For a moment, Deirdre even thought she was touching a block of ice. It jolted her into a realization of what might have happened. Alarmed, she tried to shake him awake. “Brendan Brighthall, wake up! Now!”

He answered her with a painful whimper. She tried to touch his face.

It was feverish.

There was no way he did not have a fever. The man was already half-conscious—if she left him like this, the worst could very well happen.

Deirdre felt as though her mind had blanked. It took her effort to wake herself out of her panic and feel her way out of the room. She finally felt the door of her neighbor and opened it.

A stranger opened it with marked annoyance.

“E-Excuse me! I don’t want to bother you, but I am blind and need your help. My friend has a nasty fever right now, so can you help me call the front desk so they can send a staff member up to our room?”

Few people could decline to help a beautiful woman in need—especially on something as urgent as this. The stranger called the