Page 79 of Any Luck at All

The number on her cell phone screen had a New York City area code, but she didn’t recognize it. She was apprehensive when she answered. “Hello?”

“Georgie?” Adalia asked with a sob.

Panic made Georgie light-headed, and she pressed the heel of her hand to her temple to ground herself. Her sister hadn’t talked to her in that tone—so unguarded, so scared—since their mother had died. “Adalia? What happened?”

“Georgie, I really screwed up.”

“Are you okay? Are you hurt?”

“I’m not hurt, but I’m in trouble.”

“Whatever it is, we’ll fix it. What happened?”

“I got arrested, Georgie. I’m calling you from NYPD’s fifth precinct.” She paused, then added, “I was arrested for vandalism.”

Georgie couldn’t stop her gasp of surprise. “Okay. It’s okay. That’s not too serious.”

“It’s a felony. It was nearly one hundred thousand dollars in art.”

Georgie’s heart sank. Itwasserious, very serious, and she had more questions than she could count, but Adalia didn’t need a lecture, or at least she didn’t need one yet. She needed her big sister. “So this is your phone call?”

“Yeah.” Her voice broke. “I’m supposed to be arraigned first thing in the morning. Then I’ll find out how much bail will be.”

“What do you need, Addy? Money for bail? An attorney? Just tell me, and it’s yours.”

“I needyou, Georgie.” She broke down into sobs.

Georgie was already out of bed and dashing to the dresser. “I’m coming, Addy. What time’s the arraignment?”

There was so much to do for the parties on Saturday, and she worried that Dottie would be like a runaway locomotive in her absence, but surely River would help supervise her.

“It’s early. Eight o’clock,” Adalia said through her sniffles. “You’ll never make it in time.”

“Then I’ll be there when you get home.”

“Thank you,” Adalia said, breaking down again. “But when you go back to Asheville, can I come with you? I can’t stay here anymore. My life here is over.”

“Of course,” Georgie said without hesitation. “And don’t worry about bail. I’ll get the first flight out of Asheville. I think there’s a direct flight that leaves around six, so I can be in the city by ten or so.”

“Thank you, Georgie.”

“Time’s up,” a woman said in the background, her tone harsh.

“I have to go,” Adalia said. “But please don’t tell Lee or Dad.Please.”

They were going to lose it when they found out. Because while Georgie and Adalia could keep it from them for a time, they would eventually find out. It was hard to keep a secret when it was a matter of public record. But Georgie planned to buy her sister as much time as she could. “Of course. It’s our secret.”

“I love you, Georgie.”

“I love you too.” Then there was a click on the line. Adalia was gone.

She stood in place, her mind racing at the thought of everything she needed to do.

“I need a ticket,” she muttered to herself. But a quick look online revealed it was too late to purchase one electronically. She’d have to go to the airport, but first she needed to talk to River. The easy thing to do would be to call him, but the thought made her throat clog. Maybe she’d stop by his loft on the way to the airport.

She sat on the edge of the bed. It was now one twenty. She had hours to go before anything could happen. There was no way she’d be able to sleep, so she packed an overnight bag, her mind racing all the while. If she left later this morning, she could possibly still get back to Asheville in time for the events on Saturday evening, but she had no idea how long it would take to clear up Adalia’s mess.

What if they didn’t let her out on bail?

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