Page 39 of The Illicit Play

Fuck!

When I first got to the party, I raced through the door, frantically hunting for Blake. No one knew who the hell I was talking about, and even if they did, I doubt they would have been much help. The party was beyond chaotic by the time I arrived, drunken bodies gyrating around the room, manic cackling, the thumping bass. We’ve had our fair share of parties at Football Frat, but this one was wild.

Shouldering my way between bodies, I searched for a tall cabinet but couldn’t see one anywhere. Finally, I popped out into a hallway. And that’s when I saw her.

Well, I saw the back of her head as she was being led who knows where to do who knows what. She seemed to be pushing at the guy, trying to get away from him, but her body was too floppy to have an impact.

A primal rage tore through me as I shouted her name and wrenched that guy away from her. She nearly hit the ground, and I only just caught her arm. I couldn’t stopher from hitting the floor, but I managed to soften her landing.

That was why I missed the fist launching at me.

It clipped me right in the fucking lip, and it still hurts.

I can taste the blood in my mouth as I carry Blake out of this damn house.

“What’d you take, huh?” I jostle her in my arms, too scared to let her fall asleep.

She’s so out of it, I’m panicking that she’s OD’d.

“Come on, Blake. Wake up.”

With a groan, she opens her eyes and gives me a blurry-eyed stare before her heavy lids slid shut again.

“No, no, no.” I hitch her higher in my arms, walking down to my Jeep as fast as I can.

I had to park a fucking block away and run to the house. I sprinted like my life depended on it.

Maybeherlife did.

Fuck. What if I hadn’t reached her in time?

What the hell was that creeper planning on doing with her?

I should have hit him harder.

My final blow knocked him backward. He smashed into a lamp on the side table before toppling to the floor, nursing his face with a groan.

It hurt my hand, but I don’t give a flying fuck right now.

I just need to make sure Blake’s okay.

“What’d you drink? Was it just alcohol? Huh? Or did you take something too?”

“I… I don’t…” She groans and lurches sideways, rolling out of my arms.

“Whoa.” I catch the back of her shirt but can’t stop her from landing on the wet grass. “Blake?”

I crouch down beside her, brushing the hair off her face as she kneels on the ground, a trembling wreck.

“I’m gonna be…” Her words are lost as her body starts to convulse. She glances at me with wide eyes, like she’s terrified, then lets out this weird gagging noise and starts to puke.

A spray hits my knee—thank fuck I’m in sweats—but most of it lands on the grass.

The stench is overwhelming, but I can handle it if it means she’s getting this poison out of her. It won’t cure the hangover she’s gonna get. Whatever she’s taken is pumping through her bloodstream, and she’s gonna feel like total shit in the morning.

But she’s with me now.

She’s safe.