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Naomi deals with the salesperson, shoving clothes into her arms. “Go earn a juicy fat commission and ring those up. We’ll be back for them in an hour. Now, anywhere in particular that you want to eat?”
Suddenly alert, I sit on the edge of the chair. Now’s my chance …
“Actually,” I try to keep my voice from trembling, “I know a place. The Somewhere Bar in Times Square.”
“Times Square?” Naomi looks nonplussed but shrugs her shoulders. “Well, itisyour day.”
25
EDEN
Luckily,I have the address etched in my memory. Larissa and Naomi look skeptical when we pull up to the shabby walkup with neon signs in the dusty windows, but I sigh with relief. I just have to ditch them, and then I’m free.
Mercy’s back is to me when I enter, but the bald bartender stares hard as we walk in. His eyes widen for a moment when he sees us, but he points to a table near the door anyway. My sneakers bounce against the tiled floor as we take our seats. From the corner of my eye, I notice the bald guy call Mercy over to the bar. He extends his index finger slowly, and hell comes swooping down on me.
Mercy storms over to the table, her teeth grinding and steam coming out of her ears. “Where the hell have you been?”
Larissa and Naomi exchange a startled look as Mercy goes on a rant worthy of reality TV.
“You just disappeared and didn’t come back? What the fuck is wrong with that? Your da—oww!” She leaps back and then glares at me. “Did you just kick me?”
“Is something wrong?”
Mercy finally turns her attention to Larissa and glares. In my mind, I know that Mercy will have no problem taking Larissa in a straight-up fight. But Larissa is the beloved sister of a vicious crime boss who just walked unscathed out of exploding buildings.
And I don’t intend to get my cousin killed.
I jump up, putting my hand on my stomach. “Excuse me. I have to go to the bathroom.”
I run toward the back of the bar and down the dark hallway that leads to the bathrooms. I’m 100 percent sure that Mercy is right behind me. I push the door open, and she races toward me—ready to shout. I place my hand over her mouth and hold it there tight.
“Mercy, I don’t have any time to explain,” I hiss. “I need a phone … any phone. I need to tell Dad that I’m safe and warn him.”
She pulls my hand off her mouth. “What are you going on about, Edie? Your dad is in the city looking for you. Where have you been?” Her eyes widen when she spots my finger. “And what isthat?”
“The gallery that blew up last week? Belongs to the guy who kidnapped me.” I cut her off. “There’s a lot of shit happening right now, and I need you to listen!”
Mercy freezes long enough that when Larissa walks into the room, there is silence. Nothing suspicious is going on. I glance at Mercy’s hair and hope Larissa doesn’t notice the resemblance.
“Is everything all right?” asks Larissa calmly, her eyes never leaving Mercy.
Mercy huffs and places her fists on her hips. “I hired this girl, and she disappeared on me.” She gives me a dirty look. “And how do you still not have a phone?”
I look at my feet. “I told you I lost it.”
Larissa steps between us. “Maybe we should eat somewhere else, Eden.”
Mercy opens the door to the bathroom and yells down the hall at the waiter, “Three menus. Table four.” Mercy smiles at Larissa, but it looks painful. “We have a table ready for you, ladies. You won’t find better burgers or margaritas anywhere other than Somewhere.”
I don’t know what to say or do.
Mercy straightens her shoulders and walks ahead of us. “Look, all I’m saying is no hard feelings. Give me your address, and I’ll mail you the day’s pay. Honest pay for a less than honest day’s work.”
Larissa pauses long enough to stare at Mercy, and Mercy gives back exactly what she receives. As soon as Mercy is out of earshot, Larissa approaches me. “We should eat somewhere else. I don’t want that woman harassing you.”
A sick feeling slides down into my gut. “Okay. I just wanted to apologize to her. She was really cool when I got here. I don’t like treating people the way I treated her. Disappearing and all that.”
I stare hard into Larissa’s eyes, hoping she will say something or at least stop pretending that her brother and I are a normal couple.
