“She's sure,” Craig assured her, putting her arm over his shoulder. “Thanks, buddy. I've got her.”
“We're good,” she told Chad. Her words slurred far more than she intended. “Thanks for the drink.”
Chad shrugged. “Sure. Hope it works out for you.”
Craig pulled her to a standing position, her arm over his shoulder and supporting most of her weight. She was fairly sure he was going to have to carry her out. It was a good thing he was strong.
“Thanks,” she replied. “You too.”
Craig nodded to Chad, and they started walking out of the restaurant. Laura's head spun, and the lights were too bright for her to look at. Luckily, Craig's car was parked right out front where it was easy to get into. He opened the door and got her in the passenger seat.
“Craig, I think that guy spiked my drink,” she said. She couldn't believe it. He had seemed so nice. “It's a good thing you were here, Craig or I'd be in big trouble.”
Craig reached over her and carefully buckled her in. She heard the seat belt click and her eyes started to close. She couldn't seem to stay awake. Craig smoothed the belt over her shoulder.
“He didn't spike your drink, Laura,” Craig said. “I did.”
And the world went black.
Chapter 37
Laura
Laura's head throbbed, and her mouth felt like she'd eaten fire. She shook her head, trying to clear out the ringing in her ears and figure out where she was. It took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the gray light and for the world to stop spinning long enough to get a clear image.
She was in some sort of empty warehouse. Pale gray light filtered in through windows on the second floor, but other than that she couldn't see much. Everything was dusty, so she assumed that where ever she was, it wasn't in active use.
She tried to rub her eyes to get the grit out of them but found them tied behind her. She was on a hard metal chair, the kind used for church get-togethers and elementary school concerts. It was not a comfortable thing to be tied to.
“Hello?” she called out. It hurt her voice to talk, but she had to find out if she was alone. Her voice didn't seem to travel far.
She waited for a reply, but nothing came. She swallowed down her panic. She was alone and tied to a chair. The last thing she remembered was Craig's face telling her he had drugged her. He was the one who tied her up and left her here.
“Anybody?” she called out again. “Somebody, help me!”
Again, she was met with nothing but silence.
No one would even notice she was missing for at least two days. Dallas and Ivy were at their grandparents. Elena didn't know she wasn't home, and no one at work expected her to show up this weekend.
She struggled against the ties on her wrists, wrenching her shoulders and cursing as the ropes cut into her skin. She kicked against the zip ties on her ankles, but all it did was cause pain. She couldn't escape.
She was alone and tied to a chair by her ex-boyfriend's security.
She started to laugh. It was either that or cry, but she wasn't sure she had any tears left in her. Laughing worked just as well. After everything, she wasn't going to lose those she cared about. They were going to lose her, and airplanes had absolutely nothing to do with it.
Despite trying to keep everyone safe, she was the one in danger. There was no way she could have prevented this. She laughed as she realized there was one way she could have avoided being tied to a chair in the middle of an empty warehouse alone.
She should not have broken up with Ethan. If she hadn't pushed him away to keep herself safe, she'd be safe with him. They'd be at some romantic cabin somewhere with plenty of security and not a care in the world. By saving herself from the pain of losing him, she was going to get herself killed. That was certainly one way to prevent the pain, but not the one she had planned on.
Her laughter grew a little more maniacal. It was either that or burst into tears.
A door on the opposite end of the warehouse squeaked open, and Laura no longer felt like laughing. The sound died in her throat as she struggled to see who was coming to see her.
Craig stepped into the pale light from the window and smiled. He didn't look crazy. He looked just the same as he ever did. She had no idea what had made him do this.
“Good,” he said coming closer. “You're awake. I brought you some water.”
He came over and opened a water bottle. With gentle care, he brought it to her lips and tipped it up so she could drink. It was cold and quite possibly the most delicious thing Laura had ever tasted. She sucked on the bottle greedily.