Derek elbows him hard.
My pulse spikes. “What?”
“Some asshole drugged you,” Mark says, “and Derek saved you.”
Poof.
Deflated hope.
“Who drugged me?” I squeak.
“When I came up to the bar,” Derek says, voice controlled but tight, “a guy offered to pay for your drinks. You ordered both. When you reached for your clutch, he lifted one of the glasses.”
He watches me carefully.
“He was detained,” Derek continues. “And arrested.”
I fall back against the pillows.
“Wow,” I whisper. “Thank you.”
My stomach twists. “Holy shit. I was roofied?”
“Something along those lines,” he confirms. “The hospital ran tests.”
Hospital.
Right.
“Shannon wasn’t in any shape to take care of you,” he adds.
“So… you did?” I ask quietly. “Why?”
“Because he—” Mark starts.
Derek elbows him again.
“Because someone had to,” Derek says. “I didn’t mind.”
I don’t know why that sticks with me.
“What’s to get?” he asks when I frown.
“Why?” I press. “It meant you going home alone when everyone knows you don’t do that.”
“I did leave with someone,” he says evenly. “You.”
My eyes widen.
Then narrow.
“That’s not what I meant, and you know it.”
“We know,” Alex says gently. “But taking care of you was more important.”
Mark hands me a bottle of water.
I gulp the first swallow, then swirl the second around my mouth before swallowing again.
