Page 20 of Dash

“He has,” I confirmed. “Although he hasn’t told me what’s wrong with me.”

Doctor Jacob made a point of fixing his stare on Dash’s hand, settled protectively on my shoulder. “Mr. Dagger has already had it out with legal, but I want to make sure. Are you okay with me discussing your private medical information with him present?”

Dash had legally muscled his way into the hospital and the doctor’s ego had taken a beating for it. I gave Dash a glance, admonishing him without words, but I didn’t want to face the doctor on my own. “Mr. Dagger can stay.”

“Very well.” The doctor rolled a stool from the corner and sat opposite Dash next to my bed. He pushed his glasses up on his bony nose and cleared his throat. “You’ve kept us worried. The results of last week’s test indicated a dangerously ulcerated lining of the stomach.”

“An ulcer?”

“Several ulcerative lesions, to be precise,” the doctor clarified. “Some are more severe than others.”

“So I have several ulcers in my stomach?”

“At first, I thought so, but blood and serum tests, urinalysis, biopsies, and pathology reports confirmed that there was no active infection ofHelicobacter Pylori, the bacteria that is most often associatedwith peptic ulcers.”

I was confused. “So now you’re saying I don’t have ulcers?”

“The lining of your stomach is ulcerated,” he repeated, tugging on his white coat. “But the cause of the lesions is not an infection.”

I looked from Dash to the doctor. “Then what is it?”

“Ms. Astor,” the doctor offered quietly, “you’ve been poisoned.”

Chapter Six

Dash

Thena’s hand shot up to grip mine. It was an automatic reaction and yet I welcomed it. I’d told her I was here to watch over her and I meant it. I was going to stay by her side no matter what. Shock widened her eyes. She tried speaking but nothing came out. Hell, I knew how she felt.

I’d been equally stunned when I’d forced Dr. Jacob to talk to me about her condition. Since I hadn’t been able to get a hold of any of her sisters—a situation that irked me—I’d dug out an old living will we’d exchanged years ago when we lived together, authorizing me to make medical decisions for her. Then I’d had to explain to the doctor that I had good reasons to suspect foul play. He collaborated with me mostly because he’d been stumped by her condition.

“We’ve got the bleeding under control,” the doctor announced. “You’re going to be okay. We went in endoscopically and treated the lesions with titanium caps to stop the bleeding. Since then, your tests have shown improvement. The caps will fall off on their own. When I release you from the hospital, you’ll need to rest, eat healthy foods, and avoid stress, alcohol, and other gastric irritants, but you’re on the path to recovery.”

“That’s good news, I guess.” Thena’s narrowed her gaze on the doctor. “But you still haven’t told me why you think I was poisoned.”

“Ah, yes.” The man lifted a pale finger in the air. “The first thing I noticed was that there was a rapid aggravation of your condition between theendoscopic procedure we performed last week and the emergency one I conducted upon your arrival at the hospital. The lesions had increased in number and severity at a very aggressive pace.Your blood tests indicated alarminglylow levels of hemoglobin and abnormally long coagulation times.”

Thena grimaced. “Are you saying I could’ve bled to death?”

“Yes.” Doctor Jacob gave an emphatic nod. “We did an emergency infusion of plasma. You were also fortunate that none of the lesions broke through the stomach. However, your other blood tests—platelet count, renal and liver functions—were normal. I couldn’t figure out what could cause such a rapid deterioration of your health. That’s when Mr. Dagger here intervened.”

Thena looked up at me. “You?”

“Him,” the doctor said. “He told me he had reason to suspect foul play. I released your samples, which Mr. Dagger sent to a specialty lab I’d never heard of.”

He aimed another suspicious glance in my direction. Thena tossed me a knowing glance. She knew where I’d sent the specimens and why the doctor didn’t know about BB’s labs.

“The scientists at this lab fast-tracked a series of sophisticated tests,” the doctor continued. “They were able to pinpoint the specific agent that was causing such havoc in your system. It’s a superwarfarin.”

“What’s that?” Thena asked.

“Superwarfarins are a class of rodenticides,” the doctor explained. “When ingested, they cause severe damage to the stomach lining and gastrointestinal bleeding.”

Thena’s frown deepened. “Rodenti-what?”

“Rat poison.” I took matters into my own hands. “What the doctor is trying to say is that someone made sure you ingested small doses of rat poison, incrementally damaging your stomach, while also mimicking some of the symptoms of the disease that killed your mother.”

Thena blinked several times, no doubt trying to wrap hermind around that one. “Someone wanted to kill me as if I were… a rat?”

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