick swallowed.

I watched the movement carefully.

Maeve had gone silent beside him. Knox still held his phone ready.

Brick cleared his throat again. “It’s dry.”

I watched him swallow once more. “Any tightness?”

Brick answered too quickly. “No.”

I let his name carry the warning. “Brick.”

He looked away.

That worried me more than the answer.

I stepped closer. “Do not minimize symptoms because you don’t want an ambulance.”

Brick’s nostrils flared. “I’m not.”

I did not look away. “Then tell me what your throat feels like.”

He swallowed again.

This time, his hand rose to the base of his throat.

The room narrowed to that movement.

The refrigerator hummed somewhere down the hall. The wasp struck the window again. Maeve shifted closer.

Brick’s voice came out hoarser. “Tight.”

That was enough.

Widespread hives. Voice change. Throat tightness. Rapid progression after a known allergen.

I pointed at Knox’s phone. “Call 911. Tell them adult male with suspected anaphylaxis after a wasp sting, rapid onset, widespread hives, voice change, and throat tightness.”

Knox began dialing.

Brick opened the pouch.

I held out my hand. “Give me your epinephrine. Now.”