That settled it. I hurried back to the apartment with Bones right behind me. I beat on the door until Markie answered.
"You're back? Matt's still not here and my sister is--"
"--the reason we're here," I said, cutting her off as I pushed past her. "We need to come in, Markie. She needs help."
"But--" Markie stood in my way, as if she could block me. The girl was fierce, I had to give her that. "She didn't do anything wrong. She's sick. You can't just march in here and harass her without a warrant."
Bones barged in, somehow squeezing between us and the wall, and marched into the living room and down the hall.
"Hey!" Markie shouted, chasing him. "You have no right to do this!"
Bones ignored her and kept walking.
Markie looked to me, her expression defeated and hopeless.
I snaked her arm over my shoulders and looked into her gorgeous blue eyes. "We're gonna help her. She needs to get to the hospital or she's gonna die."
"Angel, get in here!" Bones shouted.
I pulled away from Markie and followed his voice to a small, dark bedroom. The place was a wreck. Clothes were bursting out of the closet on the left-hand side, and more were folded and stacked on a chest of drawers in the corner. Bones stood beside the bed, tugging back the pile of blankets to reveal a waif of a girl. Sweat glistened over every inch of skin that her shorts and T-shirt revealed.
"She looks even worse," Markie said, hurrying to her sister's side. "Ari, honey, what's going on? Talk to me."
Ariana's eyes popped open. She looked up at us and her bloodshot eyes widened. Sitting up, she reached for the blankets, tugging them with her as she scooted away from Bones.
"What did you do, Markie? Fucking cops? Get them out of here. Get out of my house!" Then she winced and grabbed at her lower back. A stream of obscenities shot out of her mouth like a spray gun, drenching us in vulgarity. Midtirade she fell over, passing out cold.
Bones sprang into action. He checked her pulse, her arms, and her eyes. Then he looked around the room. "Do you know what she used?" he asked Markie.
She shook her head. "I just got here!"
He ripped open the drawer of Ariana's nightstand, riffling through the contents.
"Hey! I don't think you should be going through her stuff," Markie objected.
He pulled out a small plastic bag, halting her protests. Pocketing the baggie, he said, "We're taking her to the hospital. Now."
"Yeah." I leaned forward and sniffed Markie. "Change into something that doesn't smell like pot, okay? You have some of that fruity-smelling stuff to spray in your hair?"
Eyes wide, Markie nodded at me.
"Good. Do that. Hurry."
Ariana's condition would bring enough drama down on them. Markie didn't seem like a pot head, so her contact high would clear up shortly after we left the apartment.
She rushed out of the bedroom.
Bones scooped Ariana up and carried her out of the room. Markie followed us out of the apartment, wearing jeans and a T-shirt, carrying a pair of sandals, and smelling fruity.
I sped the whole way to the hospital, but not fast enough to draw legitimate police attention. When I pulled up in front of the emergency room entrance, Bones jumped out and carried Ariana in with Markie hot on their heels. I parked the Hummer and hurried to join them, arriving in time to watch Bones lower Ariana onto a gurney. Nurses surrounded them.
Markie gave my arm a light squeeze, her gentle touch sending shivers up my spine. She smiled at me, revealing her heart-stopping dimples once again. "Just realized you're not cops. It's... It's Halloween. Thank you for helping us. Thank you both."
Then she took a deep breath and followed the gurney as it was wheeled past the admittance doors.
I watched her go, somehow both grateful and grieved to see her walk away a second time.
"You're doing that thing again," Bones said.
