Page 87 of Spades

I drop my jaw. “She did?”

“Yeah. They finally found a match.”

My heart soars. Carol doesn’t have to die.

But then that means…

“What about Lou? He’ll be left all alone.”

“They’re still looking for a match for him. “

My heart sinks. “But if Carol gets better, he’ll die alone.”

“Liss, look on the bright side. Carol is in surgery as we speak. She’ll be able to breathe, talk, laugh, scream. She can visit Lou as he waits for a match.”

“Still, though…” I rub at my forehead. “They’re the same blood type. I was hoping one donor could cover both of them.”

“Hearts are in higher demand,” Dinah says. “But I’m sure they’ll find something for him, too. We thought Carol was a lost cause, but now she’ll get to live out the rest of her natural life breathing freely.”

“That’s… That’s great news, Di. I’m so happy for Carol.” I scratch my head. “I’ve got to let you go, though. Kind of dealing with something else. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Everything all right?”

I swallow. “I’m not sure right now. But everythingwillbe, I hope.”

“What the hell does that mean?”

“Nothing you have to worry about. I’ll see you tomorrow, Di.”

“Okay. Take care.”

I end the call.

This really is fantastic news. It would be even more fantastic if Lou had gotten a heart out of the deal, too, but what Dinah said is right. It could be right around the corner. We’re only a few days into Lou and Carol’s one-month pact, and one of them already got what she needed.

Right now, I have other things to think about.

There’s something festering at Aces Underground. Something dark, something sinister. Every time I think about it, a chill creeps up my spine, my instincts screaming that whatever’s lurking in the depths of that place is dangerous. I know this feeling. I felt it whenever my mother was about to go on one of her tirades. Something in the air would shift. Dad and I both learned to sense it, and sometimes we were able to talk her down before things got out of control.

Sometimes we weren’t.

She never broke every dish in the house again, but there were other incidents, including one in particular that was so completely horrific that I never allow myself to think of it.

Focus, Alissa.

But it’s true.

I feel, right now, the same way I felt that day in her master bathroom before she?—

No.I shake the thought from my head.

I never allow myself to relive that day.

I close my eyes, shut down the memory.

Or try to.

But I can’t. I remember walking into the bathroom, seeing my mother gazing at her own reflection in the mirror, the look in her eyes unmistakable?—

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