Intoxicated By You_An Exposed Hearts Novel

by Kristin Mayer

  Drake asked, “How have they been communicating with Ewing?”

  “Through the bank. He thinks it’s Chazz, and that’s the only reason he’s not selling yet. But the bank confirmed the offer was valid.”

  To me, it just sounded shady.

  “Thanks, Hayden. I appreciate it,” Drake said.

  Why would someone work so hard to remain anonymous? Secrecy in this sort of transaction generally wasn’t a good thing.

  Drake’s phone rang, and he looked at the number, his finger hovering over the Ignore button. It was the Red Onion.

  I touched his arm. “Go ahead and take it.”

  The last week of normalcy had felt like a reprieve as issues had begun to stack up against us. There was still a sense of dread lingering in the air, like we were waiting for something else to happen. Stepping away, he took the call, keeping his voice low.

  Hayden asked, “How are you holding up?”

  “Okay. I had no idea how far gone Teagan was. I mean, I sensed something was off, but it’s always been that way with her. I don’t know. My head was a mess being back here, too. I had only been there to sleep, really. And she hadn’t been home.”

  “Hang in there. What you and Hollis did tonight was impressive. It’s because of you two she has a fighting chance.”

  I gave a sad smile. An overdose wasn’t how I envisioned our first emergency. “Thanks. I just hope she wants to be saved. Once she’s stable, we can’t keep her here if she doesn’t want help. And we’re not an addiction-treatment facility. It’s not going to be an easy road for her.”

  And Donnie was dead. That alone could be enough to send Teagan spiraling to the point of no return.

  Drake returned from his phone call. “That was Crete. News of Teagan and Donnie is spreading. Everyone’s talking about it. The Twiner sisters sent a newsletter.”

  I groaned. “Why can’t they just wait?”

  They’d already sent out three newsletters this week about how marvelous the clinic was. They’d even posed in their gold-digger uniforms on the front porch. These ladies were exhausting at times.

  “The focus of the newsletter was Raquel. Apparently, she called Elvira with her new anti-drug campaign since Skagway now has a growing drug issue.”

  Anger flared within me. How dare she? How dare she turn this into something about her?

  A person’s—a very sick person’s—life hung in the balance, and Raquel wanted to turn the situation into something it wasn’t. If Teagan chose to fight to get better, it would nearly be impossible for her to stay here. Raquel would do everything she could to make Teagan feel uncomfortable, which was the worst combination for a newly recovering addict. The negative often outweighed the positive in an addict’s mind.

  Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath. “I’ll deal with her later. I’m going to check in on Teagan and keep Hollis company.”

  Drake started to follow, but I put my hand on his chest. “Spend time with your brother. I need time to cool off before I take a baseball bat to Raquel’s car. Stupid cow.”

  * * *

  About twenty to thirty minutes later, Teagan stirred. She rolled her head to the side, and I stood beside her bed, waiting for any further reaction. Hollis opened the door to the hallway where Drake and Hayden sat. “She’s awake.”

  Drake and Hayden came in for support. At any moment, she might become violent or unmanageable.

  Softly, I said, “Hey, there. You’re at the clinic. We found you in your apartment—you overdosed, Teagan.”

  “I did? That can’t be right.” Her eyes were glazed. She cleared her throat, and I brought a wet sponge to her lips.

  “Suck on this.” She gave it more of a lick, but at least she got some moisture. So far, she seemed calm. “Dr. Fritz is going to a check you for a few things. Do you care if I hold your hand?”

  She gave another weak cough. “Will it hurt?”

  Hollis already had on white surgical gloves. “Not at all. May I call you Teagan?”

  “Sure.”

  With gentle movements, he touched the inside of her wrist. “I haven’t had the pleasure of officially meeting you, but I’ve heard so many nice things.”

  To that, she gave no response.

  Hollis checked the basics, explaining everything he was doing as he was doing it. From the lag in her responses, it was possible the drugs had created an adverse effect on her, neurologically. My heart hurt.

