Free Luck by Scarlett Haven Page B

answers, and then listens to somebody on the other end for a second. He holds out his phone. “It’s for you.”
    I get excited.
    Yay! Damon!
    “Hey, Damon. Oh my goodness, I miss you,” I tell him.
    “Who is Damon?” I hear my father speak back.
    “Dad?” I ask, feeling confused. “Why are you calling Tristan’s phone?”
    “I tried calling you but couldn’t get through. The school said I could call you on this number. Who is Tristan?” Dad asks. “Katerina, I hope you’re not dating. I didn’t send you to America so you could date American boys.”
    “Don’t worry, Dad. American boys are weird,” I tell him. “Tristan and Damon are my… friends.”
    Tristan gives me a thumbs up.
    “Though, I might bring Tristan home with me for Christmas,” I say. “I think you’ll like him. He’s kind of cute. For an American.”
    He rolls his eyes.
    “Katerina, that’s not funny. Do you want me to have a heart attack because I’m worried about you?”
    “Of course not, Daddy,” I say. “What’s up?”
    “I just wanted to check on you. I know there was an explosion at your school,” he says.
    Crap.
    What do I say? I can’t exactly deny it.
    “Yeah, about that. The president’s son is kind of my best friend,” I say, leaving out the dating part. I’m supposed to be dating Tristan at Christmas, so I can’t tell him that part. “And they think he was a target. So they kind of took me to a secure location away from the school until they catch the person. Was is Kazimir?”
    Tristan gives me a panicked look. Apparently I wasn’t supposed to say anything about that.
    “I’m afraid so,” he says. “The president’s son is your friend, huh?”
    “Yes,” I answer.
    “That’s cool,” he says. “Look, I am coming to America. Is there anyway you can get back to your school? I have a plan to catch Kazimir, but I need your help.”
    “Um… maybe,” I say. “I’ll have to ask. But are you sure you want to do that? He seems really dangerous. I don’t want you to get hurt.”
    “I’ll be fine, Katerina. Don’t worry about me,” he says. “Can I reach you on this number again?”
    “Yeah,” I answer. “That won’t be a problem.”
    “Good,” he says. “I will see you soon.”
    “See you soon,” I say, as the line goes dead.
    Tristan’s eyes get big.
    “What do you mean by see you soon?” he asks.
    “Change of plans,” I say, smiling.
    I really hope I didn’t just do something bad.
    “What?” he asks.
    “My dad wants to meet me at the school,” I answer. “I mean, we know he’s in America already, but he told me he’s leaving for America. And he says he has a plan to catch Kazimir.”
    “Okay,” he says. “But we need a plan first.”
    “Sure. Yeah. That’s probably a good idea,” I say. “What’s the plan.”
    “I don’t know yet. But we will figure it out on the way back,” he says, grabbing my hand. “Come on, Katerina. It’s going to be a long drive.”
    Ugh.
    Not another long car ride.

    Shattered heart.

    We get back to New Hope really late, but Tristan doesn’t let me take off my wig. We get a hotel room and sleep away from campus. He tells me we aren’t going to campus until I hear from my dad.
    We have a plan—sort of.
    I thought the plan would be to get my dad while he’s here, but Tristan says that’s a bad idea. If my dad gets arrested, it will just cause more problems than we’re ready for. So, for the time being, we have to be happy capturing Kazimir. I think now Tristan is convinced that my dad won’t hurt me, but he’s not taking any chances. In fact, he refuses to leave my side. For some reason, right now I don’t mind. After everything that has happened, I’m a little scared to be alone.
    “Does Damon know?” I ask Tristan, as I lay in bed that night. “That we’re going back? About my dad?”
    “No,” Tristan answers. “I didn’t figure you’d want me to tell him.”
    “I don’t,” I say. “I’m glad he’s