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.”