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"This is our sister, Madeline," Dev said quietly He did not look at her Only stared in the general direction of his sister

Placing her purse on a nearby chair, Julia made her way to Madeline Immediately, she saw the reseolden-colored hair and defined cheekbones She had all the details of his face except it was a more feminine version

Madeline was as beautiful as her brother

Her gaze was fixed on a painting near the doors, but she showed no sign of being aware that Julia was there or that her brother was in the room The only movement was the slow blink of her eyes, but she was in far better condition than Julia expected

"Hi" Julia knelt down beside her and s to be here for a little while to help you"

Behind her, Devlin cleared his throat "She won’t respond She hasn’t spoken since she came back"

"That’s okay," she replied "That doesn’t mean that she can’t hear us" Or coured there was really no point to bring that up right now "I’s out with you, okay?"

There was no answer or reaction, but Julia wasn’t expecting one There could be a chance that Madeline wasn’t processing anything anyone was saying to her, but that didn’t mean she didn’t deserve basic decency

Julia reached down and picked up Madeline’s wrist Her skin was cool and her pulse was a little low, but steady

Carefully, she placed Madeline’s hand down "Was she able to walk to the chair or was she placed here?"

"She is able to walk very short distances with assistance I believe eitherSheseems to like it there" There was a pause and when he spoke, the sound was closer than before "Dr Flores should be here shortly"

Rising, she turned around and stiffened Devlin was close, only about a foot away She hadn’t heard hio into , she inconspicuously stepped around to the back of the chair A quick check of the room, she found several medical instruments one would find in a doctor’s office Blood pressure cuff Behind the ear ther device Catheter equip with here What was the diagnosis?

"Would you please step outside the roo at the woman in the chair Back in the hallway, he quietly closed the door behind thehes--"

"Please callhe wanted to discuss his sister in privacy, she was prepared to ask at least a dozen of the hundred different questions shooting around in her head at the moment There were two super inosed with? And what tests had been done?

Devlin turned toward her, and it was then when she realized how close they were standing once more She could see a tiny scar under the left side of his mouth, shaped like a crescent moon That was how close they were Like his brother, her towered over her, and when his unflinching stare met hers, unease blossomed in the pit of her stomach

Did no one in his family understand the concept of personal space?

Julia wanted to step back, but she held herself in place with sheer grit She wasn’t the saround

"I want to talk about my brother for a moment"

Oh God, no

"I have no idea what truly went dohenmy brother, I probably don’t want to know Part of ency and have a replaceood at your job and that I can trust you to be discreet"