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Chapter Twelve

TRISTAN

“Shit.” My arms reach out to the beautiful woman with whom I locked eyes the moment she walked into this bar. And now she is passed out in them.

Where the hell is the girl she was with?

Pulling out my phone, I send a quick text to my driver to take me back to our suite at the Encore.

I place my arm under her legs and lift her up.

I look around for a purse or something that she would carry with her, but the seats are empty.

My phone buzzes in my back pocket, and I know that’s my driver.

I walk out to a Black Escalade parked right out front of the bar, and Kenneth, my driver, gets out and opens the back door for me.

“Everything okay, Evans?” He narrows his eyes at the woman in my arms.

“No. Either she had a shit load of pre-gaming elsewhere, or her drink was drugged.” I gently slide her in and buckle her before running to the other side and sitting next to her.

Kenneth jumps in the front seat and looks up at me in the rearview. “Was she with anyone? Do we need to wait?”

“She was with a friend, but that friend disappeared. Let’s just get her back to the room, and we can call Doc. Are the others back yet?” I ask as I look over at her. I pull her toward me, her head leaning on my shoulder.

Her lips make a pouty shape, and I can see a couple of light freckles on her nose as we pass under the streetlights. Anger flares inside me for whoever did this and for that friend who was supposed to watch out for her.

I shouldn’t have taken my eyes off her. But I didn’t want to seem like a stalker.

I guess stalker was the least of her worries and would have kept her from this fucking issue.

Running a hand down my face, I let out a sigh.

I watch the strip start to come into view as we get closer to the Encore.

Once we pull up to the valet and drop-off area, I jump out of the Escalade and run over to her side before Kenneth can even throw the car in park.

I swing the door open and quickly unbuckle her, sliding my arms under her neck and legs.

Kenneth shows up beside me as I slide her out. “What do you need me to do, Evans?”

“Call Doc and have him meet me up in the suite, like now,” I yell back at him as I waste no time getting her up to the room.

Thankfully, the doors are being held open as people see me carrying her toward them. I rush her inside and to the penthouse and suite elevators, setting her down as I reach for my wallet and hold it in front of the sensor. The doors immediately open. Picking her up, I carry her into the elevator.

When the doors open to the suite several floors up, I take her straight back to my room. I softly lay her in the bed and pull out my phone. There’s a text from Kenneth letting me know that Dr. Asher Nichols is on his way over and that he will bring him up when he gets here.

I throw my phone back in my pocket and head out into the rest of the suite, looking to see if the guys have come back from celebrating yet. Walking past the living room and heading into the media room, I see it’s empty.

Blowing out a breath, I enter the kitchen and grab a couple of bottles of water before checking on the girl. Standing over her, I take in her soft features. Damn, she’s tiny.

Her brunette hair has slight red tones hiding in it.

She looks young, maybe early to mid twenties.

Her skin is pale and looks surprisingly soft.

She is absolutely stunning. I reach out and tuck her hair behind her ear which covers her face.

The minute I touch her, I feel a warmth in my chest. And I immediately pull my hand back.

Who is this woman?

The elevator doors opening catch my attention as I crack open a bottle of water and take a sip.

“Tristan?” I hear Dr. Nichols’ voice from the entryway.

Walking over there, I give him a nod toward the bedroom. We walk in, and he takes out a few things and starts to ask me questions.

“Did you find her like this? Did she drink too much?”

I run a hand down my face. “From what I saw, she had one drink. I had turned away for a few minutes, but I can’t be sure.”

“So, tell me what happened.” He starts listening to her heart, and I wait until he finishes before starting.

“I turned to talk to a guy about the game. Ran to the bathroom to take a piss and went back to the bar. Got stopped by some fans. When I turned back to see her, she was knocking back the rest of the drink. She started looking around, I’m assuming for her friend, but her friend wasn’t there.

Within like a few minutes, I started to see her sway. ”

“And you are sure it was just one drink?” He looks at her in concern.

I shake my head. “I don’t know. But they weren’t there long enough to have had more than one or two. She went to the restroom, and her friend disappeared. I really think it was only one.”

“She may have been drugged, but I will have to run some tests.” He takes some things out of a bag, and I instantly growl when I see a needle. “Relax, Romeo, I need to just take a bit of blood to run the tests to see what she was drugged with.”

