Bailed Out (The Anna Albertini Files #2) - Rebecca Zanetti Page 0,23

entire body moving with the exertion.

Gentle hands gathered my hair away from my face, keeping it out of the way. I don’t know how long I threw up. It seemed like forever. Finally, my body was just heaving on its own. “I’m dying.”

“You’re not dying,” Nick said, rapidly braiding my hair.

Wow. Had Nick Basanelli just actually done that? Braided my hair? I started to lean my head down, and he stopped me. “Hold on. Take a few deep breaths. I’m going to get you some water and a washcloth. Do not put your face on the toilet seat.”

Oh, I could die. Seriously. I waited, and then sounds ticked around me, toward me, through me. The room swam and came in and out. Nick returned and wiped off my face before giving me some water. I drank, and the skin prickled on my arms.

He took the glass away. “I’m thinking your system doesn’t like recreational edibles.”

The words didn’t make a lot of sense. The hurricane landed inside me. Fear grabbed me and held tight. “They’re coming for her, Nick. You have to save her.” I grabbed his arm. “Please.” This day had gone so darn wrong, and it was getting worse.

He handed me the water again. “What are you talking about?”

I lowered my voice, panic rushing through me faster than the chocolate had. “Tessa. The dead body. Please. He’s coming to get me, and I need your help. Please help me.” Oh man, they were coming from every direction.

Nick grasped my hand and drew me to my feet. “All right. You’re having a reaction I don’t like, and we’re going to see a doctor. You’re paranoid for a moment, but you’ll be okay.”

I pulled away—or at least I tried to pull away. There was nowhere to go. “No. I’m not paranoid. Please. I can’t see a doctor. I’m a prosecuting attorney, and apparently I ingested drugs that are legal in Washington but not Idaho. You know that.” Finally, my brain was kicking back in. Even so, my skin still crawled. “Please, Nick. Call Tessa. Jareth Davey is going to get to me through her. I know he is.”

Nick stiffened at Davey’s name. “Honey, Jareth Davey is in California. He can’t get to Tessa, and he can’t get to you.” Jareth Davey was the monster who’d tried to abduct me as a child, and he starred in every nightmare I’d ever had.

“You don’t know that,” I whispered.

Nick led me out of the guest bathroom and up the carved wooden stairs to a master bedroom with an amazing view of Tamarack Lake. “I can’t call Tessa. She’s a defendant in a possible murder case, Anna. I’m the prosecutor.”

I turned and grabbed his arms. “Please. Her number is on my phone. I need to know she’s okay.”

He hesitated and then sighed. “Fine.” He led me into a master bathroom fit for royalty and pushed me around a series of stones into the shower. He flicked on the water.

Warm and then really warm water washed over me, and I coughed, ducking my head. The chills started to subside.

“I’ll get you towels and something to change into,” Nick said.

“Call Tess,” I said, closing my eyes, unable to get rid of the feeling that my sister was in trouble because Jareth Davey was coming for me. Nick disappeared, and I stripped out of my sopping wet clothing, trying to force my brain to take back over. The terror wouldn’t leave me. I was in danger. Everything in my cells knew this. I also knew that I was having a reaction to those stupid brownies.

Where was my gun? I needed to get it out of my car. Then everything would be all right.

Chapter 9

My hair was wet. Smooth sheets, the good kind, surrounded me. Wait a minute. I blinked, scrambling for reality. “Gun. I need my gun,” I whispered.

“Shh. I have your gun,” Tessa whispered, wiping my hair back from my face.

“Tess?” I tried to sit up, but she put her hand to my shoulder.

“Yeah. It’s me. You’re having a bad reaction, but you’re going to be okay. Just take deep breaths.” Her familiar scent of lilacs surrounded me.

I breathed deep. “Is it really you? You’re safe?” I tried to open my eyes, but the room spun around, and I had to shut them.

She chuckled and patted my shoulder. “It’s me, and we’re both safe.”

My stomach clenched. “Where are we?”

“We’re still at Nick’s. I think he’s on social media telling people he has two out of the three