On Thin Ice (The Baltimore Banners Book 8) (21 page)

"Lauren, did you have anything to eat yet?"

"No. Just…coffee."

"And water. During the game."

"Oh please. Everyone is overreacting. As usual. I bet she has diarrhea. Not a big deal. Once she explodes, she'll be fine." Lindsay's voice cut through the low murmur of the crowd that surrounded them. Kenny looked over, frowning, not understanding how she could be laughing right now. Didn't she realize that something was wrong? Something a lot worse than a case of diarrhea?

Kenny stiffened, his breath leaving him in a rush. Lauren groaned and he realized he had pulled her against him, his hold too tight. He tried to relax, tried to loosen his hold, but he couldn't.

Lindsay had given Lauren something today. Earlier. What the hell was it? He closed his eyes, trying to remember. A sports drink. But the bottle had been brand new, not even opened.

No, that was wrong. Hadn't her sister told her she had taken a sip?

Kenny opened his eyes and looked at Dale. "Your sister. She gave Lauren something. Earlier."

"What?"

"Right before the game. It was a sports drink. It had already been opened." And Kenny must be losing his mind. What was he saying? Was he really accusing Lauren's sister of giving her something to make her sick? He shook his head, trying to push the thought away, but it stayed with him. Sickening him.

Dale frowned, his eyes locked on Kenny. He could see the other man didn't want to believe it, any more than Kenny wanted to believe it.

Dale pushed to his feet, his gaze landing on his youngest sister, anger etched in each harsh line of his face. "What did you do, Lindsay?"

"Nothing."

"Lindsay, now. What did you do?"

"It was just a little joke. She'll be fine." She backed away, the first flicker of fear crossing her face as Dale moved toward her. "She'll get diarrhea and that's it. No big deal."

"Dammit, Lindsay, I'm not going to ask you again. What the hell did you give her?"

"It was just some eye drops. That's all. It's just a joke. Why are you getting so upset?"

Dave and the petite blonde stiffened as soon as they heard. The woman grabbed something from one of the bags, a needle and a clear bag of some kind of fluid. Her motions were short and concise, confident, as she pulled out more supplies and spread them out around her. Gauze, disinfectant wipes, a thick rubber strip.

Dave reached behind him, pulling a green tank from the smaller bag. An oxygen tank. He ripped open a bag with a mask and placed it over Lauren's face, hooking the tubing to the tan then looking around. His eyes stopped on one of the firefighters. "Adam, call for a medic." He stood, his gaze pinning Lindsay and holding her in place. "How much did you give her?"

"Why should I tell you—"

"I need to know how much. Now." He didn't raise his voice, didn't shout, but there was no mistaking the brutal authority in his voice. Lindsay took a hasty step back and shrugged, that expression of defiance still on her face.

"The whole bottle. I wanted to embarrass her the way she embarrassed me."

"Shit." Dave turned back to Lauren, kneeling in front of her again as he took the needle the other woman held out for him. They worked as team, each movement quick and concise, silent, as they prepared to hook the IV to Lauren.

Kenny looked between them, noticing the serious expressions on their faces, the determination surrounding each one. And he knew, just by watching them, that something wasn't right. "What is it? What's wrong?"

"Eye drops contain tetrahydrozoline. It's a poison. And it does a lot worse than giving someone diarrhea."

"What? Like what? No. She's going to be okay, right? She'll be fine." Kenny whispered the words, fighting to get each one through the thickness clogging his throat. He could have shouted them for all anyone heard him, though, not with the sudden commotion exploding around him.

Dale lunged for Lindsay but she was too fast, a shriek of surprise escaping her as she ran away. Dave paused, said something that sounded like "CC" before he calmly stuck a needle in Lauren's arm.

"Got it, Big Guy."

The petite blonde pushed to her feet, took two steps, then dove through the air. Her arms wrapped around Lindsay's waist as she brought the girl to the ground. She straddled Lindsay's back, twisting the girl's arms behind her and pulling a pair of metal cuffs from her back pocket.