My nostrils widen as I watch him wrap a tie around her arm and then stick her with the needle. The bright red blood collects in the vials. When he finishes, he places a gauze pad and some tape where he poked her.

“When she wakes in the morning, she is going to be confused and groggy. Make sure she drinks plenty of water. As far as food, have her go slow. She could be nauseous and queasy.” He starts to pack up his bag.

“Thank you. For rushing down here.” I shove my hands in my jean pockets.

“Absolutely. Can I ask you a question?” Asher crosses his arms in front of his chest.

“Ask away, Doc.” I shrug.

“Does she have a name? Do you know her from somewhere? Did she have ID or a phone?”

“No, no, and no.”

He tilts his head at me. “So, you just saw that she was drugged and picked her up to take care of her?”

I narrow my eyes at him. “I don’t owe you an explanation, but since I sort of like you, I’ll give you a brief one. She drank her drink, chugged it, and then, after a bit, I saw her start to sway. I rushed over, and she fell into my arms.”

Asher hums as he looks back at her. “Okay then. Well, let me know how she does in the morning. I’ll just plan on bringing some IV fluids over. That should help.”

He grabs his bag, and I walk him over to the elevator, where I punch in the code and he heads out of the suite.

Walking back into the room, I take a seat on one of the chairs near the windows.

I stare out at the lights and the Las Vegas Strip.

The flashes of the billboards and the lights from the cars driving up and down the street soothe me, and I let out a sigh.

The off-white oversized sofa chair set is not as comfortable as it looks.

But I sink into it and lean my head back.

It probably doesn’t help that I’m six foot four.

Kicking my legs out, I fold my arms in front of me and let my eyes close.

Light shining in from the window stirs me awake.

It takes me a moment to shake myself from my sleep.

But the moment I realize why I’m in the chair, I jump up and check on the beautiful woman in my bed.

She is still sound asleep. And I figure she may be for a while longer.

I head into the bathroom to take a piss.

When I look at myself in the mirror, I realize how shitty I slept. I look like hell. Splashing some hot water on my face, I let out a groan as it burns slightly. After I dry off the water, I brush my teeth and put a comb through my hair.

I need a shower, but that will have to wait until I can make sure she’s okay.

Voices from other parts of the suite draw me out of the bathroom. I pull out my phone and see it’s after ten in the morning. Damn, I slept in.

I head into the living room and see Drew, Kayce, and Cameron sitting around the table eating breakfast.

“What’s up, Grumpy?” Kayce winks at me, and I roll my eyes at him.

“Where were you last night? We missed you,” Cameron says as he bites into a piece of toast.

“I had things to do,” is all I give them.

“Well, you didn’t miss much. It was the usual. Drinks, chicks, chaos.” Drew sips on his coffee. I let out a grunt of acknowledgment as I pick up a bagel off the table spread.

The elevator doors open, and Asher strolls in. He offers us all a nod and a smile.

“Ken let me up. How’s the girl doing?” he asks, and internally I cringe at his words and the fact that I have yet to tell the guys about last night. And on cue, Kayce opens his big mouth.

“Girl? Did you bring home a girl, Evans?” Kayce jumps up. “Did you get laid?” He slaps my back, and I shoot him a death glare.

“She was hurt. I just happened to be there and brought her back here and called him,” I growl as I point to Asher.

“Is she okay?” Drew furrows his brows in concern. As usual, Drew steps into a protective role. It’s like second nature to this guy.

“Well, that is what I want to check on,” Asher says as he steps closer. “She was definitely drugged. Ketamine.”

“Whoa. Someone drugged her?” Cameron slowly stands from his seat. I nod in response.

A gasp has us turning our heads toward the sound. A frail and pale woman stands there, her eyes wide and her mouth wide open. Confusion passes through her as she takes in all of us staring at her.

“Holy fuck.” Drew’s voice draws my attention toward him, and I watch as he takes a step back away from the table. He looks like he has seen a ghost. And then he slowly steps closer to her, but stops when he reaches me, not wanting to scare her.

Her eyes don’t leave his, and she watches his every move.

And then he breaks. “Raelyn.”