Free Cardinal by Sara Mack Page B

walk over to the register to count the change in the drawer. Just
as I grab the stack of one dollar bills, a sharp pain flashes across my stomach.
I double over as much as I can without anyone noticing.
    Ouuuuuuch, I mentally groan. What is this?  On my first break, I’m calling my mom. She’ll know what to do. I know
I’m an adult, but you never get over the need for motherly advice. Moms know
everything.
    “I’ve been thinking.”
    My head snaps up. Latson is standing opposite
me wearing half a grin. “Did it hurt?” I ask.
    “Funny,” he says. He moves to the other side of
the register, so he’s closer to me. “Don’t pretend like you didn’t have a good
time the other day.”
    “Who’s pretending?  Your nephew is adorable. I
had a great time.”
    “Good.”
    After I got my full tour – and I mean full tour – of the shark exhibit, Oliver asked me to have lunch with him and his uncle
at the aquarium cafeteria. While we feasted on chicken fingers and French
fries, Oliver quizzed me on all the shark facts he taught me earlier. Then, we
spent some time in the gift shop where Oliver tried to talk Latson into buying
him a book about whales. Apparently he has all the books about sharks. When
Latson said no, I fake pouted alongside Oliver until his uncle caved. When it
was time to leave, Latson made a big deal about me following them home, which
Oliver thought was hilarious until he learned I really am staying in the same
building. When he found out I was neighbor Pete’s sister, he hugged me. When
that little boy’s arms wrapped around my waist, my heart puddled for the second
time that day. I don’t think anyone has ever been that excited to be near me.
    Another weird pain hits my stomach and I try to
ignore it by shutting the register drawer. “So, about your thoughts?”
    Latson steps back and takes off his leather
jacket. He holds his arms out to the side. “Your reason for not letting me down
has been negated.”
    Huh?  I look at his shirt and it clicks. Instead
of his usual plain white tee, he’s wearing a navy blue one with white lettering.
    “ No pants are the best pants ,” I read, then
raise an eyebrow.
    “It’s the truth,” he says with a sexy smile.
    I wish I didn’t feel so shitty. I can’t banter
with him in this condition. All I can muster is a sarcastic, “Classy.”
    “You said nothing about class.” Latson lowers
his arms. “All you said was I couldn’t wear white shirts.”
    “No. I said you shouldn’t wear them all of the
time.”
    “Stop trying to come up with loopholes.” He
walks up to the bar and sets his hands against the top. “You’re out of reasons.
Admit it.”
    I point at the word Torque scrawled across my
shirt. “Still your employee,” I say.
    He smirks.
    People start to enter through the front doors
and they grab my attention. “Looks like I have a job to do.” I glance over at
Mina and Maggie to see if they’re ready and catch both of them watching Latson
and me. They have confused looks on their faces.
    Great. Not only am I their manager’s sister,
it’s obvious I know the boss.
    Ugh.
    I step to the side so Latson is out of my way. When
I do, a horrible pain shoots across my belly. I clutch the edge of the bar for
support as it crawls under my ribs and burns its way up into my chest. It hurts
so much, I can barely breathe.
    “Jen?”
    I try to answer but I can’t. All I can do is
concentrate on taking short breaths as my body breaks out in a cold sweat.
    “Jen. What’s wrong?”
    I have no fucking clue, but I
think I’m dying. I try to send the message to Latson telepathically, because
there’s no way I can talk. A wave of nausea washes over me and suddenly the
floor seems like a good place to be. My vision blurs as my knees buckle and I
land on my hip behind the bar.
    “Jen!”
    I hear the scuffle of feet and feel someone
grab under my arms before my head hits the tile. “Get Pete!”
    I think that was Maggie. My eyes close. God,
I