Kenny saw it happen but couldn't make sense of it. Nothing made sense. Poison? Lauren was poisoned? No, that couldn't be right.

He tightened his arms around Lauren and looked down, his eyes locking with hers. She tried to smile but he could see the fear in her eyes, fear that matched his own. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and blinked against the sudden burning in his eyes. "You're going to be fine. You got that? I'm not letting anything happen to you."

Kenny looked up and met the other man's gaze, anger and determination and fear pulsing through his veins. He clenched his jaw, swallowed. "You don't let anything happen to her. Understood? Nothing happens to her."

The man nodded, his face calm and reassuring in the chaos around them. "That's what I do."

Kenny nodded, all his hopes pinned on that simple, confident phrase.

Chapter Twenty-Six

Lauren kept her eyes closed, tried to push the voices from her head. If she couldn't see them, she shouldn't be able to hear them. But the voices weren't listening, weren't paying any attention.

Ignoring her. Like they had for the past…day? Two days? A week? She didn't know. Her mind refused to let the details through, refused to let the images sharpen and take form, no matter how hard she struggled to reach beyond the edge and grab them. They only disappeared, fading away like wisps of smoke.

She was tired of letting her mind keep the upper hand. Tired of seeing nothing but a gray haze behind her closed lids, hiding what she wanted—needed—to see behind the wavering mist of memory. She was tired, period. If she could just open her eyes, if only for a minute—

The voices were back, closer now. Not whispers. Loud. Not quite angry. The noise throbbed at the base of her skull, a steady beat that pulsed throughout her body.

Frustrating. Annoying.

"Shut. Up."

Her pathetic whisper barely reached her own ears, nothing more than a desperate sigh. The voices continued.

"Shut. Up."

Had the voices heard her? There was a pause, then they started up again, like she hadn't said a word. Frustration turned to anger and impatience, slowly burning away the haze surrounding her.

"Shut. Up."

Lauren opened her eyes, struggled to keep them open even though they were fluttering closed. She clenched her fists and took a deep breath that sent her pulse racing. No. She wasn't disappearing back into that mist. Not this time.

She forced her eyes open once more and kept them open. Dale and Kenny stood at the foot of her bed, watching her with twin expressions of worry, concern, and surprise. They glanced at each other then back at her and both of them started talking at once.

"Shut up! Now." Lauren pushed up on her elbows and blinked, looking around before collapsing back to the bed. Her bed. Her room. That was something, at least.

Kenny was suddenly beside her, the bed tilting under his weight. Dale's brows snapped together in an angry frown and he opened his mouth to say something. He never got the chance because another voice spoke over him, firm and full of authority in spite of being quiet and soft.

"Both of you, out. Now. You're not helping." Kelly moved into the room, a dishtowel in her hands. Lauren waited, expecting her to start swinging it at them like they were nothing more than annoying flies. If she had the energy, she would have laughed.

"I'm not leaving." Kenny and Dale spoke at the same time, their determined voices echoing in her ears. Lauren sighed and closed her eyes, wishing she could get up and toss them both out.

"Guys, I don't think Lauren wants you in here right now."

Lauren opened her eyes and flashed Kelly a look of gratitude. The woman smiled then looked at the two stubborn men. Neither of them moved.

"She's fine, she doesn't want us to leave." Dale's voice was firm but she didn't miss the slight uncertainty beneath the words. Kelly's eyes met hers, her brows raised in question.

"Lauren, do you want them in here?"

"Hit the road." Her voice was just above a whisper, a little tired. But she still managed to make it sound determined.

"You heard her. Both of you, out." Kelly herded both men out of the room, ignoring their heated protests and closing the door behind them. She turned to watch Lauren, her brown eyes soft and concerned. "How are you feeling?"

"Drained." Lauren paused, thinking. "And I need to pee."

Kelly laughed then moved closer to the bed. "Thought you might. Did you need a hand?"

"Maybe." She pushed up on her elbows, waiting a few seconds. She didn't collapse, which she took as a good sign. It took longer than she thought it would but she finally made it to the edge of the bed and swung her legs over the side. She didn't stand up right away, though. She knew her limits and didn't want to do a face plant in the middle of the floor.

