Alexandra’s mouth fellopen.
“Hey, roomie!” A pigtailed woman wearing footie pajamas jumped off the sofa and threw her arms around Alexandra, almost knocking her over. “Who’s this cutie?” The roommate eyed Crockett. “I’m Mandy, Alexandra’s roomie.” She snorted a giggle. “Duh,right?”
“I’mCrockett.”
“My boyfriend, Ben, thought we should crash here during the storm.” She pointed to a man sitting at the small dining room table with his back to them. She swayed, then giggled. “We’re partying. You wanna beer? How ‘bout someweed?”
“No, thanks,” Alexandrasaid.
“Hey, guys, listen up!” Mandy shouted over the slurred chatter and deafening music. “This is my home girl, Alexandra. And this is her man, Crockett. They’re gonna join our slumber party. Whoohoo!”
A chorus of hellos echoed through theroom.
Mandy’s boyfriend rose. As Ben lumbered over, the linebacker-sized man had a glassy look in his eyes. He was as tall as Crockett, if not taller. And the stench of dope clung to his stained wifebeater and ripped, baggy jeans. When he homed in on Alexandra, she threw Crockett a furtiveglance.
“Hey, baby. You’re fucking gorgeous.” Ben gawked at Alexandra. “Mandy, have you been keeping me away from this hottie onpurpose?”
And that’s when Crockett spied the lines of cocaine and crack pipe on the dining room table. Time to get Alexandra the hell out ofthere.
Eyeing the crowd, Crockett counted seven men, five women. He’d no idea what drugged-up condition they were in, but he felt confident he could handle thesituation.
When Ben tried to kiss Alexandra, she shoved him away. “Change into something sexy and join us,” he said, ogling herchest.
Mandy glared at her boyfriend. “Ben,stop.”
“We aren’t staying,” said Crockett. “We just—and I meanjust—got engaged. We’re celebrating at myplace.”
Alexandra whipped her head toward him at the same time Mandy squealed. “Do you have a ring?” She grabbed Alexandra’s hand, thenfrowned.
“She literally said yes outside in the snow,” Crockett continued. “Ring shopping happens when the roads getplowed.”
“Aw, how romantic,” cooed a chorus ofwomen.
Crockett pulled out his phone. “How about a picture of the two roommates to mark theoccasion?”
Ben squeezed in between them and Alexandra grimaced as he groped her shoulder. His fingers brushed the swell of her breast and she jerked out of his hold. After snapping a few photos that included the lines of coke on the table, Crockett clasped Alexandra’s hand. “We’ll beback.”
Making the assumption her bedroom was upstairs he headed in that direction. At the bottom of the staircase, he gestured for her to go first. He couldn’t keep her safe if he couldn’t see her. The three people lounging on the lowest steps made no attempt to move, so she picked her way through with him intow.
Once inside her small bedroom, she tugged her hand from his. “What the hell wasthat?”
“That was me giving you a legitimate reason to leave without causing a scene,” he said. “Did you happen to see what Ben was doing before he got up to gropeyou?”
She crossed her arms. “No,what?”
“There were several lines of coke on the table. And a pipe for freebasing. You can’t stayhere.”
“What? Why not? I’ll lock my bedroom door and go tosleep.”
“You might be snowed in for a day or two. If a neighbor smells the dope or can’t take any more of the blaring music, they’ll call the police.” He paused, hoping the weight of the situation would sink in. Mituses had thick skulls. “What would your producer say if you got hauled to jail fordrugs?”
“I don’t dodrugs!”
“Yeah, well, tell the police that and see how much sympathy you receive. You report the news, Alexandra. You of all people know innocent people can get lumped in with theguilty.”
On a loud huff, she vanished into her small walk-in closet, emerging a few moments later with two zipped duffel bags bulging at the seams and a hanging garment bag. Either she couldn’t decide or planned on neverreturning.
She shoved the duffels at him. “Happy?”
