Page 6 of In Dangerous Water

Angela rested her fingers against my face. “You’re cool to the touch and clammy.” She went straight to the fridge. “Do you have any regular soft drinks or orange juice, Kenna?”

Kenna scrambled for another glass. “Ginger ale. In the fridge door.”

Angela pulled a two-liter bottle out and opened it. Kenna passed her a glass and Angela poured the soda in as she walked across the kitchen.

“Drink this now,” Angela ordered and held out the glass.

With a nod, I chugged the soft drink. I finished it, placed the glass on the island, and promptly belched, loudly.

Angela didn’t flinch. Instead, she filled up the glass again. “Drink some more.”

I grimaced.

“I know your stomach is upset,” Angela said. “Let’s get some sugar in your system. Then we’ll back that up with protein.”

Silently, I nodded. I knew the symptoms of a blood sugar crash all too well. I’d simply been too distracted by everything to eat, and now I was paying for it.

Meanwhile Kenna was running around pulling lunch meat and cheese from the fridge and putting it onto a plate for me. Skye had been busy. She had used one of the disposable gloves, picked up the letter, and taken it into the dining room.

Angela stood over me and watched me like a hawk. “If you think you might pass out, let me know.”

“It’s not that bad,” I said between sips of soda.

“Liar,” she said softly. “How the hell did you drive home, Cordelia?”

“It didn’t hit me hard until I climbed out of the car, here at home.”

Angela took a firm hold of my arm. “Let’s have you take a seat on the couch. I want you to put your feet up.”

“Well, I…” My voice trailed off as she hauled me to my feet and steered me into the living room.

A few moments later I was on the couch with my feet up, mildly embarrassed at my predicament and sipping more ginger ale. Angela sat on the coffee table in front of me, taking my pulse, and chatted cheerfully.

“I heard back from Austin,” Skye announced. She walked into the room carrying a plate of baked turkey and cheddar cheese slices. “He’s on the way.”

“You’re going to eat all of this,” Angela said to me, as she took the plate from Skye.

“Yeah. Okay.” I nodded and sat up a little more.

“I bet you were a tyrant in the ER department,” Skye said to Angela.

Angela simply gave Skye a bland smile.

“Knew it,” Skye said.

Angela turned her attention back to me. “Eat. Let’s get some food in your system.”

“Yes ma’am,” I said, and did as I was told.

“You should have seen Angela that night Ryder crashed into my car on his motorcycle,” Kenna said, joining us in the living room. “He’s unconscious, bleeding all over the damn place, and Angela was as cool as a cucumber. Slapped a tourniquet on his thigh. She even knelt on top of his wound to apply more pressure. She impressed the hell outta me.”

“I’ve seen and treated much worse injuries,” Angela said calmly.

Skye pointed at Angela. “Well, I for one am impressed by this bad ass, take no prisoners side of your personality. It makes me like you better.”

Angela adjusted her glasses. “I can’t tell you how much that means to me, Skye.” Her tone was as dry as toast.

My lips twitched over their exchange. Skye had a prickly personality, and she’d given Angela a very hard time when they’d first met. It was nice to see them getting along—sort of.

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