Page 77 of Wretched Soul

Her somnolent laugh vibrates against my tensed chest muscles. “Tricked you,” she mumbles.

I’m a pressure cooker ready to explode, but that laugh has me smiling. I stroke her hair. “You’re in so much trouble.”

There’s a sniffle behind me. “Is she going to be OK?” Kaitlyn asks.

I glance at the beer bottle on the table. It’s still half-full. I need to know exactly what he gave her, but it’s a good sign she didn’t drink it all.

“I’ll have a doctor check her over, but she could do with some water.”

Kaitlyn holds out a water bottle. “Here, I got this.”

I break the seal on the bottle and tip Lily’s head back. Her eyes lift to mine and I offer the water to her lips. “Take a sip.”

“I don’t want it,” she complains. “I feel sick.”

“And I don’t care. Do as you’re told.”

She tries to roll her eyes, but she takes enough water to satisfy me.

“What happened?” I ask Kaitlyn, tension returning and more than a little accusation in my tone.

“I was at the bar while Lily stayed here. Two guys offered to buy us drinks.”

“And you fucking accepted?” I’m not hiding where I’m placing blame now.

She rakes a hand through her hair. “There were four bottles,” she says. “We could have picked any, Lily had first choice.”

“And naturally, she picked the one closest to her, because that’s what happens. For fuck’s sake.”

I press Lily to me as if I can meld her body to mine so I never have to let her go. Her head is nestled against my chest and I can feel the warmth of her steady breaths through my shirt.

Of the two extra men that came to the club with us, one has gone with Simon. I turn to the other. “Where’s the guy who Kaitlyn was with?”

“Long gone, Sir.”

“We got up to dance,” Kaitlyn explains. “And he kept stopping me from going back to Lily. I thought he was just eagerat first.” She swallows a sob. “But when he got a bit too forceful, I knew something was wrong. That’s why I sent up the bat signal.”

“The…?” I’m starting to wonder if Kaitlyn’s had her drink spiked too, but then she continues.

“I was supposed to wait for Lily to give me the OK before posting an update so you’d know where to find us, but I did it anyway. And then I told this guy you were a dangerous motherfucker and he was going to be in deep shit.” Kaitlyn gulps down a breath. “He panicked and said he’d never met Toby before tonight. Toby approached him and said he wanted his help chatting up a girl, and could he keep me occupied.”

“Did he know this Toby was going to drug her?”

“I don’t think so. He was only interested in the money.”

My jaw ticks, the tension returning. “He was paid to keep you separated?”

Kaitlyn hands me a roll of bills. “When I spotted Heatrush doormen on the dance floor, I knew you were here. My guy shoved this in my hand and made a run for it.”

I take the money and I know exactly what I’m going to do with it.

I kiss the top of Lily’s head. I hate to leave her. “Kaitlyn, I want you to sit with Lily and get her to drink more water. I won’t be long.”

Toby is being held in a storeroom, and on my way to deal with him, I make a call to Jake.

“I’m going to send you two addresses,” I say without any preamble. “The first is an apartment block where I need you to send a doctor.”

“Are you hurt?”