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“Too tired, Daddy,” she muttered into his shoulder as she wrapped her arms around his neck. “Too tired to see Doctor Eric. Don’t feel good. Don’t want to be here. Don’t like it.”
Arthur shifted his little girl until he could put a hand to her forehead but she wasn’t hot—no, she was cold and damp with sweat and when she grabbed his hand to weakly push it from her face, it was clammy too. And shaking. Not good.
“Then let’s get you home,” he said, his heart beating hard and his mind working overtime. Who would do this? Was she going to be okay?
He would call Eric on the way but Saoirse already seemed agitated and out of sorts, he didn’t want to upset the poor thing any more than absolutely necessary. If Eric told him she needed to go to the ER then of course he’d take her, no questions asked, but he’d rather be able to keep her at home where he could comfort her in the way he best knew how.
“My tummy doesn’t feel good,” she mumbled as he wrapped an arm around her waist and tried to steer her toward the door. But his little girl staggered and his heart lurched in the same motion.
In a single swift move, Arthur picked her up, a bundle of sequins and tulle. His precious princess. He was going to kill whoever had done this to her.
When Jethro saw them heading to the door, the other man came over with Sable who was about three months pregnant but looked a lot more so since she was having twins.
“Is Saoirse okay?” the other man asked as soon as they’d caught up.
Arthur didn’t stop but made his way through the crowd despite the murmurs and stares.
“No. I think someone dosed her drink. I’m going to get her home, call Eric.”
“Want me to drive so you can tend to her? Sabes can follow behind in the truck.”
In that moment, Arthur was desperately grateful for his friend. He had always liked Jethro since their golf course days, felt a deep kinship with him since they’d both been longtime members at Hive and had similar tastes. It was especially nice to have someone who understood how undone he was at the moment—either of them would take on wild animals to protect their little girls and felt a bone-deep panic when their princesses weren’t okay.
“Would you? If it’s not too much trouble—”
“It’s not,” Jethro assured him. “We’re here for whatever you need, and I know you’d do the same.”
Sable nodded her agreement and placed a kind hand on his shoulder. Arthur would definitely return the favor if need be, so he dropped a nod as they grabbed coats, and handed Jethro his keys.
