Daughter of the Mafia

Part 4: Elicit Getaway

Amanda gasped, her hands moving to cover her mouth. "No way. When are you going?"

"I'm not sure I am. How can I just up and leave?"

"Are you kidding me? How can you not? This is your dad we're talking about. You haven't seen him in two years. And now you get the chance to see what's going on in his life?"

When she put it that way . . . "My mom would never let me go. And the flight's in less than two weeks."

"Grab my phone out of my purse." Amanda pointed, and Jaci flipped through the contents before tossing it at her.

"Two weeks," Amanda murmured, pulling something up on her phone. "Jaci, you know what's in a week?"

She lifted her eyes to Jaci's, and with a little shiver, Jaci knew what she meant.

"My birthday."

"That's right. You'll be eighteen. Technically your mom won't be able to stop you."

"I can't just disobey her, though."

Amanda snapped her fingers. "What if you said you were going with me?"

Jaci shook her head. "You know my mom would check with your dad."

"No, for real! What if I went too?" Amanda lowered her voice. "Dude. My dad feels really guilty about not being here. I bet I could get him to take us to Europe."

Jaci fell silent, trying not to let the worm of excitement in her chest grow too much. Could it work? "But your dad's not gonna let me wander off by myself."

Amanda raised her eyebrows. "Leave the details to me."

It was hard to keep quiet, but Jaci didn't want to ruin Amanda's scheming by spilling the beans too quickly. So she didn't mention Switzerland to her mom or Seth that evening.

Not telling Ricky was even harder. She didn't know how he would react, and she wasn't even sure it would work out. So she decided not to say anything.

Skipping school for one more day, Jaci drove Ricky to the airport early the next morning. Seth had offered to drive him since he was leaving for Montana around the same time, but Jaci declined. She wanted to spend a few moments alone with Ricky before he was gone again.

They didn't say much in the car. Jaci told herself to get over her irrational anger and stop wasting the precious minutes she had left, but she couldn't help resenting Ricky for leaving her. For placing his sister before her.

The thought left her feeling rotten and selfish.

Ricky tried a few times to start up a conversation, but he gave up in the face of Jaci's one-worded answers. She let him take her hand, though, and she fought hard to keep her emotions under control.

She waited behind the line while Ricky checked in. He returned to her, cocking one eyebrow, his expression wary.

"Well," he said, patting his palm with his sister's phone—he'd "borrowed" it from her when he stayed behind to help Jaci—"thanks for the ride."

Jaci wrapped her arms around her torso and hugged herself, a hole of loneliness opening up inside her. She'd spent two years without him next to her, and she didn't want to experience that again.

He shuffled his feet and glanced around as if not quite sure what to say. "You know this isn't forever, right? I mean, it's not even for long. I'll come back and see you at least once a month."

Jaci swallowed hard to keep the tears from rising. It did no good. She felt the burn in her eyes, the emotion threatening to overspill.

He sighed and gathered her up in his arms, and the torrent broke loose.