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The doctor replaced the ceramic bin in the cabinet. “That should keep him occupied for about ten minutes. Then he’ll forget about it and get himself into trouble.”
“You could buy him a crate.”
“I know, but part of the fun in owning a dog is seeing what sort of trouble they’ll get into next.” She handed Lila her coat. “Did you arrive on that deathtrap you call a motorcycle?”
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Lila shook her head.
“Good. You can drive, then.”
The pair jogged downstairs and crawled into the cold sedan. Heat oozed from the vents as soon as Lila started the car. She pulled out of the complex and drove quickly toward the hospital, keeping an eye on her speed.
“You think anyone will recognize the car?” Helen asked.
“I screwed on fake plates.”
The doctor’s mouth twitched as they reached a green light. “I’ll go in myself and drop off the sample. No sense in one of your mother’s spies ratting you out.”
“Someone might have seen me come in before.”
“Might have. Might not. There’s no point in giving them a second chance.”
Lila parked in the shadows behind the hospital. As Helen strode toward one of the hospital’s back doors, Lila slid down in the seat to hide from view. The car lost more and more heat, and the little hisses in the engine quietened. From time to time, a car drove by, blinding her in the headlights. She pulled her scarf just a little bit higher each time one passed.
At last, Helen marched across the parking lot and wrenched open the door. The car shook as she plopped into the passenger seat. “Rosemary says it’s a busy night, but she’ll get to it as soon as she can.”
Lila nodded and started the engine, cranking up the heat as she backed out of the hospital’s parking lot. She turned onto the street, and the lights above the road flickered. “Thank you for doing this for me. I’ll take you back to your apartment. I’ve imposed on you long enough.”
“Where will you go now?”
Lila scratched her forehead. She hadn’t thought that far ahead. She couldn’t go back to the shop, and she refused to return to the oracle until she knew more about Camille’s partner.
Her brakes screeched softly as she came to a red light. She realized that at twenty-eight years old, she had no home, no money, a shit car, and nothing else to show for her life.
And she’d just tranqed her best friend’s brother, perhaps the father of her unborn and unwanted child.
A child she had no means to support.
Her breaths came faster. Her face grew hot, then cold. Headlights blurred in her vision, and her heart fluttered in her chest. Her stomach turned. She nearly gagged.
She’d be sick inside the car.
Oh gods, it would happen in front of Helen.
“You know what? I don’t want to go home,” the doctor said. “Take me to La Bodega. I feel like playing pool.”
Lila’s surprise switched off her illness. She breathed in and out deeply, catching her breath. “That’s a strip club, Helen,” she said when she could speak once more.
“Yes, a male strip club.”
“I thought you wanted to play pool?”
“They have pool at La Bodega.”
“They also have naked men frolicking around in thongs.”
“So you’ve been there before?”
