AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter Seventeen
For some reason—probably all the salt she’d heaped on her eggs—Cammie was dying of thirst and not only downed her first soda water but a second quickly after. Of course, that meant she had to pee like a racehorse almost instantly, so she excused herself from Bill and his friends then made her way down the darkened corridor to the restrooms. It was cooler in the hallway where the air conditioning didn’t have to work as hard to bring the temperature down. Cammie shivered, realizing quite suddenly that she was coated in sweat. All those acrobatics must have been jacking the temperature up in the main room.
The chilly air felt so nice against her hot skin. She’d been having a surprisingly good time chatting with Bill and his friends, laughing at Elm’s ridiculous jokes that were often at Bill’s expense and overall missing the fact that she’d been overheating while sitting there…which also explained why she’d been so damn thirsty.
After she was done having the most glorious pee of her life, she washed her hands then looked at herself in the mirror. Her cheeks were rosy, making it look like she’d put on way too much blush. Her hair, a tragic victim of humidity, was kinked every which way and fizzled to a curl-destroying degree. She leaned closer then stumbled against the counter, catching herself just in time to keep her head from banging the mirror.
Whoa, I’m dizzy.Her stomach pitched and gurgled. Maybe I do need something to eat.
Her pupils were blown out, wide and saucer-like, and her lips were creased, like she was dehydrated, which, of course, was impossible. Her feet were numb, as were her fingers, and she couldn’t quite tell if the floor was wobbling or if that was her legs.
She pushed herself back, stumbling again as she got her footing, despite how her head swirled. Her balance was way off as she managed to exit the restroom, bumping and banging her way through the door. Each step was like walking in the deepest mud, slow, unsteady, laborious. She tilted to the side, using the wall to hold her up. Her breath came out in rapid gusts, like she just couldn’t get enough air and her heart thundered in her ears. She had to get out of the corridor, but it was so dark that she couldn’t figure out which way to go—or maybe her eyesight was narrowing, down to a pinprick of vision.
I’ve been drugged. The thought seemed too outlandish to believe. She was always so careful with her drinks because she knew all about the perils of sipping something that could be spiked with the odorless, tasteless drugs that were made to incapacitate women.
Another wave of dizziness sent her to her knees. “H-h-help,” she croaked.
“Miss Sheppard?” A familiar voice wobbled into her ears, but she couldn’t move her head toward the sound. “Oh my God, Miss Sheppard, what’s wrong?”
Ben… It was Ben at her side, trying to help her stand.
“I c-c-c-can’t—”
“Miss Sheppard, it’s okay. I’m going to get help.” Ben eased her to the ground so she could lean against the wall. “Medic to the Burlesque Room.” He checked her pulse, cool fingers pressed just under her jaw. “You’re going to be okay. Just hang on, Miss Sheppard. Help is on the way.”
Cammie couldn’t even nod. Her head was so heavy that it was hard to hold it up and her eyelids had ten-pound weights pulling them down. She mumbled what she hoped sounded like ‘thank you’ then gave up the fight.
* * * *
Awareness flashed in Cammie’s head like explosions, voices she recognized, words she didn’t. She reached for consciousness, desperate to find out what was going on, what was wrong with her, but no matter how hard she fought, she couldn’t open her eyes. The explosions had brought pain, so much pain that she couldn’t focus on anything else, so she let the pounding headache swallow her down again.
“You’re not family, sir. You can’t be here.”
“I’d like to see you try to move me.” Zane’s growled words cut through the darkness and pulled Cammie to the surface once again. “You can go ahead and call security. I’m not leaving.”
“But, sir—”
“She was drugged.” Zane’s voice was like a sharp whip. “You don’t honestly think I’m going to leave her alone again, do you?”
“Sir—”
“It’s okay,” Cammie mumbled, her throat raw and dry. “He can stay.”
“Cammie, you’re awake. Thank fuck.” Zane let out a sigh that sounded full of relief.
Cammie eased her eyes open, thankful to find that the room wasn’t bright.
“Here.” Zane put a water bottle in her hand. “I’m opening it. Can you see?”
She nodded, her eyes focused on Zane’s hand turning the lid of the water bottle and the familiar clicking, proof that it had never been opened before. “I was drugged?”
A niggling in her brain told her that she’d already pieced that together before everything went black.
“Rohypnol,” Zane confirmed. “Not a ton, but it was enough.”
She was slightly upright, so she didn’t have far to move to get the bottle to her lips. He helped her all the same, and she managed to take a few sips without spilling any on herself. It washed away the fog in her head and her cotton mouth from hell, so she drank a bit more.
“Miss Sheppard, how are you feeling?” An older woman who fit the image of a nurse to the tee, white lab coat, gray hair pulled into a tight bun, glasses dropping low on her nose, stood on the other side of the bed, her expression full of worry. “Headache?”
