Seattle Sound Series, The Collection: Books One to Five

by Alexa Padgett

  “What did you do to her?” I yelled. I pulled her up against my chest. Her head lolled back and she choked. She choked on her own blood. What was I supposed to do?

  I lifted her forward and opened her mouth. Blood poured from her lips.

  “We didn’t touch her, man.” One of the guys was talking to Kai, who looked ready to kill.

  “Call an ambulance,” I said.

  “Already did, dude,” the guy said.

  Dane’s phone rang.

  He pulled it out. “Where are you?” he barked into the phone.

  Nessa’s voice slid out of the speaker, loud and nearly hysterical. “In the bathroom. Jenna’s convulsing. What do I do?”

  Kai spun around and pushed off through the crowd.

  I rocked Abbi, not sure what else to do. I put my fingers to her neck but I didn’t feel her pulse. “No,” I pressed harder. “I can’t find her pulse.”

  One of the guys crouched next to me and put his hand on her chest. Instinctively, I knocked it away. “Don’t touch her,” I yelled. “Abbi, you have to wake up.”

  “I’m checking for her heartbeat,” the guy said.

  “Calm down, Clay. We’re going to help her.” Dane was on my other side. People were clustered around us, whispering. Some were crying.

  The guy’s face was pale. “She’s not breathing.”

  “I can’t give her mouth-to-mouth. Not with all the blood in her mouth.” My breath hitched. I was suspended over an abyss. Everyone scrambled back. Someone tried to pull Abbi from my arms.

  “I’m an EMT. You have to let go so I can help her. Let go, sir.” His words finally filtered through my fogged thoughts.

  “She’s not breathing. And there’s so much blood.”

  The guy had on gloves and opened Abbi’s mouth. “Bit her tongue when she fell. How much did she have to drink?”

  “I don’t know. I just got here. There’s water in her purse.” I pointed at the water spilling from her bag.

  The EMT looked at me like I was crazy, but he was working on her, getting a gadget to help her breathe, so I didn’t hit him.

  “It’s true, man.”

  I turned to see the man who’d been crouched at Abbi’s head when I got to her.

  “She had a bottle of water. I noticed because I wanted to buy her a drink.” The shorter man shrugged.

  “She’s mine,” I growled.

  “She’s stable,” the second EMT said.

  “There’s another one in the bathroom,” another EMT said. “Convulsions.”

  “You go,” the EMT crouched over Abbi said. “I’ve got to get her to the ambulance.”

  “Can I ride with her?”

  “Yep. Upfront. Let’s go.”

  I stood up with cautious movements. Once I was sure my legs would hold, I turned to Dane, whose face was way too pale. “Tell Nessa where we are.”

  Dane waved me off. “Go. I’m going to stick around with Nessa and see how Jenna’s doing. Call us and we’ll meet you.” His face and voice were grim.

  I ran to catch up with the gurney.

  I’d been sitting in the ER waiting room for nearly an hour by the time Lia ran in. She was out of breath, her eyes dark with worry.

  “Clay, you’re covered in blood.” Her breathing escalated. “Abbi?” she wheezed.

  “I don’t know anything. It’s her blood.”

  Lia started to sink to the floor, even whiter than Abbi had been earlier. I caught her and settled her in a chair.

  “You okay?” I asked, nervous as she struggled to breathe.

  “Panic attack.” She dropped her head to her knees and I patted her back, feeling awkward and clumsy and like the worst fuck-up ever. I hadn’t called Abbi in a week. If I’d just told her how I felt, she’d be asleep in her bed or mine.

  Asher barreled into the room. He pulled Lia up into his arms and she clutched his shirt, her back shaking as she wheezed.

  Asher spoke softly into her ear, petting her hair. I watched them for a long moment before I dropped my gaze back to my linked hands.

  Eventually, Lia said, “I’m okay now. We need to find out what happened. What they’re doing.”

  Asher settled her in the chair next to me, his face pale and concerned. “What happened?”

  I wanted to hit something; shout, curse the world. Anything but what I had to say to Abbi’s parents now.

