Page 59 of Mercy & Malice

Yeah. I’ve been avoiding him, but there’s no need to now. He’s never going to take the news well, and I’m never going to be anything but a failure. “It’s over.”

He gasps, “Who won?”

“Probably Luca since he’s still in the game. I’m the pathetic fuckup.”

His frustration is clear, but I’m shocked that he’s not livid as he asks, “Who made it to the final round?”

“Luca, Ivy, and Brooke,” I reply.

“Brooke?”

“Yes, she’s the fucking Deceiver.”

He cackles through the phone. “Son of a bitch. You went and partnered with the mole, and she left you in her dust. I told you to partner with your brother and this wouldn’t have been an issue, and he wouldn’t be enjoying a successful run. Motherfucker, he’s going to be intolerable and impossible to push out now. We’re fucked. They’ll make sure he’s untouchable.”

“I don’t fucking care about the Keepers or Mercy. Go figure out what you want to do about your superior son and leave me the fuck alone.”

He yells, “You should care and you should want revenge on all of them. They made you look like the fool you are. So, what are you going to do about it?”

I contemplate his words as I drive farther and farther away from New Orleans. There’s not a place far enough to escape this misery.

30

BROOKE

I’m sitting on the edge of the hospital bed, staring at the hospital room wall until I hear a soft knock on the door. Thankfully it’s Ivy and not someone else coming to ask me questions.

She holds up two iced coffees. “I tried to sneak it past the nurses’ station, but they totally busted me. She said take it easy and don’t overdo it if you start feeling lightheaded again.”

Thankfully, the wave of nausea and dizziness passed. It’s been hours, and I’m still hooked up to an IV and being given fluids. But the coffee means more than it should. It’s not from our usual spot, but I stare at the cup as I tell her, “You know how we always go to that local place on Prytania where we have to type in our phone numbers for reward points?”

Ivy smiles, “Yes. That’s our favorite because they have the best coffee.”

“Well, even when you’re not with me, I use your phone number since you always treat me when we’re together.” My finger rubs across the condensation on the cup. “That’s the reason I knew your phone number by heart. I’m so glad he called you.”

When I cry, she wraps her arms around me, “Me too. And I’m so thankful you’re here safe and sound.”

“But they got to you in the hospital, remember? How can I sit here when they could be anywhere or the next person who walks through the threshold?”

She motions to the doorway. “Luca has someone standing guard and they know who is on duty and who should be entering your room. And Luca made it clear to the entire floor that any unauthorized personnel would have issues.”

I believe that, but I still can’t push away the worry. “Where’s Micah? He should be here by now.” I was in the ER for hours. And just like I feared, he’s disappeared.

Ivy reassures me with a smile, “I’m sure he’ll be by soon.”

We both quietly sip our coffees in silence for a few minutes until there’s a knock at the door. A guy peeks his head in, informing us, “There’re two officers here. They have a few more questions.” He waits for me to nod before allowing them to enter as Ivy says, “Thanks, Troy.”

The officers approach the foot of my bed as Troy stays just inside the door. If Ivy is comfortable with him, so am I.

The younger of the two officers speaks first, “We just have a few follow-up questions.”

They were both at the scene, and I answered what I could then. “Okay.”

He states, “The suspect at the scene was DOA. Do you recall descriptions of the other two?”

“No, they wore hoods and masks.” I don’t want to explain that they actually wore Mercy cloaks and covers over their faces. But the point is the same, I never saw their faces. Warden was the only one who got too comfortable and left his disguise off when he’d drop our scraps. I guess he figured I’d already seen his face when he rear-ended my car, so why bother with the theatrics.

“Nothing distinguishing? Any small detail could be helpful.”