"Let me know when you're ready and you can use my arm if you need to."

If she could have moved that far, Lauren would have hugged the woman. She waited another minute then reached for Kelly's arm, using it for leverage to stand. The room tilted and whirled for a few seconds then finally righted itself. She nodded then took slow steps to the bathroom, her legs weak and shaky.

"How long have I been out?"

"Since you got home. Yesterday morning, when they discharged you."

Fragments of memory came back, just little glimpses. Worried faces as she was carried, lifted. Disembodied voices and the faint echo of a siren. The hospital. Having something forced down her throat, someone holding her head as she vomited. Needles and poking and prodding.

Blackness, so still and quiet and welcoming.

More voices, being wheeled out to a car. Someone lifting her. Someone carrying her to her bed. Then the misty gray haze that swallowed her.

Lauren looked down, noticed she had on a pair of lightweight sweatpants and a loose shirt. At least she was dressed. In her own clothes. For some reason, that was important.

Almost as important as the growing pressure in her bladder.

Kelly helped her into the bathroom then closed the door, standing just outside in case she need help. Lauren could see the silhouette of her body through the crack in the door but she didn't care about having an audience.

She finished and cleaned up, then let Kelly help her back to the bed. Lauren kept her hand on the woman's steadying arm but didn't need to hold on as tightly as before. That had to be a good sign, right?

"How long was I in the hospital?"

"Just the one night. You were lucky."

Lauren nodded and sat on the edge of the bed. She had no idea what to make of that comment because she sure didn't feel lucky. "What time is it now?" Her alarm clock was on the nightstand, on the other side of the bed. She didn't feel like turning around to look at it.

"A little after seven."

"Morning or night?"

"Night." Lauren's surprise must have shown on her face because Kelly gave her a reassuring smile. "Yeah, you've been out for a while. The doctor said that was to be expected, but you couldn't tell those two out there that. They've been in here, hovering over you most of the day."

Kelly tilted her head to the side, studying Lauren. She had no idea what the woman was looking for, no idea what she saw. Whatever it was must have satisfied her, though, because she gave Lauren a quick smile. "You hungry?"

Lauren didn't even have to think about it, just nodded. She wasn't sure how much she'd be able to eat but food definitely sounded good. "Yeah. Maybe something light, though."

"Good, because you're getting broth." Kelly moved to the door then stopped, looking at Lauren over her shoulder. "They're both going to want to come back and talk to you. Who do you want to see first?"

Neither one of them. Not Dale, because she was sure he would want to talk about what happened. Ask questions. Go off about Lindsay. Lauren didn't even want to think about that right now, let alone talk about it.

And not Kenny. If she saw Kenny, she was afraid she might actually break down and cry and beg for him to hold her. And then she'd probably do something stupid, like tell him how she felt. She wasn't ready for that, either.

She sighed and stretched her legs out on the bed, moving back so she could prop herself against the headboard. She didn't have a choice and she knew it. One look at Kelly was enough to convince her of that. "I guess Dale."

Kelly nodded and walked out, pulling the door partly closed behind her. Lauren closed her eyes and rested her head against the fluffy pillows, doing her best to clear her mind. Not much luck with that, not with all the thoughts and worries and questions whirling in her head right now. And front and center, eclipsing all the others, was one single question. The only question that really mattered. Why? Why had Lindsay done it? Why would her own sister do what she did? Did Lindsay really hate her that much?

Lauren rubbed a hand over her eyes as the door opened. She took a deep breath and tried to smile as Dale moved over to the bed, taking a seat beside her without even asking. His mouth was pulled in a tight line, his dark brows lowered over shadowed eyes. He still hadn't shaved, the stubble thicker along his jaw, thicker over his lip.

"I thought you were going to get rid of that caterpillar on your lip? It's turning into a wooly worm."

"Lauren—"

"And I hate to tell you this, big brother, but you're going gray. On your face, anyway."

