I pushed a few buttons and a number came up. Taking deep breaths, I held it to my ear and heard it ring. Yay. It worked. “Babe. What’s up?”
“Hey… I’m… I think I’m in… troub… trou…uble.” I knew I was slurring the words, but I couldn’t help it.
“Where are you?”
“A bar… hotel.. my… dr.. drink.. spik…spiked. I feel… fun… funny.” I took a deep breath and waited for him to talk, but the line was dead. Had he hung up on me? I swallowed, leaning against the counter with my head in my hands. “Damn, damn, damn.”
“Miss? Are you all right?”
I glanced up to see the bartender hovering over me. “Yes. I’m… fi… fine.”
“You don’t look so good. Would you like to lie down? There’s a couch in the back.” He came around the end of the bar and put his arm around my waist to help me stand.
“No. Don’t… don.. touchme.”
Startled at my outburst, he backed away.
“I need…” What did I need? Oh yeah. “Wa..ter. I nee.. som.. wat..er.”
“Sure. But you look like you’re about to fall over. At least sit in a booth. There’s an empty one right over there.”
I glanced where he pointed, but it just made me dizzy. He put his arm around me and helped me stand, then began to walk, taking most of my weight along for the ride. I couldn’t seem to pull away and, before long, someone else took his place.
Was it Dex? I fought against the man’s grip, but his arm tightened around me like a steel vise. I moved my eyes, since I couldn’t seem to move my head, and caught sight of a goatee and glasses.
CHAPTER 13
Knowing my time was running out, I concentrated on slipping my hand into my purse. I felt for my stun flashlight, my fingers drifting over the pill bottle, a pack of gum and my notebook. Finally, in the bottom of the bag, my fingers touched the cold handle of the flashlight, and I gripped it tightly.
Now I just had to get it out of my purse. Everything around me was slightly blurry, and I knew we weren’t in the bar anymore. We stopped walking, and I felt movement, like we were in an elevator. Then we were walking again, only slowing in front of a door, where he used a key card to pull it open.
Part of me knew that, if I went inside, it was over. Hearing the click of the door shutting behind me sent terror and panic into my heart, clearing my mind. With sudden strength, I pulled my stun flashlight out of my purse and swung it toward the man. Growling with determination, I hit him in the groin and pushed the button.
He yelped and doubled over in pain, clutching his groin and dropping his hold. I stumbled against the wall and slipped to the floor. He continued to fall to the ground and jerked a few times before going still.
Elated, I tried to get up, but my legs just didn’t want to move. A lone light from a lamp across the room left most of the room in darkness, and I fought to keep my eyes open. Dex wasn’t going to stay quiet forever, so now was my last chance to get out of there.
I did everything I could to move my legs and wake up, but nothing worked. At least I could still think. In desperation, I started to bang my head against the wall. It kept me from blacking out, and soon, I began to feel the strength return to my arms and legs. Thank goodness I’d only had a couple of sips, and the drug was wearing off. A small ray of hope that I could make it out of there washed over me.
A groan came from Dex, and his arms began to move. Damn. I just needed a few more minutes. I struggled to move my arms, but could barely lift them. As panic filled me, Dex pushed into a sitting position. Even a little dazed, he stared at me with hate-filled eyes.
“You little bitch.”
He slowly climbed to his feet, wobbling a bit. Finding his balance, he stepped toward me until he stood over me like a hulking monster. With a glare, he reached down to grab my arm.
I managed to move sideways, but it wasn’t far enough. As his hand closed around my arm, the door burst open. Startled, Dex jerked back, tripping over his feet and falling onto his butt. Light from the hallway cast the man in shadows, but I’d know him anywhere. “Ramos?”
“Are you hurt?” He knelt beside me.
“No… jus… drugg… drugged.”
Dex rose to his feet, ready to lay Ramos flat and charge out of the room. Dex was a big guy, but he’d underestimated Ramos. Before Dex could move, Ramos stepped over me and sent a couple of punches into his gut before landing a right hook to smash into his nose. I heard the crunch and grimaced.
The momentum pushed Dex back and Ramos followed, sending another one-two punch to the gut, before landing another right hook into Dex’s jaw, spinning him around and knocking him out cold. He went down hard, and I wasn’t sure he’d ever get back up.
“Whoa. Is he… dead?”
Ramos came back to kneel by my side and studied my eyes. “Unfortunately… no. Your pupils are dilated. Do you know what he gave you?”
“Somethin like zom..bie … or maybe it’s the devil… but I only had one… two… swallows… so I’m feeling better now. See? I can even move my… yarms.” I lifted my arms slightly, then let them drop since it took a lot out of me. “I’m hardly… even slurr..ing words.”
His mouth twisted, and he shook his head. “What the hell, Shelby?”
I frowned. “Did you jus.. say that out loud?” I couldn’t tell. Had his lips moved?
“No.”
“Oops.”
“What’s going on? Tell me why you’re here.”
“Sure. There was a
