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My lips are numb, my head spinning out of control as I stumble and grab hold of the railing. Zeke frames my face with his big hands, tilting my head this way and that to check me out.

“Baby, talk to me. Stay awake.” He gently slaps my cheeks, jolting me out of my daze before he throws me over his shoulder and takes off running down the front marble steps toward the parking lot.

Chapter 16

CHRISTIAN VERADIN

“Howmuchdidyougive her to drink? Holy shit,” I say when Zeke carries in an almost completely wrecked Billie.

He groans with a glare thrown in my direction as he carries her to my bed and helps her lay down. The red dress clinging to her body has me being a total perv—checking out every delicious curve her body offers.

“I gave her one drink. I’m not sure what’s going on with her.” He peels her eyelids open, looking at her eyes as they roll into the back of her head.

“She’s been drugged.”

And that pisses me the fuck off. Who would drug her? And when the hell did someone have the chance to drug her? I’ve been with Billie all night long, and I was the one who got her the drink… the drink from the bartender, who seemed awkward now that I think about it. Fuck!

“Weren’t you watching her?!” I bark out, shoving him out of the way so I can check her out myself. She’s not running a fever. Her skin is actually chilled. My hands trail down over her bare arms, finding them cold and clammy as well.

“Of course, I was watching her! I’m the one who made her the drink and you know I’d never—”

I blow out a breath, turning to him. “I believe you, man.” Even though I know he fucked her behind my back andstillhasn’t told me about it. So much for being my best friend. Whatever, that’s not what’s important right now.

“I’m going to go find my mom’s heating pad.” And what she used to use on my older brother who OD’d on us a few times. When you’re as important as our family is, you take care of things on your own so it doesn’t end up on the five o’clock news. “Crawl into bed and keep her warm,” I tell him, moving away from the bed.

Billie groans and rolls onto her side, pinching her brows together as if she’s in pain. What the fuck is she on? I’m about to leave my room when I watch Zeke crawl into bed behind her, pulling her flush against his front side. It makes my insides knot up in jealousy, but I tell myself it’s keeping her warm. Besides, we agreed to share her, right?

Rushing down the hallway to my parents’ bedroom and eventually their master bathroom, I rummage through my mom’s cupboard until I find what I’m looking for. The news of Lacee being murdered is in the back of my mind right now as I pull out the pump, tubing, and the small bag of supplies to work it. It’s been a hot minute since I’ve had to use this thing, but my mom never had the stomach for it—ironically—so I learned how to do it instead.

I run back to my room, kicking the door shut as I set the shit down on my nightstand. Zeke’s eyes widen as he looks at all the stuff I have here. He knew about my brother overdosing, but it wasn’t something we ever truly talked about.

“Is that what I think it is?” he whispers.

Nodding, I grab the tube and head for my bathroom. “It’s the only thing I know to do without taking her to the hospital.”

“But like, whyaren’twe taking her there?”

After turning on the hot water in the bathtub, I poke my head out and tell him, “Because whoever drugged these glasses probably wants her alone. They won’t let us into the ER since we aren’t family. And do you want her to be alone? Lacee was murdered tonight… in a way that was a warning.”

The color drains from Zeke’s face as realization slams into him. “You honestly think someone is after Billie?”

I’m about to remind him what Dana told us about Billie being in danger, but then I remember I’m not supposed to tell him about any of it. It sucks, but I’ll follow her rules for now. I usually tell my best friend everything, so this is kind of uncomfortable.

Ignoring him, I move back to the tub and put the tubing under the steaming water, softening the tube so I can shove it down Billie’s throat. When I go back into the bedroom, I plug the tube into the machine and position it on the nightstand to face her.

She moans, twisting in Zeke’s arms, when I notice she’s drooling all over herself. What the shit is inside her system?

“This is going to hurt her, so hold her tightly,” I tell him as I sit in my gaming chair and pull myself up to the edge of the bed.

I use my foot to bring my trash can over, getting it ready to pump her stomach contents into it. I take a pair of sterile gloves from inside the bag of supplies, pulling out the lubrication for the tube. After my gloves are in place, I smear the clear gel on the tip and rub it up half of the tubing. I can’t imagine this feels good, but it has to be done. My brother always had a sore throat for a few days after I had to do this for him, but I figured it was because I was kind of rough with him. With Billie? I’m going to take this nice and easy.

“Okay, keep her on her side but help keep her head back so her throat is straighter,” I instruct Zeke as I carefully hold the tube up, preparing to enter her mouth with it.

Zeke holds her mouth open as I slowly push the tube in. More drool than I’ve ever seen pours out of her mouth, drenching my pillow. Her eyes flutter as I watch the pale tone of her cheeks intensify. When my wrist touches her cheek, I feel how much colder she’s gotten.

She gags when the tube hits the back of her throat, but she doesn’t fight me off. She doesn’t move at all once I push the tube into her esophagus. And by memory, I guide the tube centimeter by centimeter until I think I’ve reached her stomach. Next, I take the small bottle of saline provided and pour a small amount into the tube before I connect the end to the machine, flipping the switch to turn it on.

Within seconds, the contents of her stomach travel up the tube and into the machine’s tank. The only sound in the room is the pump itself as I look into Zeke’s eyes without saying a word. He knows what this machine was used for previously, and it’s not something I like to talk about, ya know?

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