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It should have been me in that damn car.
So if Elise has a chance to walk again properly and without pain, then while I can’t give her back her athletic career, I can still give her a chance to do all the other things.
But dammit, I won’t sleep with that gorgeous, dangerous, disturbing drug dealer. I have limits.
With that thought wobbling on uneven ground, I drift off to sleep.
Morning comes too quickly. The phone’s vibrations next to my head wake me, along with the streams of light pouring into my room. I grab it and stab the Accept button.
“Hello?”
“Are you sleeping?”
I smile at my sister’s voice, even as everything from last night crashes back into me. I make a mental note to grill Cara later about what the hell happened and why she disappeared. “Not anymore. Are you there?”
“In Zurich.” Elise’s tone is a little wild with fear and excitement. “I waited as long as I could to call. Immigration took forever, even with Luca handling it all.”
I have no idea who that is, but I’m assuming it’s one of Mercer’s people. “Mm-hm.”
“Anyway, we stopped for lunch, and the view is to die for. What time is it in New York? Eleven?”
I pull the phone away and look at it. “Seven a.m., El.”
“Oops. Good thing I didn’t video chat you.”
Sitting up, I push a hand through my hair. “Good thing.”
A grin stretches across my lips. Elise can even make the Grinch smile.
“Ivy…this is okay, isn’t it? You haven’t done something stupid?”
“No.”
Sure, if I ignore Mercer fingering me in public, telling me to call him sir and me actually doing it, not to mention his whole plan of us spending time together, the “no” isn’t a lie.
My sister sighs, her voice dropping. “I’ll come home. It’s not too late, and?—”
“Elise, stop that.” I pick at the blue polish on my toenails. “You’re staying, you’re doing the treatments and it’s way too late to come back. This is a good thing.” The lie glides off my tongue like Jell-O. “We caught a break. That guy has the means, and the money is nothing to him. So don’t go wallowing in guilt city. You’re good. I’m good.”
“Are you sure?”
Not at all. “Yes, absolutely.”
“Okay. Draw me a picture or something on your iPad. Lunch just got here. I’ll call when I’m settled in. Love you.”
“Love you, El.”
I think about going back to sleep, but I’ve got work to do for one of my classes and then work later at the restaurant in Union Square. Instead, I send Cara a reply to the text she sent at three this morning when I was sleeping.
U get home alright? Calllll me.
Yeah, I’ll be calling all right. With a hell of a lot of questions.
But first,schoolwork.
It’s been almost a week. Cara hasn’t been at school and she still hasn’t returned my calls or texts.
I haven’t heard from Mercer either. I’d love to pretend it was a night of him screwing with me, but I know, deep down, it isn’t.
