Total pages in book: 94
Estimated words: 91461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91461 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 457(@200wpm)___ 366(@250wpm)___ 305(@300wpm)
“No,” Kola assured me. “He said he was standing around.”
Finn took my hand in both of his. “You were Kola’s age when you fell in love with Mr. Kage, weren’t you?”
“I was,” I affirmed. “Finn, tell me about this card game.”
“Casino Night for donors for Mr. Sutter’s new project for otters or beavers, things that swim and s— s-something like that.”
“Kola,” I said sharply, and he turned and looked at me. “Come look at him.”
“Yeah, come back,” he said, slurring the words. “I wanna be kissen s’more.”
Kola moved quickly, reaching Finn and taking his face in his hands for the second time.
“I lurve ya,” Finn whispered, his eyes drooping closed.
“Hey, look at me.”
Finn was back to smiling, but his eyes remained closed.
“Honey,” Kola crooned, and Finn’s eyes opened to slits. “Can you focus your eyes?”
He shook his head.
“Baby, let go of Pa and take my hand.”
“You ’ave my face. M’cold. Your pa’s warm.”
Kola glanced at me, and I unwrapped one of Finn’s hands from mine. Once it was free, Kola grabbed it. “Squeeze my hand.”
Nothing.
“Honey, try again.”
Instead, Finn leaned forward and put his head on Kola’s shoulder. “You—you’re…my ring. S’happy love.”
“I love you back,” Kola assured him slowly, clearly distracted.
When I glanced at Kola, only then did I notice the gold Claddagh ring on his left hand with the heart pointing out. I was fairly certain that meant they were engaged.
“Something you want to tell me?” I asked my son.
“You know how I feel about him,” he said, and then glanced at me, brows furrowed. “I don’t know what this is, and because I don’t, I’m not sure if him sleeping it off is safe.”
“What does your gut say?”
“To go to the hospital.”
“Okay, let’s do that,” I barely got out, my heart suddenly in my throat.
Kola looked scared, and because he was, I was.
“Let’s take the van, all right?”
He nodded, helping Finn down off the counter, then quickly realized he couldn’t stand.
“If I put him over my back, I’m afraid he’ll throw up,” Kola said worriedly.
“That might be all right,” I told him.
“I just––”
Dobby’s high-pitched trumpeting bark then, right before I heard Sam.
“Who’s my sweet boy?” Sam greeted his dog, who immediately stopped making noise and moved to happy whimpering.
The wave of relief I felt was nearly overwhelming. Just having him there grounded me.
“What’s going on?” Sam asked calmly, putting Dobby down and rushing over to us.
Thankfully, my husband had those amazing reflexes, because when Finn’s head fell back and he passed out, Sam caught him easily. He picked him up like he didn’t weigh any more than Hannah, and asked Kola what he wanted to do.
“I want to take him to the hospital.”
“Okay,” Sam agreed, and I went ahead and held open the door, before turning and locking up, setting the alarm with the fob in my hand.
It was weird. I had never seen the point of the remote to set the alarm, as I always used the keypad. But in that moment, I thought how brilliant my husband was to have gotten those.
Kola got in the back seat first. Sam put Finn with him, his head in Kola’s lap. I got in the passenger seat, and Sam slid back behind the wheel of his monster SUV that wasn’t even cold.
I was not surprised that Sam turned on his lights and siren so he could speed through intersections. When I turned to look at Kola, I saw that he was on the phone.
“Hey,” he greeted whoever was on the other end. “Finn was at a donor party tonight downtown at the Waldorf Astoria, and I’m pretty sure he was drugged while he was there. I don’t know if anyone else was, or if whoever did it just to him—I dunno. But we’re on the way to the hospital because he passed out.”
He was quiet a moment.
“Okay. Yeah. I’ll call you as soon as I know something,” he said and hung up.
“Who was that?” I asked him.
“George,” he said as his phone rang, and then he answered. “I’m in the car with Pa and Dad. We’re taking Finn to the hospital because I think someone slipped him something.” He was back to listening. “Yeah, he’s breathing fine, but––” He stopped. “––no, I’m fine. I have both of them with me. Talk to George.”
It could only be Hannah.
“Okay,” he answered in a tiny voice and then hung up.
When I turned to look at him, I saw the tears welling in his eyes.
“Love, he’s going to be okay.”
“We don’t know if it’s GHB or Rohypnol, and it could––”
“We’ll know when we get there,” Sam said flatly. “What did you do when you picked him up?”
“I gave him a bottle of water like I always do.”
“Okay, that’s good, water’s good.”
“I just, I wasn’t looking at him, and Pa had to––”
“This is not your fault,” Sam assured his son. “Your father saw something amiss. You assessed the situation and acted. You both did good. We’re almost there.”