I looked away from him and at Nico’s back.
“You think I want to be involved with Brandy and that fucking life? I fucking don’t, Bronagh. I grew up in it, and all my life I just wanted my brothers and me to have a normal life, but that isn’t on the cards for us. As much as it sucks, this crazy fucked-up life—is my normal. I’m trying to make the best I can out of a shitty situation. And, sweetheart, the fact of the matter is that we’re broke and my job at the gym and with clients isn’t cutting it anymore. I don’t know how, but I blew all of my money and I refuse to get loans from my brothers or to scrape the bottom of the barrel to support us. But fighting... it’s what I’m good at, Bronagh. It’s really good money. It won’t be like it was before—you just have to trust me when I say that. Please. I’m doing this for you. For us.”
Bronagh’s cries were evident then, and so were Nico’s soothing murmurs of his love for her and the promises he swore to keep.
“You promise me,” Bronagh whimpered. “You promise it won’t be like before. You won’t go from country to country fightin’ or be involved in shady shite. Promise if you’re fightin’ that it’s just on that fuckin’ platform in that stupid bloody nightclub. Promise me.”
“Look me in the eyes,” Nico breathed. “I promise you.”
Bronagh cried again, “I love you.”
Their kissing could be heard then, and so could my sniffles.
“Aideen?” Kane murmured. “Why are you crying?”
I waved him off and everyone else who was looking at me. I wiped the tears as they fell from my eyes. “I don’t even know why, but I can’t stop.”
I covered my face as I began to sob.
I was upset and mortified at the same time.
“Ah, darling, everything is okay,” Alec’s voice chuckled as he hunkered down in front of me and pulled me into a hug.
I put my arms around him and hugged him tightly.
When I calmed myself down and Alec stood up, I got up, walked over to Keela and put my arms around her. Keela placed her hands on my back and rubbed up and down. “What’s goin’ on with you?” she murmured in my ear.
“I don’t know,” I admitted and hugged her tighter.
We separated when a knock sounded on Kane’s door. The door opened and a middle-aged man stepped in. I instantly knew he was Kane’s doctor. He had a clipboard in his hand, a long white coat on his body, and a stethoscope around his neck. Classic doctor attire.
“Huh, full house in here.” The doctor smiled then focused on Kane. “I’m Doctor Chance, and you’re my newest patient, Mr. Slater.”
“Lucky me,” Kane deadpanned.
Branna hissed at Kane, “Be nice!” She then looked at the doctor. “Ignore him; he is just being crabby today.”
I wiped my face and smiled at Branna’s motherly tone.
The doctor grinned and shook hands with Branna, then the brothers who introduced themselves one by one. He nodded his head to all of us when we threw our names into the pool, and I wanted to chuckle. He probably wouldn’t remember a single name when he left the room.
“I’m going to cut to the chase here, folks. Mr. Slater isn’t very well.”
“No shit, doc. Tell me something I don’t know,” Kane snorted.
I narrowed my eyes at his rude arse, and then mentally bitch slapped him.
“Sit back, Mr. Slater, and listen closely because the following conversation will definitely be something you don’t know.”
Oh, shite.
“Just give it to me straight, doc,” Kane sighed. “What’s wrong with me?”
The doctor flipped through pages from Kane’s chart then looked up at him. “I had the nurses gather information from your family members while you were sleeping last night. The nurses then filled me in on your health over the past year. Based on the symptoms you were presenting, I had the night staff draw blood so it could be sent down to the lab for testing.”
I raised my eyebrow. “What type of tests were performed on his blood?”
The doctor looked at me. “Glucose and haemoglobin A1C.”
I blinked my eyes when my mind recognised the tests and what they were for.
“Diabetes?” I questioned. “You were testing for diabetes?”
The doctor raised his eyebrow at me. “Are you studying in the medical field?”
I shook my head. “No, no. I’m a primary school teacher. I just read a book before about diabetes and it had different types of testing that can be run to get a positive result. The tests you mentioned were two of them.”
A student of mine, Jessie, had diabetes type one and just because I was curious, I read up on it.
The doctor nodded his head to me. “Well, yes, you’re correct. I wanted to see if Mr. Slater here has diabetes.”
“And?” Nico pressed.
“And my theory was correct,” the doctor said then looked at Kane. “You do indeed have diabetes, Mr. Slater. Type one to be exact.”
None of us said anything until Kane opened his mouth and spoke.
“Are you sure?” he asked. “I mean, my blood could have been tainted in the lab, right?”
The doctor nodded. “That is a possibility, but I had the tests ran three times for confirmation and nothing changed. The result was the same all three times. You’re a diabetic, Mr. Slater.”
“I’m a diabetic?” Kane mumbled to himself.