  “I don’t know. Nessa called Dane, said he needed to come pick them up. That Jenna seemed high or something. We were looking for the girls when these guys moved back and Abbi was on the floor, bleeding. She fell,” I said quickly as Lia’s eyes grew wider. “Hit her chin, busted it and bit her tongue.”

  “I’m going to talk to someone,” Lia said.

  “I’ll come with you,” Asher said, concern evident.

  They walked toward the nurse’s station, Asher’s arm cinched tight around Lia’s waist. She leaned into him, obviously needing his support.

  Lia asked some questions, all of answers seemed to agitate her more. I dropped my head in my hands.

  “Hey, man, any news?”

  Kai. He slammed into the chair near mine. His long legs sprawled out. “No. Not on Abbi. What about Jenna?”

  “Took them a long time to stabilize her. She threw up a lot. I guess that’s a good thing? I don’t know. They’re thinking alcohol poisoning.”

  His brows were pulled low, his mouth pinched. He didn’t like to think of Jenna drinking so much she made herself sick.

  “Abbi’s parents are here. Maybe we can get some information about her. Jenna’s folks are in Austin, right? How are we going to find out anything on her?” I gestured toward the nurse’s station, where Lia was facing a tall, fiftyish man with thinning, graying hair.

  “Nessa called them. I was kind of hoping you’d know something about Abbi that would apply to Jenna. Nessa and Dane will be here soon, by the way. Nessa had to change—Jenna puked all over her.”

  I stood.

  “Just hold up there,” Kai said, gripping my shirt. “Something you need to know.”

  I looked down and saw how haggard he appeared. My legs shook and I slid back into my chair.

  “We talked to the police after you left. They’ll come here, too, man. The reporters were out in full force, interviewing anyone who’d open their dumbass mouths.”

  My stomach dropped. Abbi was going to hate that. She’d just gotten to a happy place—whatever happened tonight wasn’t going to keep her there.

  Lia was still talking to the doctor, Asher holding her protectively in his arms.

  “Nessa said Jenna was eating this chocolate. Chocolate she said was from you for Abbi.”

  “I didn’t send her any chocolate.”

  “We know. So the other thing Nessa and Dane went to get were the chocolates. Nessa said they tasted weird.”

  “Weird how?”

  Kai shrugged. “Nessa said she thought Jenna had a few of them. She was in some kind of seizure by the time I got there. The EMT was worried.”

  “And they won’t tell you anything?”

  He shook his head. Lia and Asher came back over, both their faces pale, eyes dark with worry.

  “They’re treating it like an overdose,” Lia said. Her face crumpled, and she started to cry.

  “Abbi?” Kai asked.

  “Overdose?” I said, sitting up straighter. “No way.”

  “No fucking way,” Kai repeated.

  “That’s what we told him,” Asher said, pulling Lia onto his lap. “But the doctor said she had a ton of GBH in her system.”

  “Can you tell them to check Jenna for the same thing?” Kai asked, standing quickly. He looked uncertain.

  “They know. She’s in bad shape.”

  Asher’s gaze darkened further, fury in each taut line of his body. “Someone slipped it into something they ingested, obviously. The doctor said she wasn’t drinking, so that’s something.”

  “The chocolates,” I mumbled, shock still sizzling through me.

&nb
sp; “Did they pump her stomach?” Kai asked. “Get all that poison out of her? If they did it for her, maybe they did it for Jenna.”

  Asher shook his head. “Didn’t have to. Abbi vomited, too.”

  “Like that night at Tech.” My grip on the cheap plastic chair had the chair shaking.

  Lia whipped her head toward me. “That’s what I told the doctor,” she said, her voice scratchy. “But what are the chances of something like that happening twice?”

  “Slim. Especially since it had to be the chocolates.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” Asher asked, his anger growing with each word.

  Kai leaned forward. “Nessa said Jenna found chocolates outside Abbi’s dorm room today. She was eating them while getting ready. She had some kind of a seizure as soon as they got to the club.”

  “There’s something else you should know. Jenna’s been hanging around Charles. He’s known to peddle.”

  “Hard shit?” Asher asked.

  Kai and I looked at each other. “I don’t know. Maybe. The fraternity is always full of girls. A couple of them have left school after being at the frat house for a party.”

