Ivan had no idea what was going on. Presumably, Debra should be on the third floor, but now the attic had suddenly caught fire.
On the second floor, Erica and Randy stepped out to see Barton help Andrew back to his room.
"Mr. Andrew Potter?"
Gand and Liza were shocked too. They''d never seen him in such distress.
"Minor fire. Mr. Andrew Potter needs rest," Barton said tly. "Please keep quiet about this, especially from Mrs. Houston."
Liza frowned. "Why?"
"No questions. Trust that it''s for her sake," Barton replied.
After they left, Liza muttered, "Weirdoes!"
Debra jolted awake the next morning, shooting upright before dizziness mmed her back down. Drake watched silently from a chair.
"Quick. I need to go upstairs." She tried to kick off the nkets, but Drake stopped her.
"Let me go." Her usual calm shattered into a raw panic. "I''m going to the third floor."
Drake hesitated. For once, he felt guilty. But he couldn''t cave.
Clenching his fists, he lied, "You''ve been delirious all night with a fever. Stop the nonsense."
"Fever? Last night I was..." she protested.
He shoved a thermometer in her
face. It read 103°F. Then he held up a mirror that reflected her pale
Velvet
. Content beeldet
"Randy and Erica slept like logs.
Marion''s gone. You kept me up
night." He dropped the thermometer. Guess my good intentions went to waste."
As he turned to leave, Debra grabbed his arm. Her mind now was a mess. She couldn''t tell real from false.
"Take me upstairs," she muttered.
"If you can walk," he replied. "I haven''t seen anyone feverish getting out of bed."
He expected her to give up, but she swung her legs down. In the next Sher knees went weak, and
fell to the ground het
He caught her instinctively. "Are you insane?"
"Take me to the third floor," she pleaded, grasping his sleeve like thest straw.
Drake sighed, "After you take your meds."
"Okay." She grabbed the pills and swallowed them in one gulp.
Drake stared. "Never seen you this obedient."
He offered his arm. "Let''s go."