  With a nod from Hollis, I asked, “Teagan, when did you start using heroin?”

  She took a deep breath, still a bit out of it. “I don’t know. While ago. He gave me all I wanted.”

  He? I waited for her to continue, but her eyes drooped a little. “Who is he?”

  “My boyfriend.”

  “Donnie?”

  “No.”

  Hollis put his hand on my shoulder. I knew I was getting too intense. Teagan began to shift more, becoming restless. Changing the pace, Hollis took off his gloves. “So… I’ve been looking at treatment options. There are some amazing facilities you can go to.”

  “Expensive.” It hurt to hear how defeated she sounded. But it gave me hope that she might want to get better.

  “Yes, they are. But I’m going to cover all the costs. We need you better so you can have dinner with Alexa and me. You and I can exchange notes on all Alexa’s secrets.”

  She gave a weak chuckle and looked at me. “You’ve been a good friend.”

  I gave her a smile. “So have you. And you’ll be better before you know it.”

  For a second, she closed her eyes and refocused on the doctor. “Am I on anything right now?”

  “Methadone—to keep you from having severe withdrawal symptoms as you detox.” Hollis kept it very level and matter-of-fact.

  Everyone in the room waited to see what Teagan would say next. She asked, “When can I go?”

  “The facility has an opening now. We could leave as early as tomorrow if everything continues on track, medically speaking. How much heroin were you using and how often?”

  “No, I mean when can I leave here?”

  It wasn’t lost on anyone that she’d ignored the second part of the question. From the number of needles and heroin we’d found, it was probably a lot.

  I reminded myself to stay calm. “Teagan, you need medical help to detox from the heroin. To get your life back.”

  She turned my way and moved her hand closer to mine. “But I don’t want to. I wish you would’ve let me die. I’ve done things. Things a friend should never do.”

  This confused me. “Teagan, what are you talking about?”

  “How long, doctor?”

  Hollis looked torn. “Legally, I can’t force you to stay. Medically, you’re weak and need help. I’m not sure how much more your body can take.”

  This had to be her decision. She had to want to be clean.

  Closing her eyes, she turned away from us. “I’ll think about it.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Drake

  Lex was passed out on my lap in the waiting area, exhausted from everything that had happened that day. I sat and thought about something Teagan had said that was bothering me in a major fucking way.

  “I’ve done things. Things a friend should never do.”

  Was she behind the letter? Who is this guy she claims is her boyfriend? Lex had continued to try and talk to her, but Teagan had pretended to sleep.

  Hayden handed me a cup of coffee. “What the hell was Teagan talking about? She’s ‘done things’? ‘Things a friend should never do.’ What kind of things?”

  “I don’t know. None of this sits right with me.”

  “Me either.”

  The likelihood of her seeking treatment seemed slim. “I think we need to follow Teagan discreetly when she leaves here. See where she goes. Maybe we can figure out who’s behind this. The cops said there was over a hundred thousand dollars of heroin in her apartment. Where the hell did she get that kind of money?”

  “I d
on’t know, man. But I think we should watch her. We can take shifts. Kane’s getting back this evening.”

  The one person who could track a person without anyone knowing about it was Kane. “I’ll call him and ask. He said Dixon was a normal stupid-ass city slicker. What’d you think of Chazz’s brother?”

  I’d run into Dixon in town once. He’d been helping Elvira across the street with a heavy load. If it had been Chazz, he’d have walked past her without a second thought.

  “He’s different as day and night from Chazz. He’s personable and seemed to enjoy himself. He wasn’t a half-bad shot, either. And you could tell he knew his way around a fishing pole.”

  “That’s good.” So we were on the same page when it came to Dixon.

  “Has Chazz caused you any more problems?”

  “No, not since my liquor issue. He lost several customers, so I imagine that had something to do with him backing off.”

  At the quarterly business meeting, I’d confirmed it. Several owners had changed over to Reeser.

