AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Seyla raised an eyebrow at him, a frown on her face. Several seconds passed before she resumed cleaning.
After she finished and put the broom away, she returned to the kitchen with both cats trailing behind her.
Jax tried not to look at them. Tried to ignore the weird, awful feeling that had crept up inside him when they’d come into view. His eyes stung for a second, and he rubbed at them. What was happening to him? He zeroed his focus on Seyla, hoping the feeling would dissipate.
“The words Victor printed were only part of what I said. I told him the problems were being addressed by the sanctuary, too, but he didn’t print that part. That was the same day you got trapped in the jaguar’s enclosure, so yeah, I was upset. I haven’t spoken to him since that day, though.”
Seyla turned away from him and rested her hands on the counter. Her posture reminded him of a steel trap, ready to spring.
“That doesn’t explain how he knew about what happened at the fair,” she said in a flat tone, facing the cabinet in front of her.
“When we learned the boy had been located last night, he snuck behind me and saw Uncle Sam’s text over my shoulder before I knew he was there. The one explaining what happened and what the person planned to do. Later on, I noticed him darting from behind a car nearby after we finished talking to the sheriff. At that point, it was too late. The damage was done. That’s it. That’s what happened. My uncle has the text on his phone. He can send a picture of it to you. That way, you’ll know I’m not lying.”
Seyla didn’t say anything. Instead, she got a glass from the cabinet, poured some milk into it, and dropped into a chair at the table.
Jax sighed. “I’ve been completely honest and straightforward in regard to buying out the sanctuary from the beginning. That said, I wouldn’t go about it this way. I have more integrity thanthat. This is nothing more than a reporter twisting my words to fit his own narrative for a story he wanted to print.”
Seyla swallowed a big gulp of milk. She plunked the glass on the table, staring at it for a minute, eyes narrowed. “Whether or not you intended to, this will destroy the sanctuary. The people who award the Wellington Grant are supposed to visit on Monday. There’s no way we’ll get it after this,” she said, pointing at the paper in front of him. “Our donations will suffer, too. We’ll have to let people go. So, no, we won’t recover. It’s over. You’ll have what you want,” Seyla whispered with a glare. She cleared her throat.
“This is not what I want.”
Seyla cleared her throat again. “Either way, the end result is the same.” She cleared her throat again and swallowed. Scratched the side of her neck. “You…” She cleared her throat again. “Oh no!” Seyla’s eyes went wide. Her fingers flew to her lips.
Jax jumped up. “Seyla? What’s wrong?”
She pointed to the purse on the living room couch.
Her epinephrine pen. She was having an allergic reaction. To milk?
Jax dug through the purse, grabbed it, and raced to her side where she’d fallen on the floor.
Seyla lapsed into a fit of wheezing, her lips turning blue. Fear made her brown eyes appear larger than humanly possible.
Jax stabbed the pen into her leg like he did last time. The minutes passed, but instead of improving, she continued to worsen.
Her eyes closed, and he examined the pen. Why wasn’t it helping? His eyes narrowed on the tip. Was it supposed to be bent at an angle like that?
He ran to the bathroom cabinet, where he’d found the spare epinephrine pen last time. Seconds later, he dropped tothe floor next to Seyla again, stabbing it into her thigh. She’d lost consciousness. Panic and terror mixed with determination as he contacted emergency services, then tilted her head back. He pinched her nose closed and tipped her chin up with two fingers, breathing twice into her mouth. “Come on, Seyla. Hold on! Stay with me!” Seconds felt like hours as he worked until he heard faint wheezing. Her lips regained a degree of color, and he slumped over her in relief. “Okay. Stay with me now. The ambulance is on its way. Hold on.”
Seyla’s breathing got a bit stronger. The blue tinge to her lips fully faded to pink.
Jax let go of the breath lodged in his own chest. Brushing her hair aside, he watched her eyes flicker, then open.
A faraway look lingered there, like she saw right through him.
“Can you understand me?” Jax asked.
She nodded. A slight nod, but he’d take it.
He hugged her.
Thank you, Lord. Thank you.
The metallic ring of a knock on the storm door sent him running to open it. EMTs rushed inside and gathered around her to lift her onto the stretcher. One of them told Jax what hospital they were going to. He squeezed Seyla’s hand. “I’ll be there soon. I promise.” He watched them take her out, slide her into the ambulance, and drive away.
When Jax trudged back into the apartment, he stood next to the table, unable to understand what had happened. It made no sense that she’d drink milk if allergic to it. Besides, Matt hadn’t said anything to her about drinking it the last time this happened, and he was pretty sure she’d gotten out regular milk both times. It couldn’t be the milk.
So what was she allergic to?
