“Why’d you stop, baby?”
Rolling her lips together, she took a moment before blowing out a breath. “It’s why I moved away from San Diego and why I don’t go back, and it’s also the reason I don’t drink alcohol around people I don’t feel I can trust.”
I thought over that nugget and frowned. “You drink with me, and you were drinking that first night in the bar?”
“No, that was a virgin cocktail I had at the beginning, and after that, I knew I could trust you, so I drank the ones that were brought over to us. I also had my hand over the one I was drinking when the fight broke out, and I kept doing it while we were sitting at the table.”
I couldn’t remember any details like that, but it made sense. I also knew it was what many women did to stop their drinks getting spiked when they weren’t looking.
“Do you mind me asking what happened?” Santana asked quietly. “You don’t have to, but I just wanted to know so I can help you if we ever go to a bar. Like, do you want me to cover your drink with a coaster or my hand?”
Addy smiled at her new friend, and it was obvious they’d grown closer than I’d realized in the short amount of time they’d known each other.
“It wouldn’t matter if you did, honey. I still wouldn’t drink it if I left it while I went to the bathroom or something like that. When I was eighteen, my friend’s sister and I became close. Roxy was away at college, and I guess I just wanted to hold onto my childhood that little bit longer because I was always working, so I ignored the warning signs when we became friends. I also don’t like to judge people, and her man was wearing a tag because he was on parole and had a curfew.”
I straightened up in my seat. “What did he do time for?”
Rubbing her forehead, Addy groaned. “She told me it was a bar fight that he was innocent in and that the guy who’d been hurt was the one who’d started it. In hindsight, I should have asked Eileen how Rob magicked up the chains he’d hit the guy with, but as I said, I don’t judge. I was also a stupid teenager if you couldn’t tell by now.” The laugh she followed it with was a sarcastic one, and it made me hurt for her.
“Hey,” Remy said softly before I could. “There’s nothing wrong with not being judgmental. Plenty of people go into and get released from prison who are either innocent of what they’ve been convicted of, have genuinely turned their lives around, or who need someone to believe in them to help them take the first steps on a new path. Don’t beat yourself up for having a good heart.”
Adrienne chewed on her lower lip but nodded.
“He’s right, baby. Sure, some people will get judged for their crimes, and they deserve it, but others don’t. You just gave your trust to the wrong people.”
“You think?” she clipped, putting her glass on the ground and shoving her hands under her knees. “I absolutely did give my trust to the wrong people because they spiked my drink and pushed me out of the door while one of their friends recorded my reaction to the drugs they’d given me.”
“Jesus Christ,” I hissed, clenching my fists at the same time that Remy barked, “What the fuck?”
Because she was sitting near her, Santana reached across and rubbed her back. “I’m so sorry, honey.”
“It is what it is.”
“Please tell me you called the police.” It wasn’t a question. I wanted them to have been arrested and for neither of them to be breathing air that wasn’t from a prison.
“Do you remember the guy who injured nine people and killed two others with a Samurai sword in San Diego?”
The already burning pit of fire in my stomach got hotter. “Yeah, it was on the news. The police were warning people to be aware, regardless of what state they lived in.”
“Didn’t they arrest him after they found him about to stab some ch—” Remy stopped, his mouth open as he stared at Addy.
Fuck, no. Please, God, no.
“I don’t really remember much aside from him standing over me when I collapsed on the sidewalk, but a patrol car drove by just as he pulled the sword out.”
Gripping my hair in my fist, I growled as the fury hit me.
“What the fuck?” Remy hissed, his eyes meeting. “What were their names?”
Addy didn’t know what Remy did in his spare time, so she didn’t see answering his question as an issue, thankfully.
“Eileen Granger and Robert Robertson, also known as Rob.”
Unable to stop myself, I picked Addy up and put her on my lap, practically wrapping my upper half around her. “Did you tell the police who was responsible, baby?”