“Hey, hey.” I could hear the smile, then a relieved laugh. “You’re waking up. It’s me.”
The corner of my lip twitched. I knew who it was.
“It’s Sia.”
I opened my eyes, and there she was, looking like she’d just showered. Her hair was wet, and she was—I tried to lift my head so I could see better. Was she wearing sweatpants and a hoodie? I wrinkled my nose, or tried. She wouldn’t wear a ratty-looking sweatshirt. But then I caught the Georgetown logo. It was Jake’s. Sia would totally wear her boyfriend’s clothes—relish them even.
“Is something wrong with me?” She looked down at herself.
I shook my head. There was nothing wrong. Absolutely nothing. “It’s good to see you,” I tried to say, and when I actually heard a scratchy whisper, I grabbed her hand and squeezed. I could talk again!
Sia laughed. “Whoa, ease up Miss I’m-Dating-a-Serious-Badass-Now.” She slid her hand free, but laid it back on top of mine. She gently squeezed, and tears welled up in her eyes. “It’s really good to hear you. I heard you couldn’t talk when Cole found you. He’s not here, by the way. He had to leave to do something, so that’s why I’m here.”
I lifted my head, wanting her to see the question in my eyes.
She waved her free hand in front of her face, trying to dry her unshed tears. “I’m an emotional mess. Gah. But I guess that’s what happens when your best friend is kidnapped and tortured, and you get woken up when a mafia hit man rings your boyfriend’s elevator, right?” She kept laughing, and a note of hysteria edged in. “My goodness. Wow. Okay. If I’m this shook up over what happened to me, I have no idea how you handled what happened to you. How did you handle it? Seriously?” She waited, scrutinizing me. “Do you take meds?” Then she snorted. “Well, I guess you do now, but okay. I’m stalling. I don’t even know how to process everything, much less talk about it, but here goes.” She patted her hair. It was in a messy ponytail, but that was what Sia did when she was trying to regroup. Her eyes closed. She took a quiet and calming breath, then looked at me again.
I tried to smile. I had no clue if it worked or not. I wasn’t feeling the most myself at the moment.
“So…” Her voice wavered. “I should start from the beginning, right? When I went nuts at my own event at the Gala? Honestly, I don’t think I’ll ever be looked at the same way. I was behind you, talking to Mrs. Gallig and kissing her ass. She was so pissy because she’d had to wait for the bathroom, but then your boyfriend tapped me on the shoulder.” She chuckled. “Mrs. Gallig looked ready to pass out. The entire room was buzzing. Everyone knows who Cole Mauricio is now. Word got out somehow, and when he came up to us, Mrs. Gallig squealed. I couldn’t tell if she was scared or turned on. It was the funniest thing ever. But that didn’t last long.” Her voice dipped low. “He asked if you were still in the bathroom, and when he said those words—oh, man. I knew something was wrong. I just felt it. I don’t believe in psychics, but if someone told me I was psychic at that moment, I would’ve believed them. I just knew, Addison. I knew.”
She paused and laid her forehead against my arm for a moment. Then she was back up. “He had security guards on you. Did you know that?”
I shook my head. Carol told me, but I hadn’t known before that.
“I couldn’t do a thing. I froze up like a Popsicle. I could only stand there, gaping at your insanely hot boyfriend, and he took over. And boy, he really took over. He started barking out orders, and the doors were locked. Guards came out of everywhere. I think a third of the people there worked for him. Maybe not. I guess not. You wouldn’t have been taken if that was the case, but okay. Yes. His guards began sifting through everyone. They searched, like, every person, and after Cole’s guys deemed them ‘civilians’—their words, not mine—they were allowed to leave. And when I say leave, I mean they were ushered outside. There were men outside the Gala, too. They watched all the people as they left. I don’t know why, but they were thorough. I think everyone was on high alert—like, the guards messed up and your kidnappers got away, so they were going overboard to compensate so Cole wouldn’t kill them.” She gave a soft, slightly unhinged chuckle. “I mean, probably not that, but you know what I mean.”
I wanted to ask when she went crazy, but it took too much effort to talk.
“They found you on the security feeds. I guess your bitch of a mother-in-law had good timing because the second you were whisked out, one of your boyfriend’s security guards rounded the corner. It was eerie how close it was. In one of the frames, the back of your dress was just disappearing around the corner when he came in.”