Page 44 of Tangled in His Game

“What? No one’s going to kill you. You’re safe.” I don’t know what’s happening to him, but he must be hallucinating.

“Claudia...” he whispers. “Don’t... Claudia.”

I don’t know who Claudia is, but Victor is definitely completely out of it.

“What did you take?” I ask.

But he only mumbles something incoherent.

“Victor, look at me.” I tap his cheek. “What did you take?”

If I can figure out the name of the drug, then I can find out if his life is in danger.

He frowns. “What... What you gave me.”

Shit. Does he know what I did or is he talking about something else? Maybe he doesn’t even know I’m with him.

“Please,” he says softly. “Don’t... Don’t do it. Not Claudia. It’s my... It’s my fault.”

“It’s fine. Everything’s going to be fine.” I try to reassure him. “Can you get up? We need to get you to your room, okay?”

Maybe he’s just high because of all the drugs or something, and he needs to sleep it off. But I don’t know if I can get him all the way to his dorm room.

I pull out his bottle from my bag, open it, and tip it to his lips. “Drink this.”

Having some normal water might help clear the drug out of his system.

He moves his head away at first, but then I manage to get some water into his mouth. As he coughs, I grab some tissues from my bag and wet them. Then I place them over his forehead.

All of a sudden, he shifts to his side and throws up all over the floor. Shit.

“Can you get up?” I place my hand on his back.

“I... I... Don’t know.”

I tug on his arm and he somehow lifts himself up. He’s so damn heavy as he leans against me, but I manage to steer him toward the exit. His footsteps are a little steadier as we’re out of the arena and in the fresh air.

We’re moving like two drunks, from left to right and back again, and I need to use all my energy to lead him in the right direction. Once we reach his dorm room, I realize the door unlocks as soon as he closes his hand around the knob.

Seriously? Fingerprint scanners? What is this place? Then again, no one has ever mentioned something like that in the brochure, so maybe Victor had it custom-made just for him. I wouldn’t be surprised if that was the case.

I give him a light push in the direction of the bed and he falls down on it. As he rolls to his side, he looks straight at me.

“You,” he says, a smile spreading over his lips. “You’re so pretty.”

Is he seeingmenow or still someone else? I find a trash can and place it next to the bed in case he needs to throw up again. Then I wet a small towel and put it on his forehead.

His hand closes around my arm, and he tugs me to him. I climb onto the bed next to him.

“Noemi,” he whispers, caressing my arm. “You’re back.”

“I guess you could say that. How are you feeling?”

“I want you...” He reaches out for me.

“No, you don’t.” I catch his hand and place it back on the bed between us.

His brow furrows. “I do.”

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