Free Kissed Blind (A Hot Pursuit Novel Book 2) by Emerson Shaw Page B

different. I’m meeting with a trainer here in the morning and shooting isn’t going to start until later, they need afternoon light and the weather looks like it’s going to cooperate.”
    “Cici gave us a full schedule. We’re all up to date,” I said.
    His eyebrows shot up. “She did? I know Camille complains about her, but I swear Cici is worth every penny I pay her and more.” He grabbed some deli meats from the fridge and tossed a loaf of bread down on the counter. He grabbed a jagged edged knife and sliced through the thick crust.
    Upstairs, Cici screamed, “Oliver!”
     

 
    Seven
     
     
    “Oliver! Oliver! It’s Camille!” Cici shouted again. “Oh my God!”
    Vance and I pulled our guns, and we ran toward Cici’s screams upstairs. Vance took the lead, and I was behind him shielding Oliver. We ran down a long hallway straight into the master bedroom. Cici stood over Camille’s lifeless body. She was strewn across fluffy, down-filled bedding, hair fanned out in an array of silken waves behind her head, but her face was covered in blazing red blotches, and her lips were blue.
    She had to have been standing next to the bed and passed out. Lying on her side, her feet dangled over the edge. Her purse was on the floor, its contents partially spilled. Two tubes of lip gloss and the compact I’d seen her using earlier were on the carpet. On the nightstand, a clear cup filled with green liquid was sweating onto the wood.
    Oliver ran to her side and shook her. He put his ear to her chest. “Wake up, baby, wake up.” He smacked her cheeks, but it had no effect.
    “Did you see anyone up here?” I asked Cici. I stayed close to the doorway and looked out into the hall as I scanned the room for anything out of the ordinary. Vance had already come out of a closet and walked toward the en suite bathroom.
    Cici glanced at the sweating cup and her eyes filled with tears. “No… no one was here. I walked in and she was like this.”
    Oliver repositioned Camille’s body, laying her flat on her back. He grabbed the pillows from the bed and placed them under her feet, raising them higher and higher.
    “I’ll call nine-one-one,” I said, replacing my weapon as Vance exited the bathroom. He gave me our signal that everything was clear.
    “No!” Oliver snapped. “Cici, gather up her purse and hand it to me.” Cici replaced everything into the baby blue leather bag and handed it to Oliver. He sat on the bed next to Camille and rifled through it. He handed Cici his phone. “Make the call.”
    Cici nodded, walked into the bathroom, and shut the door.
    “Make what call?” I asked. “She needs an ambulance.”
    “No, she doesn’t. She’ll be fine. I can take care of this.” His voice quivered, offering me no reassurance.
    “She doesn’t look fine.”
    “She’s breathing. I just need to get the medicine in her, and it’ll be fine.” He retrieved a pouch from her purse and held it in his hand. “I just need to keep her from going into shock.” He opened the pouch and took out something that looked like a child’s glue stick, but it was longer. He removed an orange cap and began lifting the fabric of Camille’s skirt. He stopped and looked at Vance and me. “If you and Vance could go downstairs and give us some privacy. We don’t need you right now. In a few minutes someone will be arriving. They’re to be buzzed up and let in. Am I clear?”
    “Yes, sir,” Vance said joining me at my side. As we were walking out, Oliver stabbed the device into Camille’s thigh.
    Downstairs, Vance and I walked back into the kitchen. I put away the food Oliver had left out on the counter. Too much adrenaline pumped through my blood. If I sat still, I was going to bounce out of my skin.
    “What do you think happened? Some kind of drug overdose?” I asked, shutting the door to the fridge. “Drugs and Hollywood go hand in hand.”
    “No. She had an allergic reaction to something is my guess.” Vance pulled out