by Reina Torres
It hurt.
It felt like sand.
It felt like pebbles.
Like talons.
“I want to go home.”
“Like I told you,” Sean let go of her leg, “I’m not ready to go back yet.”
“I can’t take it.” Her hands pulled at her skin, but she didn’t feel anything. Couldn’t. “Stop the wind, please.”
She heard him curse, but the car slowed. The wind slowed. And she felt the rumble under the car. Gravel under the wheels. And then they stopped.
Sagging against the seat she turned her head to look at Sean. “I think I’m sick.”
He turned in his seat and gave her a look. “You had one cider, Lin. Seriously?”
“I don’t drink.”
“No one is that much of a light weight. Just relax.”
“Relax...” She took in another breath. “Relax...”
“That’s right.”
She heard something metal click and a moment later she felt like she was floating.
“Just relax.”
She felt his skin against hers. Lifting her gaze up from the dash she saw his face hovering over hers. “You’re floating too.”
He shook his head and the motion made everything a blur. “I’m not going anywhere. Neither are you.”
“I don’t want to fall asleep on the side of the road.” She hated how hard she was having to work for every word. “It’s... it’s dangerous.”
“Why would it be dangerous, baby. You’ve got me.”
The muscles in her face were out of time. Out of rhythm. Or maybe it was just her head.
“Not with you.”
His laughter roared in her head. “Yes, you are. You’re here with me.”
Her skin was hot and then it was cold.
“Sick.”
“Just relax...”
She was beginning to hate that word.
Her side was pressed up against the door, heat, like a wall, on her other. She felt a hot wind on her neck and lifted a hand to wave it away. It was solid and it yelled in her ear. “Don’t hit me!”
“Sorry.”
“Look, just lay still. It’ll be easier if you don’t move.”
She didn’t have to ask what he meant, because a moment later he had his hand between her legs.
“No!” She bowed her back and kicked out her legs.
“Fuck!”
She heard the slap of a hand against flesh before she felt the sting on her thigh. Her withering cry tangled with his string of curses.
“Why are you fighting this?”
“I don’t...” she tried to squeeze her legs together, but she could barely manage to control her movements, “I don’t want you.”
He sat back and wiped his hand on her skirt. “From what Wes said, you were an easy lay. I just wanted a taste.”
“Wes?” She blinked up at him as bile rose in her throat.
“Yeah. I asked him how long it was going to take him to get between your legs and he told me you were good from day one.”
“He lied,” she fought down the need to throw up, “we never-”
“Just trying to impress me, maybe?” Sean scoffed at her. “And I wasted a couple of pills for this?”
She could only blink at him for a long moment.
“I can’t believe he thought he was going to pull one over on me.”
Aylin gathered the fabric of her dress in her hands, holding her neckline closed with one and twisting the hem of her skirt around her knees that she’d pressed together. “Take me home.”
“You know,” Sean pulled back, slipping himself over the center console of his Jag, “I’m not going to let you order me around. If you want me to take you back home, then relax, babe, loosen up.”
The look in his eyes made his meaning perfectly clear.
“A small price to pay for all the shit I’m going to get from my dad for driving off with you.”
“I thought,” she gasped a little as the air in her lungs felt like it was on fire, “I thought you were trying to be nice.”
She felt his hand on the seat back near her head before she saw it looming out of the corner of her eye.
“And I was trying to get inside you. I guess we’re both going to be disappointed.”
He touched the side of her face and just the sensation of his hand on her sent her over the edge. The bile she’d been trying so hard to push back down had had enough of his talk and whatever she’d managed to swallow at that horrible party came right back up.
The next few moments went flying by in a blur and when the dust cleared, Aylin found herself in the gravel on the side of the road, the taste of death in her mouth and tears spilling out of her eyes.
Stillman was about a mile from home when his phone rang, pulling up short of the corner on a cross street. He unzipped the pocket on the leg of his pants and took out the phone.
AYLIN BLAISE
He answered the call and held the phone to his ear. “Ay-”
“Still? Still, is that you?”
“Yeah, it’s me. Aylin, what’s going-”
“He left me, Still. He left me on the side of the road.”
Stillman didn’t care who ‘HE’ was, other than ‘HE’ was going to be dead and buried soon. What mattered was the frightened woman on the phone.
His woman. He wasn’t afraid of that thought anymore. Aylin was his and he was going to take care of her.
“Do you know where you are?”
“I don’t feel right, Still. I think there was something in the cider.”
Fucking A-
“Do you remember what road you were on?”
“I don’t feel good... I think I’m going to throw up again.”
Stillman’s frustration was through the roof, but not at her.
He had to focus his thoughts on finding her. Somehow.
“Hold on, Aylin. Hold on.”
“I’m sorry, Still. I’m so sorry to bother you.”
He was paging through the apps on his phone. “Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault, just give me a minute.”
“I think... I think there’s a car coming... Should I wave them down?”
“No! Sorry, I didn’t mean to yell. Don’t. There’s no way of knowing who they are. Just hold on.”
“Okay.”
Her voice sounded so damn tiny and scared on the phone.
