Warm and then really warm water washed over me, and I coughed, ducking my head. The chills started to subside.
“I’ll get you towels and something to change into,” Nick said.
“Call Tess,” I said, closing my eyes, unable to get rid of the feeling that my sister was in trouble because Jareth Davey was coming for me. Nick disappeared, and I stripped out of my sopping wet clothing, trying to force my brain to take back over. The terror wouldn’t leave me. I was in danger. Everything in my cells knew this. I also knew that I was having a reaction to those stupid brownies.
Where was my gun? I needed to get it out of my car. Then everything would be all right.
Chapter 9
My hair was wet. Smooth sheets, the good kind, surrounded me. Wait a minute. I blinked, scrambling for reality. “Gun. I need my gun,” I whispered.
“Shh. I have your gun,” Tessa whispered, wiping my hair back from my face.
“Tess?” I tried to sit up, but she put her hand to my shoulder.
“Yeah. It’s me. You’re having a bad reaction, but you’re going to be okay. Just take deep breaths.” Her familiar scent of lilacs surrounded me.
I breathed deep. “Is it really you? You’re safe?” I tried to open my eyes, but the room spun around, and I had to shut them.
She chuckled and patted my shoulder. “It’s me, and we’re both safe.”
My stomach clenched. “Where are we?”
“We’re still at Nick’s. I think he’s on social media telling people he has two out of the three Albertini girls in his bed right now.”
Even though the paranoia and nausea still edged toward me, I smiled. “He’ll be a legend.”
“He already thinks he is,” she whispered.
I chuckled, keeping my eyelids closed. Was that interest in her voice? Maybe? The two of them were opposites, which could be a really good thing. I was suddenly very glad I hadn’t landed that kiss earlier, although it was too bad about the flowers. “Tessa? Don’t leave me, okay?”
“I wouldn’t think of it.” Her cool palm felt my forehead. “Just rest, okay? I’ll stay here with you. Sleep now.”
I loved that her voice sounded the most like our mom’s, although mom’s brogue was stronger. “Don’t tell mom about the edibles,” I groaned.
“Oh, don’t worry,” Tessa said. “This one would be too hard to explain.”
Wasn’t that the truth? Finally, my body began to relax, now that I knew Tessa was safe and that Jareth Davey couldn’t get to me. I sighed and snuggled down in sheets that smelled a little smoky and woodsy…just like Nick. “He called you.”
“Yeah,” she said softly. “He didn’t want to call, and he’s kept his distance, but it was nice of him all the same.”
It had been a while since I’d taken on a challenge that didn’t have to do with the law or dead bodies. Tessa had been alone for too long, and I wasn’t sure why. Guys asked her out all the time, and she rarely accepted the invitation. It was probably because Pucci had been such an ass.
With that thought, I slid into a sleep that included bright colors, sparkling horses, and swiftly moving clouds shaped like dragons. I awoke a couple of times throughout the night, double checking that my sister was still there, sleeping quietly beside me.
Then I’d fall back asleep, my stomach better but my head hurting a little bit.
It wasn’t a surprise when the nightmare found me.
I was ten years old again, and ropes tied my hands to the dashboard of a muddy four-wheeler while my kidnapper drove through narrow trails away from the river, where I’d been skipping rocks with my cousin. When the guy had grabbed me, Lacey had rushed toward him, but he’d pushed her down. The sound of her head hitting the rock still echoed in my mind.
I pulled on the ropes and looked toward him, my ears ringing and my stomach hurting. “You have to let me go. Please.”
He had a big nose, narrow brown eyes, and dirty brown hair. “No. I need a bride.”
I coughed and held on as he turned too quickly, and I was rocked against the door. “I’m only ten. It’s too young to be a bride.” Fear tasted like metal at the back of my tongue. Had Lacey been knocked out? Or had she been able to get back to the family campground and let my dad know I was taken?
God, I hoped she was all right.