  “I’m going to talk to the doctor. Let him know about Jenna.” Lia bolted off Asher’s lap.

  I sat, the quiet pounding inside my head.

  Asher was as protective of Abbi as she was of him, her mother and Mason. No wonder she’d worried about their reaction. Asher wasn’t just angry, he was about to explode.

  I licked my lips. “There’s one more thing,” I said. He swung his gaze toward mine, eyes narrowed, nostrils white. “Abbi had a run-in with Bethany a few weeks ago. She’s um, well, clingy. To the band.”

  Asher nodded once. I wasn’t sure if he was telling me he’d heard me or he wanted me to go on.

  Kai cleared his throat. “Bethany’s been real jealous of Abbi. Because she wanted Clay. We think she was behind trashing Abbi’s room and this. She’s, well, she’s delusional.”

  “Are you saying she gave Abbi the chocolates?” Asher asked.

  I spread my hands on my knees. “I don’t know. But I wouldn’t be surprised.”

  “What good would it do for a girl to drug Abbi like that?”

  I considered all these options. “I’ve been thinking while I was waiting for you to show up. I made a complaint about Bethany a few weeks ago. We banned her from our concerts. I haven’t seen much of her in recent weeks. Not since Abbi’s room got messed up and the pictures . . .” I cleared my throat. “I kinda forgot about it because then Abbi did that interview saying she was going to be working with the local universities on their date rape policies and we were inundated with journalists.”

  The muscle in Asher’s jaw jumped. “So what’s this got to do with your groupie?”

  I flinched. “She’s not my anything. I don’t like the girl.”

  Kai gripped my shoulder. “Maybe nothing. But she’s the only one I can think of who’d have a reason to hurt Abbi. And Bethany’s tight with Charles. The pusher we told you about.”

  36

  Abbi

  Mom looked tired. Her eyes were red-rimmed. I frowned at her. I hadn’t seen her so haggard since Dad was sick.

  “What happened?” I winced. My tongue and chin hurt. Bad.

  “You fell,” Mom said. Her voice was harsh like she’d been crying. Guilt seeped up my chest. “At the club. Do you remember any of it?”

  Looking around the room, I considered her question. There were a bunch of big bouquets. So many, the ugly beige walls behind them were barely visible.

  “They’re from Briar and Hayden. They’ll be home soon to see you. Those are from Clay’s parents. That one is from the girls in your dorm.”

  What? Really?

  “You must’ve made an impression,” Lia said, a smile flitting around the edge of her mouth. But her face is too gaunt.

  “Clay?”

  “He just left. He’s going to be upset he missed you.” Mom wrinkled her nose. “But he needed to shower and change. He was covered in your blood.”

  My mouth fell open, and I winced at the pain radiating from my jaw.

  “Try not to do that. You have a lot of stitches in your chin. Only six in your tongue.”

  I must look like Frankenstein. I moaned.

  “It’s not so bad, really.” Mom sniffled. “They did a lot on the inside to minimize scarring. We thought you weren’t going to wake up.”

  “Why?” I asked. The word came out more garbled than I’d intended.

  Mom picked up my hand, squeezing my fingers between hers. “You had a bad reaction to the drug. GBH.”

  I started. She squeezed harder. “The doctor said the second time you get the drug is usually when you see the side effects like yours. Plus, the volume in your system caused you to stop breathing.”

  My eyes flew to hers. Holy . . . no wonder she was so worn out.

  “I didn’t—”

  “We know, Abbi. Someone put it in the chocolates you and your friend Jenna ate.” Mom’s eyes narrowed to thin slits of gray.

  I hesitated for a moment, dreading the answer. “Jenna?”

  Mom looked down, her face filled with sadness. “She’s in a coma. She had a lot more of the drug in her system than you did.”

  I closed my eyes, trying to tease out what she wasn’t telling me. I’d read about GBH once I realized it was probably the drug Steve slipped me at that party.

  “Will she make it?”

  Mom inhaled sharply through her nose. Her eyes were red and fresh tears filled her eyes. “She might not wake up.”