There it was. The app he was looking for. The Friends and Family Finder. Some of Aylin’s friends at Prom were talking about it and how they were all linked to each other. Seeing Aylin tense as the other people at the table all put their information in it together, he’d downloaded the app and asked Aylin to put her information in. It had been a novel idea at the time, but what it had been was a godsend.
“How much charge do you have on your battery?”
He heard her sniffle and hiccup. “I don’t know. My eyes are blurry... watery.”
“Okay, okay. Look. I see where you are. I see you, Aylin, do you hear me?”
A soft gasping sigh reached his ears. “Yeah. I hear you, Still. Are you coming to get me?”
“You know I am. Just stay there. Talk to me, okay? I’m going to run all the way to my apartment and get my car. Then I’m going to get you. Just keep talking to me so I know you’re okay.”
The sound that reached his ears was more of a whimper than anything else. He knew he was going to have to kill the person who’d made her so scared. That and he was going to fucking man up and take care of her the way she deserved to be cared for.
“What... what should I talk about?”
“Tell me anything, Aylin. Tell me everything. Just keep talking until I’m there beside you.”
“Okay, Still. I’m going to stay here until then.”
And he ran.
It didn’t matter that he’d already run miles that night. It didn’t matter that his legs were already aching, and his lungs felt like they were beginning to burn, he ran.
And he wasn’t going to stop moving until he had
her in his arms.
Chapter 11
It was a sight that he’d never forget as long as he lived.
Aylin, sitting in the dirt beside the road, one arm wrapped around her knees as she blocked the light from her eyes.
He turned off the headlights and left the car running as he got out and ran to her side. He felt stray bits of gravel bite and dig into his knees as he knelt beside her, but it didn’t bother him in the least.
“Aylin… Aylin, I’m here.”
Her phone was lying in the dirt by her shoes, their call still connected.
Stillman reached out and touched her arms and almost recoiled in shock. She was sweating and shaking with chills. It was either some kind of shock or another worrying cause, but he knew he couldn’t let her sit out on the side of the road.
“Aylin? We’ve got to get going.”
“No,” she shook her head, “no.”
Before he could say something else, she continued on.
“Still said to stay right here.” She started to nod and then shook her head. “He said to stay right here.”
“Yeah, baby. I know. And you did. But I’m here now.”
He set one foot out and tried to stand her up with him.
“Let’s go.”
She swayed and almost pulled him back down with her.
Before he could ask what was wrong, she turned her head away from him and dry heaved. The way her back bowed and her body shook, he knew something was wrong. This wasn’t just that she was upset.
“Aylin, who-”
“Sean gave me something to drink. The bottles were open when he came to the car.” She wiped at her mouth with the back of her hand. “I feel… I feel…”
“What do you feel? Tell me so I can help you.”
“I don’t…” she looked up at him, her eyes glassy, her irises eclipsing her beautiful brown eyes. “I don’t feel myself.”
Shit.
“Aylin, let’s get you in my car.”
“Still?”
His heart hitched in his chest. “Yeah, baby? It’s me.”
The sob that tore from her throat ripped through him straight into his soul.
“You came to get me…”
“Of course, baby. Of course.”
She could barely hold onto him or put her feet under her body. Her words echoed in his head when she said she didn’t feel herself. He’d thought that Aylin had meant that she didn’t feel like herself.
But he was starting to realize that she didn’t feel her body. The shakes and the shivers. The thin layer of sweat on her skin.
Yeah, there was something wrong with Aylin.
Stillman didn’t try to make her walk. He lifted her into his arms and walked over to the car. It took a moment to hold her between his hip and the back door to open the front passenger side, but he had her in the car a moment later.
“This isn’t going to feel good, but I need to buckle you in.”
She didn’t speak or move until the seatbelt clicked closed. And then her eyes snapped open, fixed on his face.
“I don’t… I don’t want to be sick in your car.”
“If you have to, I don’t mind. I need to get you help.”
She grabbed his shirt, seemingly surprising herself with her own dexterity. “No hospitals. Don’t you dare!”
He heard the worry in her voice, but it was what he saw in her eyes that hurt the most.
Shame.
He understood her thoughts. Ethan was as much a part of the first responder community as anyone else in San Antonio. Even though Aylin was legally an adult, the instant she set foot in an Emergency Room, someone would call her father.
Still, he had to get someone to see her. If they thought she had to go, then he’d take her, but he’d try to honor her wishes first. His first thought as he hung up the open call to Aylin on his phone was to dial Peace and have him meet them at Stillman’s apartment, but he was probably at home and that meant Lissa would want to come.
Changing his mind, he hit another speed dial. As the line began to ring, Stillman reached out and took Aylin’s hand in his. He felt another shiver as it rolled through her body.
The call picked up before the second ring. It didn’t surprise Stillman. He’d never actually seen his friend ever sleep.
“Butler.”
“Rhett,” he used the more familiar firehouse name out of habit, “I need your help.” He launched into a quick recitation of what he’d observed. “What do you think she’s been given?”
“Without a test I can’t tell for sure. I’m guessing he gave her some Molly… Ex.”