  Lex shifted slightly in my lap. We paused our conversation to see if she was waking, but she took a deep breath and settled back to sleep. I brushed my thumb along her cheek and remembered that earlier, Dad had said he needed to talk to me. I wondered what it was about. Most likely the request to look into Lloyd’s death.

  After a couple of minutes, Hayden said, “I’m glad she’s back. You’re not quite the asshole you were while she was gone.”

  I chuckled. “I wasn’t that big of an asshole.”

  “If you say so. Were you serious about what I heard over the car? Marriage. Kids.”

  It made me pause. Oh, shit, he was on the phone. But it occurred to me that it might be good to talk to Hayden. Get his thoughts.

  “Yeah, as soon as I know she’s ready, I’m going to.”

  “I’m happy for you. You can tell you guys have what it takes to make it. Mom’s going to be excited when it does happen. Maybe it’ll get her off our asses to settle down.”

  I took a sip of my coffee. “Mom isn’t on your ass.”

  “She called me with the name of a girl she’d like me to take out. She’s moving here, and Mom thought I’d be the perfect person.” Hayden leaned back and blew out a breath. “I’m fucked up over a girl.”

  That got my attention. “What?”

  “Yeah. There was this girl in Ketchikan. We were seeing each other when I came to town. It wasn’t supposed to be exclusive, but it turned out to be. Fuck, I don’t know.”

  “Was?”

  He nearly drained his huge mug of coffee. “Yeah, she went back home. I texted her to say I was coming into town. Nothing. Then I find out she’s gone back to Washington.”

  This was news. From the sound of it, Hayden was really messed up over this girl. “Have you tried calling her?”

  “The number’s been disconnected.”

  Oh, this was more serious than I’d thought. And now it made sense why he hadn’t told us about his conquests, or should I say conquest, this summer. But now, Hayden was a little lost. “What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know yet. But I feel like a fool.”

  I shook my head. “My advice? It’s worth it. Every one of those feelings is worth it if she’s the one. Don’t give up.”

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Alexa

  We made it through the night. After Teagan woke the first time, she fell back to sleep and didn’t wake again. I slept for a bit in Drake’s lap, but other than that, it was hit or miss. At the moment, I was sitting with Teagan while Hollis caught a couple of hours of sleep. Everyone was dragging that morning.

  Amie had delivered freshly baked cinnamon rolls about an hour before. I’d put one on a plate, and I was going to see if I could get Teagan to eat. That day would be the day she’d have to choose—life or death. The choice was in her hands. But if she chose to continue using, I would be forced to cut all ties with her, personally. It was a boundary that had to be set.

  In her sleep, she seemed a bit more agitated, which was to be expected the longer she went without the high she got from heroin. The methadone dose was still high, but not enough to fool her body into thinking it was getting the dose of drugs it was used to.

  Teagan’s eyes fluttered open, and I sent Drake and Hollis a text.

  Me: She’s awake.

  Drake: Outside the door if you need me.

  Hollis: On my way.

  I’d asked for some time to talk to Teagan by myself that morning. They agreed on one condition—that they stay right outside the door. Hopefully, we could keep things calm.

  As she grew more alert, her eyes searched the room.

  “Hey there. Amie brought some cinnamon rolls. Do you want to try and eat something?”

  Teagan stiffly nodded, and I laid the plate on the table and rolled it up to the bed. She was in desperate need of a bath. Her dark hair was matted and plastered to the side of her face.

  “Mind if I sit with you?”

  “No.” Her tone was bordering on unfriendly. She haphazardly picked at the roll, but after two bites, she pushed it aside.

  I sat next to the chair and tried to relax. This was my first time doing anything like this. What if I mess up? Thankfully, Hollis had walked me through the basics.

  Cautiously, I continued. “You gave us quite a scare. How are you feeling?”

  I was met with only silence.

  This wasn’t going well. “Can I get you anything?”

  She snorted. “No.”

  I let out a long breath. Here goes nothing. “I don’t know if you remember, but Dr. Fritz has offered to send you to a detox program. All expenses paid.”

