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Sam smiled. “I think we’re going to be fast friends.” She sipped her coffee. “I’d like to do an examination of Elias today, if you’re all right with that. From what you said, he’s a good candidate for my research, but I do need to make sure he fits the physical qualifications.”
I nodded. “That’s fine with me. After breakfast?”
Sam agreed, and she and I watched Myles play with the Cheerios on his tray while the breakfast casserole baked. As the oven timer went off, Elias shuffled into the kitchen, rubbing his eyes. “Smells good, Mama,” he mumbled as he climbed into a chair.
“I agree.” A shiver went down my spine at the sound of Adrian’s voice. I had to lock the muscles in my neck to keep myself from looking his way. I could practically still feel his lips on mine. I don’t know what I had been thinking last night, but it had left a tingling imprint behind that I had to force myself not to reach up and touch. “What is it?”
“Breakfast casserole,” I said, pulling it out of the oven. “It’s a recipe from the diner.”
Sam helped me plate everything up, and we all gathered around Sam and Owen’s dining room table to eat. I was thrilled to see Elias tuck into his meal. It was as much gusto as I’d seen him eat with in months.
“Sakharok, Dr. Mayfield is going to check you out after breakfast. That’s okay?”
The little boy nodded. “Sure, Mama. Can I have more?”
I couldn't remember the last time Elias had asked for seconds. “Yeah,” I said, tripping over myself to get out of my chair. Adrian put a hand on my waist to steady me; the heat of his palm was scorching. “Thank you,” I said.
Adrian nodded, and for a split second, his eyes dipped down just a bit from mine, and I knew he was looking at my lips. I turned away quickly, clearing my throat to stop myself from leaning in. What is wrong with me? It was just a kiss. I couldn’t even remember the last kiss I’d had, let alone the last one that threw me for this much of a loop.
I got a second, albeit smaller, helping for Elias, and he actually emptied his plate. “Let me get things cleaned up,” Adrian volunteered.
“I’ll help,” Owen added. He looked at Sam. “Go do what you need to do.”
Sam, Elias, and I made our way to Sam’s office, and I watched as she did an exam. For someone who was an adamant researcher, Sam treated my son more gently than most patient care doctors we’d seen in the last year. She softly explained everything that she was about to do directly to Elias and waited for him to nod before she did it.
When she finished, she smiled at him. “Why don’t you go watch TV in the living room, sweetheart?” she asked. “So your mom and I can talk.”
Elias’s eyes slid to me, and I nodded. “Go on,” I said, and the boy practically skipped from the room. “I don’t know what’s gotten into him. He was so lethargic after his last spasm.”
“Sometimes that happens with Loorer’s patients,” Sam said. “They get a big burst of energy.”
There was something she wasn’t saying. “Before he takes a downturn, do you mean?”
“I’ve seen it happen before,” she admitted, not mincing her words. I appreciated that. “It doesn’t always happen, of course, but I would be prepared for him to have another big spasm.”
Well, shit. “Does that preclude him from taking part in your trial?”
Sam shook her head. “Not at all, actually. He’s exactly the kind of volunteer we need: a few years post-diagnosis, on meds that make him stable, but still with ongoing issues. Too early post-diagnosis, and the subject won’t have been on medication long enough for their condition to stabilize. Too late, and the patient might have irreversible damage. Elias is still in the sweet spot where he’s able to bounce back.” She put a hand on my shoulder. “I told you before that I can’t make you any promises, and I stand by that, but I will do everything I can for you and your son.”
I wasn’t a hugger by nature, but I threw my arms around Sam and squeezed her tightly. “Thank you,” I told her, tears choking my voice. “Thank you so much.”
She patted my back. “I haven’t done anything yet,” she reminded me. “I might not be able to do anything at all.”
I shook my head. “You gave me hope. I was running out of that.”
Sam gave me a few moments to collect myself, and then we rejoined the rest of the group. Elias was in the living room, stacking blocks with Myles with a soft smile on his face, and Owen and Adrian were at the kitchen table. Both wore serious expressions that sent a bolt of fear through my gut.
“What’s going on?” I asked.
Adrian looked at me, and for a split second, his expression softened. “How long do you think it will take you to decrypt the files and find what your brother said was there?”
“I have no idea,” I said. “If Hayes got careless because he thought everything was safe in the secured server, a few minutes. If he’s put up any other kind of firewall protection? Days. Months, maybe.”
“Shit.”
“How much time can you, realistically, give me?”
Adrian held out his phone. Drake had, apparently, found an architectural plan from when the Hayes Group had renovated their headquarters a few years ago. The security was heavy, and if anything had changed, I couldn’t imagine that he would have gone lighter on his precautions. “Less than an hour,” Adrian said.