“Ecstasy?” Stillman felt his blood begin to boil in his veins. “Do you think she’s in any immediate danger if I don’t take her to an Emergency Room right now?”
Rhett’s voice over the phone was calm, methodical. He may just be one of the most silent people in their shift, but he knew his job and did it well. “Is she still sweating?”
Still set his phone down between them and reached his free hand over to touch her cheek.
“No.”
“Is she more coherent?”
“Aylin, look at me.”
Rhett’s voice sparked through the phone. “Aylin? What the hell, Rook!”
“Aylin, look at me.”
She let out a breath and turned her face toward him.
“Squeeze my hand, tight.”
Almost immediately, her fingers wrapped tightly around his.
“Are you feeling better?”
A long in-drawn breath later, she nodded her head. “I think so. Yeah.”
Rhett’s voice rose in volume. “Rook, where are you?”
Aylin held tight to his hand. “I’m okay, Still. I’ll be okay.”
“Stillman!”
He had to answer Rhett. Any longer and Rhett would place a call straight to the Chief.
“She refuses to go to an ER. You know what that would mean.”
“That she’d get help.”
“And,” Stillman shot back, “everyone will know her business. You didn’t she her when I drove up, Rhett. You’d understand why. I’m taking her to my place. Can you-”
“I’ll meet you there. I’m taking samples. I’m not asking. I’m taking. So, the two of you prepare for that.”
Stillman knew that Rhett meant well, and he wasn’t going to argue. He was hoping that Aylin would understand the need to take samples quickly.
“We’ll be ready.” Stillman felt, rather than heard her sigh.
“I’m already in my car, Rook. Get moving.”
The call ended before Stillman could touch the screen. With a quick tug to make sure that Aylin was buckled in, he pulled his seatbelt across his chest, turned the headlights back on, and made a U-turn to head back toward town.
As the ground beneath the car smoothed out on the asphalt flat-top, Stillman saw Aylin relax against the passenger seat.
There was one question burning in his mind, but he couldn’t manage to form the words to ask her.
As Stillman made the first left on their way to his apartment, Aylin said something, but her voice was so soft he didn’t catch any of the words.
Tearing his gaze away from the road for just a moment, he turned to look at her. “What was that? Can you say that again?”
Her thumb brushed along the outside of his hand, a soothing gesture.
“Can you call Hayden and ask her if she could stop by to talk to me?”
He answered without thinking because he knew the instant he talked to Hayden that she’d be on her way. “Sure, I’m sure she can come over.”
Maybe it was the way he’d said his words, or maybe it was the pain he felt radiating through his jaw as he ground his teeth together that had caught her attention, but when she tugged her fingers free and stroked the back of his hand, she answered his silent question.
“He wanted to, Still, but he didn’t get that far. I just want to talk to Hayden and make a statement.”
“That’s a brave t
hing to do.”
She scoffed at herself. “It’s not brave. I was stupid in so many ways. I should have known... No, I knew better, and I made mistakes, but I’m not going to let him get the better of me. Giving a statement is just me putting my foot down and telling him I’m not going to cower. I think that’s what he wants. And I'm not going to give it to him.”
He heard the doubt in her voice and even some self-recrimination. But just like she didn’t want Sean to get away with what he’d tried to do, she wasn’t going to let it stop her from doing something.
As they came to a stop light, Stillman turned toward her and leaned in to place a kiss on her forehead. “You’re a hero, Aylin. Don't ever doubt that.”
“I don’t know about that,” her voice was regaining some of its strength, “but I’m not going to give up without a fight.”
Rhett beat them to the apartment and as soon as Stillman pulled into his space in the parking lot, Rhett was there beside them, his EMT bag slung over his shoulder. He assisted Aylin out of the car and tested her on her feet before he let her go to close the car door.
Stillman didn’t argue over the way Rhett took charge. The man had eagle eyes when it came to medical issues. As they reached the second floor of the complex, Hayden pulled into the parking lot in an unmarked car.
Hesitating outside the door, Stillman waited until Hayden appeared at the top of the steps before going inside. He didn’t have to direct Hayden toward the bathroom. Beyond the main room of his studio, the bathroom was the only separate space in the apartment.
After locking the front door, he crossed the room and looked in. Aylin sat on the closed toilet, passively waiting as Rhett drew a vial of her blood. She remained calm as he removed the first and inserted a second vial for collection.
When that was done, Rhett reached into his kit and drew out a specimen jar. Stillman could tell by Aylin’s raised eyebrows what he was asking for. “If you need any assistance, I can help you.” Rhett got to his feet then and gestured toward the door. “Or I can wait outside.”
Hayden set her hand on Aylin’s shoulder. “I’ll take care of her, Rhett. If you can wait outside, I’ll collect her clothes and bring the sample out to you.”
Stillman watched the exchange feeling as if he was the odd man out, as though he was the useless fourth wheel in the group. “I’ll get some clothes for her.” He said the words, but he couldn’t seem to make himself move. Instead he found himself leaning heavily against the wall of his studio and waiting for the tide to turn in their favor.