Page 53 of Playing with Trouble

He was beside us in an instant, alert and focused and concerned when he saw his sister’s queasy expression.One hand gently gripped Laney’s shoulder, the other scanning the crowd like he expected a threat to materialize.I felt the same way, troubled about the fact that Laney had drunk my Gatorade, only to end up not feeling well after consuming it.

“I’m fine,” Laney protested weakly, but her voice didn’t match the words.

Ford guided her to the curb as she wobbled on her feet, and caught the attention of one of the medics stationed nearby.“Sit down,” he ordered, his voice calm, but firm.

I sat beside her, my heart hammering.Tate appeared, thrusting a fresh bottle of water into my hands for Laney while the rest of the guys from the firm formed a protective semicircle around us.

“What happened?”Ford asked sharply, his eyes flickering to me for answers while the medic took Laney’s blood pressure and tended to her.

“She drank my cup of Gatorade,” I explained quickly, guilt already rising in my throat like bile.“I gave her mine because she spilled hers, and now she’s sick.”

Ford immediately understood what I was insinuating.“Did you see who handed you the drink?”

I shook my head, my stomach churning.“No.Do you think that someone—” I couldn’t finish the sentence, unable to saytried to poison me and got your sister instead?

“Let’s not jump to conclusions,” he said, but I could hear the edge of fear beneath his control.

The medic checked Laney’s pulse and eyes.“Could be heat exhaustion,” the young man said, already pulling out a small kit of some sort.“But if you’re worried she ingested something, it’s best to get her checked out at urgent care where they can run blood and urine tests.And if this is heat exhaustion, you don’t want it progressing to a heat stroke.”

Laney tried to push herself up.“I’m fine.I need to finish the walk,” she muttered stubbornly.

Ford and I both pressed her back down, one of our hands on each of her shoulders.“Absolutely not,” he said firmly.“The guys from the firm can finish for you, right?”

“Yes, but—”

“We’ve got this,” Tate said, cutting her off.The others around him nodded, already assuring her that the donations would be fine.

Laney didn’t look happy about it, but she didn’t argue anymore either which told me just how poorly she was feeling.Ford helped her into his car and we drove straight to urgent care.

By the time we got there, I was shaking.My nerves were shot, my thoughts spiraling in every direction as they immediately whisked Laney away after Ford told the triage nurse his concerns.I couldn’t sit still, so I paced back and forth in the waiting room.

This was all my fault.Someone was after me, and it had been so easy for them to slip through a crowd, to blend in, to hurt someone close to me instead.I hadn’t even considered that possibility, that someone else might get harmed as a result of me being targeted.

Ford called Laney’s husband, Brian, to let him know what had happened, and the other man was on his way.After Ford hung up the phone, he didn’t say much while we waited.He sat with his elbows braced on his knees, eyes dark and unreadable, the quiet hum of anger and fear radiating off him in waves.He wasn’t mad at me, I knew that, but I couldn’t stop thinking that he should have been.I was the reason why we were here and why Laney had possibly been poisoned.

A worried Brian arrived, and they allowed him back to see Laney while they conducted their tests.It seemed like hours passed before Laney reappeared, with Brian pushing her in a wheelchair.The fact that they were releasing her was a good indication that she was going to be okay or else they would have hospitalized her.

Ford stood the second he saw her, and I froze mid-pace.

She still looked pale, but steady.There was even a small, wry smile tugging at her lips.Brian looked much calmer, too, and weirdly enough, he was grinning.

“What did they find out?”Ford demanded to know.

Laney sighed, brushing her hair out of her face.“Well, it wasn’t heat exhaustion.They ran a few tests to rule out toxins, which were negative.So then they did another blood panel, and then an ultrasound.”

Ford frowned.“Why an ultrasound?”

“Because the blood test came back positive for pregnancy, and they wanted to make sure everything was okay.”

For a second, I forgot how to breathe.Then relief hit so hard my knees almost gave out on me.“Oh my god,” I exhaled.“So it was just…”

“Morning sickness,” Laney said with a sheepish shrug.“I told you I didn’t like Gatorade.”

Ford exhaled a long breath, the tension easing from his shoulders as a genuine smile spread across his face.“Jesus.You scared the hell out of us.But congratulations.”He shook his brother-in-law’s hand, and Brian appeared delighted with the news.

“Yeah, surprise,” Laney said with a laugh.“We definitely weren’t planning it, but…we’re happy.”

“Well, you know I’m thrilled to be an uncle again,” Ford said, smiling.“Tate texted me.They finished the walk in your name, and everything went off without a hitch.”