“We’re just so glad you’re safe,” Aine said to her. “They wanted you,” she added, which only made Ava cry harder.
“Let’s go see the doc,” said Monk, again ushering her and Aine away from their friends.
Ava looked behind her before she walked through the door Monk held open, and saw that Pen and Tara were being taken to a room too.
“You can see them again as soon as the doctor has been able to check you out.”
Ava nodded. At least she and Aine had been taken to the same room.
“What about Tabon?” she said, resting
her hand on Monk’s arm.
“I’ll let you know as soon as I hear something.”
Ava sat next to Aine. “What did they do to you?” she whispered, knowing she had to ask, but not wanting to know the answer.
“They kept us drugged with something most of the time,” Aine told her. “At first we were in a warehouse. I think it had been abandoned. Then they moved us, twice. I think they were getting ready to move us again. Honestly, I don’t remember much.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“Stop saying you’re sorry,” Aine said, squeezing Ava’s hand. “This isn’t your fault.”
“But it is,” she cried. “It’s all my fault. And Dad, God, I don’t even…” Ava looked at Monk.
Aine’s face paled. “What about Dad?”
“It was him all along. He was going to kill me.”
Aine studied her. “Ava,” she said, “what…are you …talking about?”
Monk stood and approached them, putting one hand on each of their shoulders. “There will be time for us to talk about everything that happened later,” he said, looking back and forth between them. “For now, let’s make sure that whatever you were drugged with is out of your system.”
Aine nodded like she did, but Ava knew questions were racing through her sister’s head just like they were racing through hers.
“Have you heard anything about Tabon?” she asked him again.
Monk shook his head. “Not yet.”
When the doctor came into the room, he asked Monk to step out, and someone brought another gurney in. They asked Ava and Aine to both lie down while nurses took their vital signs and drew blood. The doctor examined Ava first and told someone to start an IV.
He moved over to her sister and said the same thing.
Once he was finished, he rolled a stool between them.
“Until we get the blood tests back, we won’t know for certain, but I believe you were both given Rohypnol. You may have heard it called the date-rape drug. It isn’t used as commonly as in the past, but what is used is far worse in terms of side effects.”
Ava’s eyes met her sister’s.
“What are the side effects?” Aine asked.
“They’re different based on the amount someone has been given, but headache, confusion, low blood pressure, and slurred speech are what we see most often. You may experience tremors, and your reaction time may be diminished.”
Ava nodded. That explained why her own voice sounded funny and why she seemed to be having a hard time understanding and processing what others were saying to her.
“If my suspicions are correct and you were both given Rohypnol, the drug’s half-life is between eighteen and twenty-six hours. We’ll keep you both here at least overnight, and maybe longer, for observation.”
“What is half-life?” asked Aine.