Dale frowned, his hand automatically moving to his jaw. He realized what he was doing and dropped his hand, the fingers curling into a loose fist against his thigh. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine. Tired. But I'll be fine."

He grunted, his eyes narrowing as he studied her. To see if she was lying? Probably. But she wasn't. She
was
tired, and she
would
be fine.

Eventually.

"Mom and Dad are on their way back home. They should be here tomorrow."

"Call them and tell them not to."

"Lauren—"

"I'm fine, Dale. There's no need for them to change their plans and drive all the way back here."

"Yeah. You try telling them that."

"I will. Hand me the phone—"

"Don't be stupid, Lauren. Nothing you can say or do will stop them from coming home." He paused, his throat working. "You were poisoned. You could have died."

"That's a bit of a stretch, don't you think?"

"Dammit, Lauren, this isn't a joke. Do you want me to have Dave come by and tell you how serious this was? How lucky you were? What could have happened?"

"But it didn't, did it? I'm home, I'm fine. Nothing happened." She looked away, swallowing against the thickness in her throat, blinking against the tears that kept forming in her eyes. Stupid, so stupid. She must still be tired if she was becoming so emotional over something that didn't even happen.

She had to keep telling herself that because if she didn't, if she actually gave it any thought, she'd collapse into a quivering ball of tears.

Dale leaned closer, forcing her to look at him. Anger flashed in his eyes, reflected in each tight line on his face. "You don't get it, do you? Your fucking sister tried to kill you."

"It was an accident. She thought it was a joke—" Lauren's voice broke. She jerked her gaze from Dale's and tried to focus on the sliding glass doors leading out to the balcony, on the pale light shining through the part in the curtains from the street lights and neon outside.

"Stop defending her. Stop making excuses for her. It's too late for that, Lauren. It was too late for that years ago."

"She didn't mean to—"

"Yes, she did. Why can't you see that? Why are you constantly defending her?"

"Because she's my sister.
Our
sister. And I refuse to give up on her. I refuse to turn my back on her like you have."

"Don't you dare turn this around on me. Lindsay gave up on herself, forced everyone else to give up on her. The sooner you realize that, the sooner you accept it, the better off you'll be."

Anger shot through Lauren, shaking her, draining her. She raised her hand, jabbing Dale in the chest with one finger. "It was an accident, okay? A prank. She didn't know—"

"She's still guilty, Lauren. She poisoned you!"

"She didn't mean to. Where is she? Get her here and we can have this out, once and for all. I want to hear it from her."

Dale leaned back, shock replacing the anger burning in his eyes for just a second. He shook his head, his gaze holding hers in an iron grip. "She's in jail, Lauren."

Lauren collapsed against the pillows, suddenly exhausted. Shocked. She shook her head. "What? No. Why?"

"Why? Because of what she did, Lauren. Whether she meant it as a prank or not, she tried to poison you."

"No." Lauren shook her head again, tried to swing her legs off the side of the bed but Dale was in the way. She tried pushing him, tried to get him to move, but he wouldn't budge. "No, this is a mistake. She can't be in jail. I'm not pressing charges, I won't."

"It's not up to you! Christ, Lauren, she admitted it. She was fucking laughing about it, in front of everyone who was there. In front of a cop."

"What cop? I didn't see any police—"

"Dave's girlfriend is a cop. She's the one who tackled Lindsay when she tried running away."

"No. That's not right. It can't be. Move. I need to go see her—"

"Dammit Lauren, listen to me." Dale grabbed her shoulders, holding her in place. Not hard, just enough to keep her from moving, to keep her from lashing out. "Lindsay was laughing. Even when she realized what was happening, she was fucking laughing. It's over. There's nothing you can do to help her anymore."

His eyes gentled, his face softening as he watched her. And for a second, just a quick second, she saw his own grief, his own regret, in the shadows that filled his eyes. Then he blinked and the emotions were gone, obliterated by the hardness that seemed to grow inside him a little more each time she saw him. He released her shoulders and sat back, ran a hand over his over face with a long sigh.