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A sharp, shooting pain caused Rebecca to gasp. Adrenaline began to wane, and agony set in. As the prickly fingers of unconsciousness began to pull her under, Rebecca quickly sent a text to the first person she thought could help.

Need help. 911. Home.

“REBECCA?”

Her head was pounding, her body felt as though she’d been run over by a car. Twice. All she wanted to do was sleep. But someone kept calling her name and touching her.

“Rebecca, can you hear me? I need you to wake up.”

“Don’t want to.”

“With the way you look, I bet you don’t. Come on, sweetheart.”

It took significant effort, but Rebecca managed to open one eye. Recognition of the familiar face in front of her took a moment.

“Lou?”

Detective Lou Chi. One of L.A.’s finest. And one of the club’s most frequent guests. Rebecca had met the man more than a year ago when he stepped in the middle of one of the many arguments between her and Samantha. Of course, Samantha was high, and Lou threatened to bust her for possession. Rebecca, having noticed the man coming from inside the club, offered a deal instead. Look the other way and use of the club would be free. Sex is a powerful negotiating tool. Since then, he became a friend. He never made it a secret that he wasn’t fond of Samantha or the way she treated Rebecca, but he promised to never interfere unless asked. Now, Rebecca was asking.

“Yeah, it’s me. Can you sit up?” Rebecca shook her head. “Okay, that’s okay. I’m going to call for an ambulance.”

“No! Please, don’t.”

“Rebecca, you’re bleeding. You were unconscious when I got here. I’m not a doctor, but I’m pretty sure you have some broken shit. What the hell happened here?”

“Is she dead?”

“Yeah, I checked on her when I got here. There was nothing I could do.” He grabbed a pillow from the bed and gently lifted Rebecca’s head. “That should help a little until the ambo gets here.”

“They’ll ask what happened.”

“I’m asking what happened.” He cut off her response, speaking quickly and precisely into his phone. “Help is on the way. Let’s use this time to work things out. I know it hurts, Rebecca, but I need to know how to fix this.”

It took most of her dwindling strength, but she told him everything that happened. Even the part where she didn’t call for help.

“Okay.” He scrubbed his face. “This is a clear-cut case of abuse and an overdose. You were unconscious, and therefore, unable to administer any type of aid.”

“Texted you instead of calling 911,” Rebecca countered weakly. Her breathing was becoming more labored, and the darkness lurked close by.

“You should have been a damn lawyer,” he grumbled. “You did nothing wrong, Rebecca. You contacted me because you can trust me. I’m a cop. If you were trying to hide something, you’d call someone not involved with the police force.”

Rebecca turned her head slightly in the direction of Samantha’s body. Because her vision was compromised, she couldn’t see her. But she knew she was there. The image was seared into her brain.

“I didn’t help her.”

“Judging by how much pain I’m positive you’re in, you shouldn’t have. Why didn’t you tell me it was this bad, Rebecca? I would have helped you.”

“Couldn’t.” She lost her battle with consciousness then, this time welcoming oblivion.

HER EYE FLUTTERED open and was met with bright fluorescent light. Ow. She could hear the beeping and whirring of machines around her. I guess the ambulance showed up, she thought, taking stock of what she could and couldn’t feel. Loopy? Check. Pain? Eleven out of ten. She couldn’t be sure because she couldn’t move her head, but Rebecca was pretty certain she still had all of her limbs.

“Welcome back.”

Rebecca’s head automatically turned towards the smooth tone. An extremely attractive, kind-looking woman in a white coat stood close by. Her vision wasn’t that great, but from what she could see, the woman had shockingly blue eyes.

“I’m Dr. Vale. Do you know where you are?” The woman asked softly as if she knew Rebecca’s head was pounding.

“Hospital.”