“Too much?”
“These cuts tell a different story. They’re all in a line, and the way they’re imbedded… Were you doing handstands in the shards?”
“Yes, that’s exactly it. It was a dare. Rosemary is an evil and demanding wench.”
Dr. Daniels snorted. “I’ve been on for the last twelve hours, and I’m tired, so I’m just going to pretend that I believe you. And because I like my job and I want a raise at my next review, I’m not even going to ask why you smell like smoke and gasoline or why half the staff believes you’re in exam room four.”
“I like you already. I’ll see what I can do about that review.”
The doctor washed out Lila’s cuts before injecting her palm with a small amount of local anesthetic. With a tweezer-like tool, she pulled shard after shard from her fingers, dropping them in a metal container in Lila’s lap with a little plink.
Lila bit the sides of her cheek with each tug.
“I think that’s the last one.” Dr. Daniels twisted Lila’s hands under the arm of the magnifying lamp one last time. “You’re lucky. You don’t need surgery, just an awful lot of stitches.”
The doctor quickly sewed up Lila’s palms. After wrapping her hands with bandages and administering a tetanus shot, she cleaned the shallow cut on her neck. Then Rosemary and the doctor fetched a tube of ointment and extra bandages and scooted Lila out through the staff door, down the staircase, and into the parking lot.
Rosemary drove Lila back to the Randolph estate in her green sedan. Despite the music blaring from the radio, her eyes drooped.
“You’re not going to tell your mother you saw me in the hospital, are you?” Lila yawned as Rosemary stopped in front of Simone’s. Though Rosemary could easily get inside the estate, Lila had no wish for the blackcoats to start asking questions.
“I like telling my mother secrets, but I like highborn parties and new clothes more. Don’t let my mother find out, and I’ll take care of Jackie back at the lab.”
“Deal.”
Lila stuffed her ointment and bandages into her pockets and closed the car door gently.
As Rosemary’s car pulled away, she turned on her jammer and dodged the restaurant’s chained-up tables and chairs. Punching a code into a panel by the door, she slipped inside, racing through the darkened space, lit only by the glow from the display cases.
She found the iron door in the basement, typed in her code once more, and ventured into the tunnels. After a ten-minute walk, she found the exit for the great house’s basement. She wasn’t sure yet how she’d explain away the bandages on her hands, so she crossed her wrists behind her back, keeping them out of sight.
Slipping through the scullery, she found Alex, sitting on a stool in the dark. She flipped on the lights as soon as Lila’s boots met the tile.
Lila bit her lip. She’d hoped that she could hack Reaper’s server before she spoke to her friend, but perhaps that was part of the problem. She should have spoken to Alex hours before, immediately after her mother and brother’s arrest.
She’d make time, and then she’d deal with the article.
Then she’d go to bed and sleep for days.
“Where have you been?” Alex hissed. “I had to eat your dinner as well as my own. My stomach is killing me.”
Lila saw nothing but confusion and frustration in her friend’s eyes. It was obvious that no one had told her yet about her family. Perhaps the staff hadn’t turned on the news. Perhaps the story had not even hit yet. The militias had only been called an hour before. The reporters might have only just descended, kept too far away from the compound to ferret out the story.
It was a small stroke of good fortune. One last chance to talk to her friend.
“I’ll tell you upstairs. Is the way clear?”
“Probably. Everyone else is getting ready for bed.”
Alex led Lila up to her room, stopping only when Ms. O’Malley ventured from her workborn quarters for a last cup of tea.
When the elderly woman turned toward the kitchen, Alex and Lila padded up the stairs as quickly as they dared. Though Ms. O’Malley might not hear them, other staff might be lurking in the great house.
“What happened to your hands?” Alex asked as they reached Lila’s bedroom.
“It’s a long story.”
“Fine. I’ll start you another bath,” she said, wrinkling her nose. “You reek of smoke.”