The irritation I’d been carrying snaps cleanly into focus.
“You drank something,” I say.
“Her drink,” Jamie snaps. “It was right here.”
“That’s fast,” Alex mutters. “Too fast.”
Audra exhales, breath uneven, eyes fluttering shut for half a second. When they open again, she gives me a faint, crooked smile.
That smile makes my jaw tighten.
Not at her.
At whoever thought they could do this to her.
“We’re leaving,” I say.
She shakes her head weakly. “No. I don’t?—”
Her balance gives again, and this time she doesn’t pretend. She leans into me, forehead brushing my chest before she pulls back, embarrassed by the instinct.
“I know,” I say quietly. “Humor me.”
She exhales. Long. Unsteady.
Alex snorts softly. “You crossed that room like you were summoned.”
I ignore him.
Because he’s right.
Chapter Seven
AUDRA
Voices driftin and out of my head like radio stations I can’t quite tune.
Too bright. Too loud. Too much.
The sounds don’t stack right. They smear. Stretch. Snap back too fast. I try to focus on one voice, one sensation, but everything slides away before I can grab it.
Something tight squeezes my arm.
I groan softly and try to pull away, but the pressure doesn’t stop.
“It’s just the cuff,” a woman’s voice says gently. “You’re okay.”
I’m not okay.
My head feels thick—not sharp pain, not exactly. More like pressure. Like my thoughts are moving through something heavy and resistant. My mouth is desert-dry, no matter how much I swallow, and my stomach rolls in slow, distrustful waves.
I try to open my eyes. Manage about half an inch before giving up.
“Ms. Sullivan?” another voice asks. Male. Calm. Annoyingly steady. “Can you tell me what you drank tonight?”
“I…” The word gets stuck somewhere between thought and sound. “Captain and Diet Coke.” I swallow. “Another one he bought.”
Someone exhales near me.
