Page 29 of Cry Havoc

I say her name slowly because I don’t even have myself convinced. “Olivia?”

Her smile is malicious. “Sure, if that’s the way you like it.”

Wood creaks, the sound coming from just outside my room. It could be the house settling or one of the guys shuffling into the hallway bathroom. But the noise distracts me enough that I look away from her for a brief second.

She literally launches herself at me, the move unexpected enough that she is on top of me before I can stop her. My back hits the headboard, her weight pinning me unless I want to shove her away hard enough to hurt. Her lips crash onto mine in a move that is more about teeth and violence than it is kissing.

The door crashes open loudly enough to shake the rafters.

“What the fuck is this?”

Gigi stands in the open doorway, an expression of downright murder on her face. I shove Olivia away hard enough that she lands on the floor with a loud thump.

“This isn’t what it looks like,” I claim, knowing that Gigi probably won’t believe it. There are only so many explanations for a half-naked girl in my bed.

With both of them together in the room, the differences are obvious enough it’s hard to understand how I didn’t immediately see them. Olivia has a harder edge to her features and the eyes surveying her sister are colder than Gigi’s have ever been.

“It’s exactly what it looks like, which is the problem.” Gigi’s attention shifts to her sister, a mixture of hurt and rage on her features. “Get out before I give you what you keep asking for.”

Olivia picks herself up off the floor with all the dignity that a topless girl can muster and reaches for her shirt. “If you insist.”

“Now.”

“Good sisters know how to share.”

I fully expect Gigi to punch her, but she just steps aside as Olivia passes her. She firmly shuts the door once Olivia is gone and locks it. Her hand presses a flat against the wood for a long moment as she whispers to herself, barely loud enough for me to hear. “Neither of us is a good sister.”

“I can explain,” I say as soon as she turns back to face me.

“No need.” She holds up her phone and idly waves it in the air, a text message conversation still up on the screen. “This is precisely what she wanted me to see. I’m sure she was hoping to get a little further along before I walked in.”

I don’t have any idea what an appropriate reaction to this is supposed to be, so I just stare at her and point out the obvious. “Olivia recovered from her coma.”

“Must have.” Her expression is sardonic. “As far as I know, there are only two of us. Science hasn’t made that much of an advancement where human cloning is concerned.”

My brain just won’t process it quickly enough that I can avoid sounding like an idiot. “And now she is back at St. Bart’s.”

“Look at that, you’re all caught up.”

“Why?”

“Your guess is as good as mine.” Gigi sounds more exhausted than angry. Her shoulders hunch as she leans back against the door, almost like she’d been on the floor herself without it to support her weight. “So far, she seems pretty intent on making me miserable.”

“I’m so sorry, baby.” I rise off the bed and approach her slowly. She’s like a spooked mare who will kick if I move too quickly. I don’t know if she is going to run away or collapse into herself like a dying star. “What can I do?”

“Nothing. No one can do anything.”

Her body is initially stiff when I wrap her up in my arms, though not exactly resisting. It only takes a few seconds for her to melt against me, boneless and devastated.

“You weren’t here,” she sobs. “I needed you and you weren’t here.”

The guilt I feel about that just makes me hug her tighter. “I know I wasn’t. It won’t ever happen again, I promise.”

“God, I’m such a baby.” She tries to pull away, but I don’t let her go. “You leave for a few days and I completely fall apart. This is pathetic.”

“If there was ever a reason to fall apart, this is a pretty good one.”

“What are we going to do?”

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