Nick’s eyes had turned a deeper brown and sharpened instantly. “Who is this?”
“It’s Thelma,” I explained, trying not to sway on the marble. The world fuzzed around me, and all of the hurt from earlier dissipated. I sniffed the air. “Hey. Smells like pizza. Do you have pizza? I could use a slice.” Wait. What were we talking about? The counter swayed beneath me.
Nick instantly caged me on the counter, one hand on either side of my hips. “What’s going on?” He had his grumpy boss voice back, and I missed his sweet and humorous one already.
Thelma sighed. “Georgiana gave you the wrong brownies,” she whispered.
“Ah shit,” Nick muttered, leaning back. “How much did you eat?”
I bit the inside of my cheek. “Of pizza? None. Where is it?”
His face morphed just a bit, and it wasn’t pretty. “Thelma? Talk now, please.”
Thelma rushed on using a bunch of letters and abbreviations that didn’t make a lick of sense, and all I could think about was pizza. Finally, Nick ended the call and promised everything would be okay.
I blinked up at him, my mind so calm I wouldn’t be surprised if I were emitting Theta waves. It felt like the calm before the hurricane. “Bye, Thelma.” She may have been gone for a few minutes at that point.
Nick leaned in, looking at my eyes. “Have you been high before? Eaten edibles?”
“Nope.” I liked his place now that the moving boxes were gone. It suited him. Long lines, awesome view of the lake, sleek furniture. “Why? Are you putting edibles in the pizza?”
“No.” He rubbed his chin. “Let’s get some water in you.”
My stomach lurched again. I clapped a hand over my mouth. “Um.”
He lifted me fast and jogged to the guest bath, setting me down on a deep grey mat and flipping the toilet lid up. “Hold on a—”
But I was already heaving liquid brownie mix into the bowl. I levered up on my knees and ralphed, my entire body moving with the exertion.
Gentle hands gathered my hair away from my face, keeping it out of the way. I don’t know how long I threw up. It seemed like forever. Finally, my body was just heaving on its own. “I’m dying.”
“You’re not dying,” Nick said, rapidly braiding my hair.
Wow. Had Nick Basanelli just actually done that? Braided my hair? I started to lean my head down, and he stopped me. “Hold on. Take a few deep breaths. I’m going to get you some water and a washcloth. Do not put your face on the toilet seat.”
Oh, I could die. Seriously. I waited, and then sounds ticked around me, toward me, through me. The room swam and came in and out. Nick returned and wiped off my face before giving me some water. I drank, and the skin prickled on my arms.
He took the glass away. “I’m thinking your system doesn’t like recreational edibles.”
The words didn’t make a lot of sense. The hurricane landed inside me. Fear grabbed me and held tight. “They’re coming for her, Nick. You have to save her.” I grabbed his arm. “Please.” This day had gone so darn wrong, and it was getting worse.
He handed me the water again. “What are you talking about?”
I lowered my voice, panic rushing through me faster than the chocolate had. “Tessa. The dead body. Please. He’s coming to get me, and I need your help. Please help me.” Oh man, they were coming from every direction.
Nick grasped my hand and drew me to my feet. “All right. You’re having a reaction I don’t like, and we’re going to see a doctor. You’re paranoid for a moment, but you’ll be okay.”
I pulled away—or at least I tried to pull away. There was nowhere to go. “No. I’m not paranoid. Please. I can’t see a doctor. I’m a prosecuting attorney, and apparently I ingested drugs that are legal in Washington but not Idaho. You know that.” Finally, my brain was kicking back in. Even so, my skin still crawled. “Please, Nick. Call Tessa. Jareth Davey is going to get to me through her. I know he is.”
Nick stiffened at Davey’s name. “Honey, Jareth Davey is in California. He can’t get to Tessa, and he can’t get to you.” Jareth Davey was the monster who’d tried to abduct me as a child, and he starred in every nightmare I’d ever had.
“You don’t know that,” I whispered.
Nick led me out of the guest bathroom and up the carved wooden stairs to a master bedroom with an amazing view of Tamarack Lake. “I can’t call Tessa. She’s a defendant in a possible murder case, Anna. I’m the prosecutor.”
I turned and grabbed his arms. “Please. Her number is on my phone. I need to know she’s okay.”
He hesitated and then sighed. “Fine.” He led me into a master bathroom fit for royalty and pushed me around a series of stones into the shower. He flicked on the water.
