Read Online Every Breath She Takes by Norah Wilson - Free Book Online Page A

drugstore-issue pill bottles and scanned the labels. “Uppers, downers, sleeping pills, painkillers. Jesus, she must have double-doctored her way through greater Calgary to collect this much junk.” For the first time, he looked as though he might not have the situation completely under control. “What do we do now? She might’ve taken a freaking cocktail of this stuff.”
    “Let me have a look at her,” Lauren heard herself say.
    Brady perked up. “You a doctor or something?”
    “Or something.”
    Cal glanced up. “You know first aid?” When she nodded, he shifted out of the way. “She’s all yours.”
    “Brady, have a look at the pills and see if you recognize what she took,” she said before perching on the bed. Brady jumped to the task, and Lauren turned her attention to the exam. It turned out to be more reassuring than she’d anticipated. Despite first appearances, Marlena wasn’t unconscious, just very drowsy andreluctant to open her eyes. Her pupils were responsive, heartbeat regular, reflexes good. Through the whole exam, Marlena mumbled curses, trying to twist away into sleep.
    Lauren sat back. What could Marlena have taken? She didn’t display the slow respiration and poor reflexes of a barbiturate overdose, nor the excited vitals of an amphetamine high. It looked like a hashish overdose, but Brady said pills…
    “Found it!” Brady’s voice was excited. “This is the one. I’m sure of it. It starts with an X.”
    Lauren took the bottle from him. “Xanax.” Her shoulders sagged with relief. “Benzodiazepine. Good.”
    “Good?” asked Cal.
    “It’s a nervous system depressant. It can cause profound drowsiness, impaired coordination, and so forth, but normally not coma. At least not in reasonable quantity and not in the absence of alcohol or some other substance.” She glanced up at Brady. “Can you be sure she didn’t inhale or inject anything in addition to this?”
    “Just the pills. Nothing else.”
    “No booze?”
    “No, ma’am.”
    “What time did she take it?”
    “The last time?” Lauren didn’t think Brady could redden any more, but he did. “An hour ago. Maybe a little longer.”
    “Then stand clear.” Lauren rolled Marlena closer to the edge of the bed. Hoping that her patient had a healthy gag reflex, she introduced two fingers into Marlena’s throat.
    “Jesus!”
    Both men leapt back in unison as Marlena vomited neatly on the small braided rug beside the bed. With arms that trembled more from relief than exertion, Lauren maneuvered a suddenly vocal and decidedly furious Marlena back onto the pillows.
    She grimaced, holding her hands in front of her. “I’m going to clean up, after which I think I’m really going to need that coffee.” With that, she strode to the bathroom on shaking legs.
    When she emerged from the bathroom five minutes later, she found Cal at the table with the flowered cosmetic bag. Lauren filled a coffee mug and carried it to the table without sloshing a drop, her trembling finally conquered. “She all right?”
    “Judging by the abuse she’s heaping on our boy right now, I’d say she’s well on the road to recovery. Thanks to you.”
    She shrugged. “The effects are a lot like alcohol. If we hadn’t tried to wake her up so early, she’d likely have slept it off. We’d have been none the wiser.”
    “Jesus, that’s scary.” He raked a hand through his hair, making it stand up. “So how’d you come by all that knowledge if you’re not a doctor? ER nurse? Pharmacist?”
    Her mind raced as he refilled his mug. She’d known this question was coming. While she’d busied herself cleaning up, she’d toyed with the idea of telling him the truth—that she’d done a year of med school before deciding to thwart her parents’ ambitions for her by pursuing her own love, veterinary medicine. But it was a little late now. He’d find it pretty strange that she hadn’t mentioned before that she was a vet. Worse, he’d probably