Page 20 of Cutter

Lifting the sheets, she examined her clothing situation. She had her panties on and the lacey Goth top she’d worn to the bar. Her side and abdominal muscles were sore as hell, as if she’d been lifting weights. She touched her head. The wig was gone.

As the sickening spell passed, she ran into a black hole in her mind.

That was a big problem.

Emily had no memory of last night.

Trying to ease the rising panic, she took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Now, blurry scenes from the Dirt Road Saloon filled her mind: she’d driven with Yoanni, had parked with no difficulties and found a corner table right away. As she had hoped, the place hadn’t been crowded. So she’d begun scopingout the faces for future reference and checking against the station’s archives, when that guy, Nails, had zeroed in on them and started harassing her and Yoanni.

After that, a gray spot took over her brain.

Where was Yoanni? They’d agreed to spend the night at Emily’s and follow each other to work.

Emily pushed off the bed to stand, but dizziness overpowered her again. She slumped back as a feeling of impotence and a weird sadness took over.

What is happening to me?

“Emily?” Yoanni’s soft voice eased her concerns. The door opened slowly, and Yoanni peeked inside her bedroom.

“I’m so happy to see you.” Emily waved at her friend, and her heart raced as if she’d run five miles. She wouldn’t try to stand again. “I’m scared, Yoanni. My mind’s a blur, and I don’t remember driving back home or how I got into bed. Where did you sleep?”

“You remember nothing?”

“I’m okay up to the moment when that guy came over and offered to buy us drinks, but after that, it gets confusing, and then nothing. I mean nothing at all. It’s freaky and scaring me to death.”

Yoanni sat at the edge of her bed and clasped her hand. “How do you feel overall?”

“Dizzy. Weak. My muscles hurt, and my throat is on fire.”

“You need water. Be right back.”

Okay, something big had happened last night. That was obvious. She’d just have to be patient and allow Yoanni to fill in the blanks. She crossed her fingers, hoping that whatever did happen wouldn’t be too embarrassing for her.

Yoanni returned with a full glass of water and sat next to her. Emily downed it in almost one gulp. She coughed a little. “Did I make a fool of myself?”

Her friend’s face was full of compassion. “It wasn’t your fault. That horrible guy Nails slipped a drug into your beer. You got giggly, silly, and loud, so different from the Emily I know. Then you fell asleep on the table. Your beer was still pretty full. We figured out you’d only had a couple of sips. Otherwise, we would’ve called an ambulance.”

That didn’t sound good.

“We?”

“Yes. Your friend Cutter and a few of his buddies were in the bar when the drug hit you. He heard me shout and came over to help us.”

“Cutter? My Cutter?”

“Uh-huh. He pulled Nails off you. Cutter accused Nails of spiking your beer. Nails got nasty, arguing and demanding proof. Cutter grabbed him by the throat and pushed the beer at him, forcing him to drink. It was really bad. But an older biker got involved, and Nails took off like the coward he is. Then Cutter offered to help me bring you home. At first, I said no. Told him it wasn’t necessary. But he took you to the car anyway, then followed me here and put you in bed. I’m very happy he ignored me. I couldn’t have carried you up the stairs.”

“Oh my.”

“He took care of you when you threw up.”

“I threw up?”

She nodded. “Cutter said puking would help you get well. Got the drug out of your system.”

“No wonder my sides hurt.”

“Yeah.” Yoanni wrinkled her nose in distaste. “You hurled big-time, my friend.”

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