  “Like ever?” I asked, horror building, pressing, painful in my chest.

  I stared up at the ceiling, trying to process what Mom told me. Jenna—sarcastic, loving, hurting Jenna.

  “Any idea who did this?” If I suspected Bethany, then I knew Clay, Kai, Nessa, and Dane would’ve already explained the situation there. Perhaps Steve, but he was supposed to be at his parents’ house in LA for the next six months—part of the plea we’d reached.

  “They’ll find them, Abbi. This case is getting national attention.”

  “Them?”

  Mom brushed my hair back from my forehead. “You feeling okay? Need anything? I pressed the button and let the nurses know you were waking up.”

  “Who’s them?” My fat tongue was really annoying.

  A nurse bustled in, lifting my arm to get my pulse. She checked my eyes, my tongue, the bandage on my chin.

  “Up for some water? You were really dehydrated after all the vomiting. Good thing you did, though. You had a lot of the drug in your system.”

  I accepted the straw and sucked.

  “Drinking a little will also help with the taste in your mouth.”

  I winced but managed to keep the liquid flowing down my throat. Heaven.

  “She’s doing well, Mrs. Smith. The doctor will be by soon.”

  Mom nodded. I stayed focused on her.

  “Who’s them?” My mouth was working a little better so I asked the second question. “Who drugged me?”

  “Bethany and her cousin Steve.”

  37

  Clay

  I was back at the hospital in under two hours, an amazing feat considering I had to drive back to my apartment to shower and change and then head over to the police station in another part of Seattle.

  Abbi’s eyes met mine as soon as I stepped into her room. I walked toward her, thankfulness warring with concern. The doctor said she might have long-term effects from the amount of GBH in her system, as might Jenna.

  Abbi had quit breathing. That could mean brain damage. That was the concern I’d refused to consider. Abbi was so smart. So dedicated.

  “Hey,” she mumbled, turning her face way. Her eyes didn’t focus on mine for long. My heart expanded to an uncomfortable size in my chest. I hadn’t considered her not remembering me.

  I settled into the chair, reached forward for her hand but stopped just short. Maybe she didn’t want me. Beth
any attacked her because of me. Did she know about the media firestorm yet?

  She gripped my fingers in her cold hand. My gaze finally rose from our connected fingers to her big blue eyes. “There’s my girl.”

  I leaned forward and kissed her. Just a quick brush of my lips before I pulled back. Her lips were soft, a little chapped.

  “I’m sorry, Clay.” She formed the words slowly, her brow furrowed in concentration. “I heard Jenna hasn’t woken up yet.”

  Her tongue. Right. The doctor said it was going to take a few days for the swelling to go down. Relief flooded my limbs, leaving me weak. Abbi alive, intact, that was a miracle. The rest we’d have to deal with. Soon.

  “Her parents have talked to the doctors. They called Nessa to tell her they’re on a flight. Should be here in a couple hours.”

  “You’ll tell me when you know something?”

  I cupped her cheek. “Yes. I’ll tell you anything you want to know. I’ll never lie to you, Abbi. I know you hate lies.”

  I stared at her while she looked up at the ceiling tiles.

  “Mom said it was Bethany who put the drugs in the chocolates.”

  How long would she struggle to make her syllables? She sounded so un-Abbi-like. I gripped her hand tighter. I’d need to tell her Charles had squealed loud and fast once he realized what Bethany did with the GBH. Good thing he was locked in a jail cell.

  “They found her.”

  Abbi raised her eyebrows, interest shooting through her blue gaze.

  “Steve, too?”

  I rested my head against the edge of her bed. I didn’t want her to see me fall apart. Her hand moved to my hair, fingers sifting through the strands.

  “Clay?

  I waited through another beat. “Yeah. Steve, too.” I raised my head to meet her gaze. “It was Bethany’s idea to drug you again. She talked Charles into it. Slept with him. The whole deal. Charles said she kept talking about getting back with me.” I shuddered.

  Abbi closed her eyes, swallowed hard. “Not surprised.”

  “The police are shutting down Charles’ operation. It was big. Worth millions.” I was a shocked by the scope of Charles’s business. I’d completely underestimated the guy.