That’s what I’m thinking Holland’s plan was, but I tell them the truth as to why he did what he did to her. “I killed his best friend.”
_______________
I WALK INTO the master bedroom to find her lying in the fetal position on the bed, eyes closed. Crawling in bed next to her, I push her hair from her face. She’s shivering. I pull the comforter up and tuck it under her neck.
“I’m sorry, little demon,” I whisper, kissing her forehead. “It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be okay.”
Her dark lashes flutter open, unfocused ice-blue eyes look around until they meet mine. “S-in?”
“I’m here, Elli.” Fuck what Tyson said. I’m not leaving her. There’s no one else here to make sure she’s okay. I don’t want her mother or Linc to know what happened. She’ll throw her in an institute. Toss her into a rehab center and leave her there, never checking on her. Linc will just fuck her, possibly feed her addiction with more drugs.
I’m all she has. I’m all she’s ever had, and I’m not going to let her down anymore.
My phone starts vibrating in my pocket, and I pull it out to see it’s Amelia. I reject the call. Placing my cell back in my pocket, it goes off again and I see she’s texted me this time. I open it up to see it’s an announcement.
Chance has moved up his wedding to Elli. Just like I told him to. I grind my teeth. Of course, she would send me that. She wants to rub it in my face that the woman I love is marrying someone else.
If she only knew.
Elli gets my attention, rolling away from me. She struggles to get comfortable and shoves off the covers. “What can I do?” I ask her, placing my hand on her back.
She’s still dressed, and she’s covered in sweat. Her body trembling. “Elli?” I say, giving her a shake but she doesn’t answer. I get up and lean over her, feeling her head, she’s burning up. I lower my hand to her neck, to feel her pulse. It’s racing.
Her body jerks and she sits straight up.
“Elli?” I ask, watching her place her hands out in front of her face and she starts to dry heave.
I pick her up in my arms and rush her to the en suite bathroom. I barely get her in front of the toilet in time before she gets sick. She’s so weak she can barely hold her head up, so I do it for her while also holding her hair out of the way.
Once she’s done, I strip her down to her underwear and carry her back to bed. I get her a cool wet rag and place it on her head and put a trash can next to her. I pull out my cell and call Tyson. Everyone left about twenty minutes ago. It’s just me and her here.
“Hello?”
“Something is wrong,” I tell him in greeting. “She’s getting worse. Not better.”
“Hang on, I’ll add Gavin to the call.”
I wait impatiently as I grab her a water from the fridge and rush back to the bedroom. I know Gavin had said she needs to stay hydrated. She needs to sip on some water, especially if she’s going to be getting sick again.
Gavin connects to the call. “Tyson—”
“What the fuck is wrong with her?” I snap, interrupting him. “She’s vomiting. Shaking, her pulse is racing, and she’s sweating, like drenched in it.”
“Everyone is different, but she can be experiencing side effects.”
My teeth grind. “So you gave her something to fix her but it made her worse,” I growl.
“Narcan only works on opioids. If she swallowed or snorted anything else, it will not have an effect on those drugs. Plus, Narcan in most cases is only in your system for thirty to ninety minutes. But it can trigger the onset of withdrawal symptoms in the body.” He pauses. “It could also be that many opioids remain in the body longer than it takes the Narcan to wear off. Meaning, she could be experiencing the effects of the overdose now that the Narcan is out of her system.”
I sigh, running a hand through my hair, watching her lying in bed, her eyes closed once again. The doorbell rings and my eyes snap up.
“I can—”
I hang up on them and pocket my cell, pulling the top sheet only up to her neck. Knowing she’s burning up but also not wanting her naked if someone is here. Walking over to the tall dresser, I yank open the top drawer and grab my gun, tucking it into the back of my jeans, making sure my T-shirt covers it. I turn on the fan on my way out of the room and shut the door behind me.
Making my way to the front doors, I come to a stop when they open, and three men enter the house like they fucking own it. Three men that I didn’t give this address to, but somehow know exactly where I am. Which means they know where Elli is. “Brothers.” I nod to them as they all stand in the grand foyer, dressed in black, covered in ink, looking like they want to cut my head off.
“We’ve come to deliver a package,” one says, stepping to the side. Another grabs the man who was hidden behind him and shoves the guy forward. “You’ve got one week to deliver, Easton.” He calls me by my first name, and I step closer to them, wanting to protect Elli who is down the hallway behind me. I don’t want them anywhere near her. “Or we come and collect.” His blue eyes look around, taking everything in before they meet mine again. “And we’d hate to have to destroy everything to get what is owed to us.”
ELLINGTON
I ROLL ONTO my side. My hands grab at my stomach, and I groan. I feel nauseated. My body is shivering. Everything hurts. It’s hard to breathe.
“You’re okay, Elli.” I hear Sin’s voice, but I don’t see him. My eyes are tightly shut. I’m probably imagining it.
“What’s wrong with her?” I hear a voice ask off in the distance.
“She’s fine.” Sin’s voice is much louder, he’s closer to me. I feel his hands grab at my shoulders, avoiding answering the question. “Go wait for me in the other room.”
I reach out and grab a hold of a pillow. I pull it over my face, the light too bright it’s hurting my eyes even though they are closed. I feel like I’m spinning, my body jerking involuntary.
“I will not—”
I sit up, abandoning the pillow as saliva fills my mouth. “I’m … going to be sick,” I manage to mumble to no one in particular.
My hair is grabbed, and something is placed on my lap. I throw up, my stomach muscles tightening, the acid burning my throat. So much to the point I’m dry heaving. Tears sting my eyes, making what little vision I have blurry.
“You’re okay.” Sin rubs my back. “You’re going to be okay.”
I fall down onto my back and roll over into a ball, shivering.
“What the fuck is wrong with her?” that far off voice demands.
I hear Sin sigh. “She’s having withdrawals.”
“She’s an addict?”
“No … yes. She was drugged. Needed Narcan. I think it’s thrown her into withdrawals.”
“Christ.”
I feel the bile rising again, and I can’t hold it down. Hands grab me and lift me up into the air, I bury my face into the hard chest and wrap my shaking arms around his neck.
“Make yourself useful and remove the sheets. There’s a clean pair folded on the dryer,” Sin calls out before I hear a door slam shut and then he’s placing me on a cold floor just as I get sick again.