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Page 140 of Cruel Abandon (Fallen Royals 5)

It’s several minutes later when she whispers, “I think I might.”

38

Sky

I burst into awareness. It’s sort of like the ripcord of a parachute being pulled, going from free fall to sudden floating.

There’s pressure on my legs, my shoulder, my mouth.

In the dark, it takes me a moment too long to realize Liam is draped over me, his hand on my mouth. My body is strung tight, and I have to fight the urge to run. Muscle by muscle, I relax.

Liam lifts his head from my shoulder, meeting my stare. He releases my mouth.

“Are you awake?” he asks.

I nod once. “What did I do?”

He winces. “You wouldn’t stop screaming. I couldn’t wake you up.”

I rub at my neck.

“And then you started thrashing. What were you dreaming about?”

“I can’t remember,” I say.

Lie.

I don’t want to remember.

Tell me how I can imagine the prick of a needle into my neck with such clarity? The arm binding across my chest, holding me up when my legs fail. When darkness blots in.

I was drugged. I know it in my bones.

But… so were they.

Amber was, anyway. I should ask Detective McAdams if Natalie was, too.

“I need water,” I say.

He doesn’t stop me from going to the kitchen and leaning against the counter. When I close my eyes, I picture the sharp burn of… a sedative? Is that it? It was like being drugged by Colt, except worse. Colder.

“Sky.”

I gasp. The glass slips free of my grip, smashing on the tile. I freeze and register the fragments spread out across the floor.

“It’s okay,” he says. “Hop up on the counter?”

“Sorry,” I whisper. I do as he asks.

I stay there as he turns on the lights and grabs a broom. His cleaning is methodical, sweeping the larger chunks into a pile and then concentrating on the little pieces.

“Just did this with Mom,” he says. “She dropped her glass when Detective Masters came by to talk to you.”

I reach out and touch his shoulder. “That was when he mentioned the ransom, right?”

“Yeah.”

I squint. “Was he trying to help me remember something? The two cases can’t be related.”




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