Free Nobody's Fool by Sarah Hegger Page B

expensive orthopedic support met her tired body. The sheets were clean and fresh, and a goose down duvet wrapped around her like a maternal cloud. At least she was sure it was goose down because it cradled her as close to heaven as she could get right now.
    Tomorrow she would find Portia and deal with a pissed-off stud muffin. And if she, somehow, managed to achieve half of that, she may as well give world peace a crack.

Chapter Eight
    Holly woke up still tired and with a dead weight in the center of her chest. She lay still, listening to the small sounds of someone, probably Josh, moving about on the other side of her bedroom door. The events of the previous day filtered back to her. She had to find Portia, and find her today. With a groan, she rolled over and grabbed her phone.
    Fourteen missed calls, thirteen of them from Emma and one from Steven.
    Holly suppressed a twitch of guilt. She’d barely waited long enough to leave Steven a message yesterday before heading for Chicago. Steven got rabid about roaming charges, so she texted instead. Holly kept it brief, explaining where she was and that she’d be back in a day or two.
    Emma answered on the first ring.
    â€œHey, Em.”
    â€œWhere have you been? I’ve been trying to reach you for hours.”
    Holly jammed the harsh words back down her throat. Worry made Emma unnecessarily brusque. Holly rubbed her gritty eyes before answering. “We were looking for Portia last night. It got very late, so I was probably sleeping.”
    â€œBut you didn’t find her?” Emma’s voice wobbled.
    â€œNo, Em, we didn’t,” Holly said softly, not wanting the threatening tears to start on the other end of the phone. “I’m going to try again today. I promise I’ll call as soon as I have something.”
    â€œPromise?”
    â€œPromise. Are you okay?”
    Emma heaved a laden sigh. “No, I’m awful. I’m nearly sick with anxiety. I think I might even have an attack. I haven’t slept since Portia left.”
    Holly opened her mouth to ask why, if Emma had been so concerned about Portia, it had taken three days for her to tell Holly her sister was gone. It seemed unkind; instead, she asked, “Did you get the message I left last night?”
    â€œYes.” Emma’s voice got higher and more overwrought. “Your car was stolen?”
    â€œUh-huh, and everything in it.” Holly kept it calm.
    â€œOh my God.” Emma paused. “Everything?”
    â€œYup.” Holly tried to stretch the cricks in her back. “Clothes, money, and my passport.”
    â€œWhat are you going to do?” Emma whispered.
    â€œI’m going to need your help.”
    â€œMe?” Emma’s voice rose on a squeak. “What can I do? I’m here in London and you’re all the way over there in Chicago.”
    â€œEm.” Going into a screaming frenzy wouldn’t help this situation any.
    â€œYou know I’m not good at this sort of thing, Holly. You know that about me; it distresses me.” Emma cranked up the panic.
    â€œEmma.” She put some starch in her voice. “Listen to me carefully.”
    Emma whimpered and went silent.
    â€œAre you listening, Em?”
    â€œUh-huh.”
    Holly wasn’t convinced, but she forged on. “Emma, I am going to need you to organize away for some money to get to me. I think you can use PayPal or something similar.”
    â€œHolly.” Emma went all breathy. “I don’t know how to do that.”
    â€œNeither do I, but if you go to the bank they’ll tell you how to do it.”
    Holly counted slowly to twenty.
    Emma sniffed. “Okay.”
    â€œWhile you’re there, I want you to get the credit card sorted out.”
    â€œIt’s your credit card,” Emma said. “Why can’t you do it from there?”
    â€œBecause.” She would have to spell it out clearly. Emma wasn’t stupid, but