Page 24 of Baited

He backed up.

Her eyes flung open and she lunged off the bed, her hand to her mouth.

He caught her in his arms and righted her on her feet. She gagged.

Sonofabitch.

He propelled her around the bed and to the small bathroom. She fell to her knees in front of the toilet and retched. He scooped her hair back again and knelt behind her. Damn, she’d done a number on her stomach.

Her shoulders shook as she purged what little was left in her. The scent of tequila wafted to his nostrils. Good god. No wonder she was so messed up.

He smoothed his hand over the bare skin of her back until her gags subsided. Her hand shook as she brought the back of it to her chin.

“I’m sorry.” Her voice was raw and haggard. He stood and wet a washcloth, then knelt back down beside her.

“You’re fine.” He pressed the cool cloth to her lips. Her head rested against his chest, her hand curled over her stomach.

“Riley,” he urged softly, nudging her shoulder. Her eyes drifted to his with acknowledgement. “Did you take anything else besides alcohol? Any pills?”

She shook her head adamantly. “No. He tried to give me some purple ones though.” Her knees curled in closer to her stomach.

His arms bunched around her. That motherfucker…

“I don’t feel good.”

He shifted his arm to curl around her waist. “I don’t doubt it.”

Her head rolled back and her eyes fluttered at him. “What’d you do to him?”

He closed his hand into a fist against her side. “Gave him what he deserved. He’ll be fine, but he has a broken nose at least.”

A soft laugh bubbled from her. “That was pretty impressive…the way you pulled him through the window. I maced him you know,” she said proudly.

Ethan’s lips twitched. That explained the guy’s screams and the way he’d clawed at his eyes while Ethan beat into him.

“What is this?” Her fingers toyed with the skin on her stomach. “Feels icky.”

He touched the delicate spot on her abdomen that her hand vacated. It was sticky. And matched the blue hue that she’d just purged.

“It looks like part of your drink.”

She snapped her fingers. The movement was lazy and sloppy. “Oh yeah.” Her hand fell back to her lap.

“If you’ll excuse me, I’m going to have a shower.” She pushed away from him and grabbed the tub to haul herself up.

Oh no. He stood with her, and gripped her hip to steady her. “That’s not a good idea.”

“It’s a very good idea.” She leaned across the tub to grasp the tap. Her foot slipped on the mat and she tumbled forward. He caught his arm under her waist and hauled her back up before she fell in.

“You’re going to bed.” He lifted her to her feet and leaned her back against the vanity.

“My mouth feels gross.” She clicked her tongue against her teeth. He leaned around her and filled the glass by the sink with water.

“Here.”

She accepted the glass and rinsed. Then she reached to the toothbrush holder and pulled out a pink one. He stepped back so she could do what she needed to, but stayed within reach in case she fell. When she finished, she turned back to him.

“Why are you here?”