Page 81 of East

Red exam table. Red tongue depressors. Red stethoscope around the doctor’s neck.

One thing is for sure.

I’m going to kill Wick Blackwood if it’s the last thing I do.

Thea frowns. “You’re saying my drink was laced with ecstasy?”

“If you didn’t voluntarily ingest it, then yes, that’s the most likely thing that occurred.” The doctor flips through a few sheets of paper. “Like I said, this is all contingent on the other screenings confirming the results, but ninety-nine times out of a hundred they all end up saying the same thing.”

Her face twists slightly, but she remains resolute. “Thank you, Doctor. I appreciate your time.”

“Of course, Ms. Storm. I’m sorry you’re dealing with this.”

“No harm done. Should I be worried about any side effects?”

“The drugs have left your system by now, so you’ll be fine. MDMA is not physically addictive in the same way that opioids are, so as long as you’re not making a habit out of it, you’ll be fine.”

“She was drugged,” I growl. “How the hell would she make a habit out of something she can’t control?”

“I was just answering her question, sir,” the doctor replies. “I’ll be in contact once the other results are in. In the meantime, I always advise my patients—especially my female patients—to make sure not to leave their drinks unattended when they’re out in public.”

Thea nods, but I suppress an eye roll.

Her drink wasn’t spiked because she was being careless. It was spiked because the brother of the man who wanted to take her home that night made the drink and added fucking molly to it.

And now the man who fixed that drink is dead.

Convenient.

I walk Thea out of the urgent care and into my car. Once the doors are shut, I reach over and squeeze her shoulder. “Are you okay?”

Her expression is blank. “Not in the slightest.”

I dig my fingernails into the steering wheel. “I’ll kill Wick. I’ll fucking kill him.”

“We don’t know that he had anything to do with it. Kin was the one who made the drink.”

“And you don’t know Kin. Or didn’t know him. Wick had him wrapped around his little finger. He didn’t so much as fart without his big brother’s approval.” I rub at my forehead. “Wick clearly had his brother lace your drink.”

She frowns. “I guess he did share a knowing look with him when he first sat down next to me at the bar of the East. I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but…” She slaps her palm to her forehead. “How could I be so stupid? Wick literally told Kin to make the drink—and this a direct quote—‘Blackwood style.’ That must have been a code.”

Holy shit. There’s our smoking gun.

I’ll kill Wick. I just wish I could bring Kin back to life so I could kill him, too.

But Thea doesn’t need anger right now. She needs sympathy, support.

“You weren’t stupid. You had no way of knowing that’s what Wick meant. Assuming the best in people is usually a good thing.”

“Not fucking this time.” She looks up, cocks her head at me. “Why are you so invested in this case, anyway? This doesn’t involve you directly, just your employees.”

Not true. If my employees were—are, in Wick’s case—drugging my patrons, that’s absolutely an issue of liability I have to deal with as the owner of the Jade Sanctum.

But I’d be lying if I said that’s the real reason I’m all in on this.

The real reason is the woman sitting beside me. Thea Storm.

And for the first time, I realize I’m feeling something.