  “He’s a good guy.” She wiped her nose with her forearm.

  “Yes, he is. Last night you mentioned something about a boyfriend.”

  She paused and shifted a little as if she were uncomfortable. “He… uh… yeah. Where’s Donnie?”

  There was a knock at the door, and Hollis stepped inside. “The police are here to interview Teagan since she’s awake. I’ve told them she needed to finish her breakfast first.”

  “Thanks.”

  Teagan took my hand. Her skin loosely hung on her bony frame, and she looked like a shadow of her former self. “I think I want to try and get clean.”

  This was good news. Very good news. I took her hand. “I’ll be here to help every step of the way. Do we need to tell your boyfriend?”

  She shook her head, her answer quick. Too quick. “No.”

  “I think your boyfriend would want to know you’re okay.”

  Again, she shook her head. “Sam wouldn’t like that. Not at all.”

  After a moment, it was obvious Teagan hadn’t realized she’d given me a name. “Do you want me to call him so he knows where you are?”

  “I’ll text him later. He saved his phone number into my phone.”

  I tried one more tactic. “Do you remember the number? I could call him.”

  “No.”

  Okay. We were back to cold. The mood swings were normal. But I wanted to help her.

  Hollis knocked on the door again. “Teagan, are you ready?”

  Her eyes flew to Hollis. “Can I talk to you? Alone?”

  “Yes.”

  I knew this was going to be hard, but I felt like Teagan wasn’t a hundred percent in. I left the room. Roy, the older officer from last night, was outside with Skagway’s other cop, Travis. They’d been partners for about seven years. Roy was older, about my dad’s age, but Travis and Drake had graduated together. After Drake asked me out on my first date, Travis continued to run into me more than usual and strike up a conversation. It had pissed Drake off—he’d thought his intentions were more than friendly. And as it turned out, Drake had been right. After we’d been dating for a month, Travis asked me out. It had been a mess because Drake had overheard him.

  “Hey, Alexa. Good to see you.” Travis tipped his hat to me.

  I kept it friendly. “Good to see you, t
oo. How have you been?”

  “Great. Better now that you’re back.”

  Oh geez. I was too tired to deal with him. He gave me one of those smiles I’m sure made some women all gooey. Not me. I saw Drake stiffen behind him. When Drake had gone a bit caveman on Travis when we were younger, I’d gotten irritated. I could handle myself. If he had a problem trusting me, that was another issue. This time, Drake backed off and let me handle it.

  Travis touched my arm. “How about we get a beer and catch up?”

  “I’ll let Drake know. The three of us would have a good time chatting, I’m sure.”

  I motioned to Drake to come stand beside me. He had quite the smirk on his face. “Hey, Travis. Sorry I didn’t say hello earlier. We’ve been a little on edge with the Teagan situation.”

  Travis’s brows pinched together. There had always been something off between Travis and Drake. I think it had something to do with a pool tournament in high school. Stupid. Ever since then, Travis hadn’t been friendly to Drake.

  “It’s been awhile.”

  “Yes, it has.” Then he paused. “How is she?” he asked softly, and I remembered that he dated Teagan in junior high. It seemed like he’d really liked her. Then one day, out of the blue, she broke up with him. Honestly, I think it was because he treated her well—like a boyfriend should.

  Hollis stepped into the hall. “She requested to do the interview alone.” He turned to the officers. “You guys can go in. Remember what we discussed.”

  They nodded and walked inside. The door closing felt like a death sentence. “Is that a good idea?”

  Shaking his head, Hollis ran his fingers through his hair. Hollis had done some of his residency in the drug detox unit and had seen this all before. “Probably not. But she can technically leave here at any moment, so if you push her too hard, she’ll run. And I can’t keep the cops from questioning her.”

  “Do you think she’s serious about considering the facility or just telling me what I want to hear?”

  “I don’t know. Let me get the paperwork ready in case she is serious.”

  I was exhausted. Thankfully, Drake put his arm around me. “After all this time, I finally understand why you never cut ties with Teagan.”