I’m homeless.
My family is dead.
James might be dead.
Harper is in big trouble.
My promise walked out on me.
Can it get any worse?
I have no idea how long I lie there before I get up and fish my phone out of my pocket and call Merc.
“Yeah,” he says after picking up on the first ring.
“I need you to come get me.”
“I’m on my way to Jackson. I’m out, man. You and Nick are gonna have to figure this shit out yourselves. I know when to cut my losses.”
“Nick left me in a hotel in Rock Springs. He’s going to save Harper himself and get that file back. How can you be out? You have the other half of the file.”
He’s silent for a few moments and then he lets off a long sigh. “If I come get you, we’re heading to my place in Jackson.”
“No,” I say firmly. “We’re heading to Santa Barbara where Nick thinks they took Harper. You owe me, Merc. You owe me. And this is what I want. I want to go to Santa Barbara and help Nick.”
“Kid, we’re gonna need an army to help Nick now. They are dead serious about killing us and going to meet them on their own territory is one of the more stupid ideas Nick has had lately.”
“I don’t care. I’m in, Merc. I have very few good things to hold on to in my life. James, Harper, and Nick are pretty much all I have left. And I’m not gonna let him go fix this shit alone. OK? So come get me.
Nothing but silence on the other end. But then Merc grumbles. “Fuck. I’m like two hours away. Where the hell are you?”
I tell him the name of the hotel and then I hang up and get dressed. I eat the pancakes because they came from Nick, but I have to force them down. And then I stuff the money in my pocket along with the room key and sit in front of the window until Merc’s truck pulls up in the parking lot.
I walk out the door and climb in the passenger side.
Merc takes out a smoke and lights it up, blowing smoke rings out the window as we head back out on the highway. “Do you know where the Santa Barbara place is? Because I sure don’t.”
I sigh. “I shouldn’t know. But I do.”
He laughs. “That’s the story of your life, kid.”
Ain’t that the truth? “We need an army, you said?” I look up at him, but he’s staring straight ahead. “I know where we can get an army.”
“I bet you do.”
And then he slides his shades down his face and turns up the music.
PART TWO
Chapter Eleven
HarperThe rolling of the ship eases me out of my slumber.
I’m home.
That thought bounces around my head for several seconds before I remember this is not home. I’m on my father’s yacht. I don’t open my eyes and I don’t stop breathing heavily. Instead, I give off a long sleepy sigh and turn over. I crack one eye to figure out if I’m alone in the room.
“How are you feeling?” my father asks.
Not alone.
“It’s wearing off, Harper. The doctor gave you a drug to make it wear off. I hope you realize we only drugged you so that Tet would leave quietly. But you became combative the last few times we brought you out of it—”
The last few times?
“—and since you’ve been known to make rash and dangerous decisions, we were forced to subdue you.”
Well. Since there’s no use pretending I’m still asleep, I open both my eyes. He’s staring down at me and he looks worried, but then he smiles.
I hate to admit that it’s reassuring. He’s my father. It’s hard to turn that off.
“How are you feeling?” he asks again. “OK?” His smile makes the corners of his eyes crinkle up. My father is handsome, even at fifty-one. His hair is not gray, it’s still dark and it’s still thick. His suit, however, is gray. And his tie is navy blue. When I was a girl I always loved to touch them. “Harper, answer me.”
I pause for a few seconds and then nod. “I’m OK.”
His smile grows and I get a warm feeling that I don’t immediately understand. I mean, who is this man? How can he call himself my father when he’s part of this organization and all they want is to marry me off?
“We’re having dinner in an hour. I’ve had them prepare your favorites to welcome you home.”
I don’t know what to say to that, so I look away.
“Harper,” he says sternly so I refocus on him. “I’m glad you’re home.”
I don’t know what to say to that either.
“Did you even miss me?”
Why is he asking me these things?
“Because this ship was not the same without you two.”
I look up at him for that. “Is Nick here?”
“No.”
I look away.
“He’s hiding. But once he hears you’re back, he’ll come for you, Harper. I know he will.”
“So I’m a trap to catch him?”
“Why in the world do you think I’m trying to catch him? He’s a grown man now. He can do as he pleases. I admit, he’s messed up my plans for you two. But I’m not wholly dissatisfied about that.”
I glance at him again. “You’re not?”
“Why would I be unhappy that you were not given away on your birthday, Harper? I love you. I might not have been the perfect father, but I was present more than most parents in this modern world. I did my business on the ship to stay near you. I really do not understand where this distrust comes from.”