Page 71 of Sam's Salvation

“The other woman’s going with her,” Dean said.

Dammit. She needed the blonde alone. The plan was to slip a bug onto the woman. Audra needed to get close and was afraid she couldn’t if she wasn’t alone.

“I’m on it,” Sam said.

Audra kept walking, not worrying about Geoffrey’s lady friend Celine, now. Sam was a quiet soul, but he could turn on the charm when he wanted to. All he had to do was smile and that woman would simper at his feet. It certainly worked on her.

Weaving her way through the crowd, she followed Simon’s girlfriend down the dim corridor toward the bathroom. A single light hung in the long hallway, casting deep shadows. An exit sign glowed in the darkness at the far end of the hall. The woman disappeared into the bathroom. Audra entered in time to see a stall door swing shut and lock. Audra stepped into the one next to hers and shut the door. While she waited, she took the listening device from her clutch and rolled it in her hand to warm the small bit of plastic. After a minute or so, she heard the toilet flush next door. Quickly flushing her own, she stepped out. The woman emerged from her stall and crossed in front of Audra.

“Hi, there! I didn’t expect to see you out tonight.” Audra grabbed the woman and gave her a quick hug, laying the surprise on thick. She didn’t bother to hide her accent.

The woman seemed frozen in her arms, but also limp. Anger simmered in Audra’s gut. The girl was high again.

Audra slipped the small bug under the strap of the woman’s dress over her shoulder blade, then pulled back to look at her. “How are you doing, love?” She injected some heavy sympathy into her voice.

The woman blinked up at her with dull blue eyes. “Um, do I know you?”

“Sure you do. We met at that party a few months back. You were with that dark-haired guy. What was his name… Sean? Seth? Simon! That’s it, isn’t it? Simon?”

The woman nodded. “Yes. I’m sorry. I don’t remember you. What’s your name?”

“Amber.”

Someone else entered the bathroom. Audra wrapped a hand around her arm and moved her to the side. The woman stumbled.

“Oh! Careful there.” Audra helped steady her.

“Sorry. I must have had too much to drink.”

She’d had too much of something, but it wasn’t alcohol. A new plan formed in Audra’s head. One the boys really wouldn’t like. “Are you here with him? Let me help you back. I wouldn’t want you to get knocked over. It’s a crush out there.”

“I’ll be okay.”

“Aud, what are you doing?” Sam’s voice growled in her ear. “Plant the bug and let her go. Her friend is on her way to you now.”

She ignored him. “Love, I insist.” She took the woman’s hand and looped it through her arm, then laid her other hand on top, securing her grip on the girl. And she was a girl. Up close, Audra could see through the heavy makeup. If this woman was twenty, she’d be astonished.

Hoping the drugs made her compliant for everyone and not just Simon, Audra led her toward the door. They needed to hurry. She had no intention of taking her back to Simon. If her friend showed up, she’d never get the girl out.

They stepped into the hall, and she had to hold back a triumphant grin. No one was in sight. She turned right, toward the blazing red exit sign.

“Where are we going?” the girl asked after they’d taken several steps. “The club is the other way.”

“I’m getting you out of here.”

Sam cursed in her ear. “Max, Dean, go outside. I’ll create a distraction, then follow her through the exit.”

“Copy,” Dean said.

“On it,” Max replied.

The girl twisted her head to look Audra in the eye. She didn’t try to stop, though, and Audra continued to haul her toward the door.

“You look familiar now. Who are you?”

“A friend, love. You can trust me.”

The girl snorted. “I’ve heard that before.”