The Fate Of A Marlowe Girl (The Marlowe Girls) Read Online Free PDF Page B

threw some currency at the man. “What was that for?” I asked once we were back in the car.
    “Cell rent.”
    “Cell rent?”
    He chuckled. “Here, you pay for your jail cell.”
    “That's horrible. You can't make money because you're locked up. How are you supposed to pay?” What I really wondered was what they did to you if you didn’t pay.
    Luke shrugged. “It's not that bad. In the U.S. you have lots of petty crime, because if you're cold in New York in the winter or hot in Texas in the summer, it's better to be well fed with color TV in jail than out on the streets.”
    He had a point, but I didn't want to concede to that, because my sister was locked up in some cell she’d paid for.
    “So, what's the deal?”
    “She pays twenty-five hundred U.S. dollars cash and gets out on Monday or she pays sixty-five hundred and gets out today. Either way, restitution must be made to the hotel, but you already knew that.”
    “If the hotel hasn't charged my card yet, I might be able to make the twenty-five hundred dollars.”
    “But what's going to happen when they do?”
    I sighed. “I wish I hadn't been such an idiot and left my bag the re. If I had my other card...”
“Tiffany, call your dad. It's not your responsibility to pay for this.”
    Luke kept driving while I called home. My dad was irate, but not at me. Only at Kammy. He agreed to send me the money, but he wanted me to stay till Monday and take the cheaper bail. This would wreck my world. I had a huge meeting on Monday that I couldn't miss, and I was already behind at work for coming to this stupid party to begin with. But he made a valid point. By the time the arraignment had ended and I’d called home, there was no way to wire money until Monday.
    I had so much debt now, thanks to my baby sister. Even if she said she'd pay me back, she wouldn't. If she wanted to, she couldn't. She'd never had a job longer than a month in her life, and when she got money, she spent it on acrylic nails. I could have recovered from all the expenses, but I had a crucial meeting on Monday. Everyone expected me to land a big account, and if I wasn't there for the meeting, I didn't want to think about what would happen.
    I beat myself in the head with Luke's phone for a few minutes after hanging up.
    “Everything okay?”
    “I'm stuck here until Monday.”
    “I'm sorry. Is Cancun really that bad?”
    Laughter mixed with a moan escaped my throat. “I don't know. I haven't seen much of Cancun, but on Monday I have a meeting I really can't afford to miss, and there is no way I'm going to get there.”
    “Wait until insanely late Sunday night or sometime Monday morning and call your office. Say your plane got delayed and you won't be back until the next day.”
    “I can't do that.”
    “Well, if you're going to miss a mandatory meeting, I don't see what option you have.”
    “Doesn't that sound lame?”
    “Planes get delayed all the time. Everyone knows that.”
    “What if they check it?”
    “Unless you give them your flight info, they have to assume it to be true.”
    I slumped against my seat. “I guess I have to then.”
    I gazed out the window and realized we were outside of the city now.
    “Where are we going?”
    “Oh, to my grandparents' farm. I'm picking up some clothes for you from my cousin.”
    “So, I'm hanging out with you for another day?”
    “Unless you wanna sleep on the beach.”
    “Thank you.”
    “Don't mention it.” He paused for a moment. “You're welcome to stay until you leave.”
    “I hate to impose.”
    “I've enjoyed the company.”
    Me too. So, I got an extra day with the hot guy from the bar, but it was still going to end way too soon.
    We traveled through lush green fields down a dirt road, and the vegetation got thicker and thicker. Luke stopped his car in a narrow portion of the road where the plants stood as tall as the car.
    “What is that?”
    “Sugar cane.”
    A girl leaped out of the stalks and slammed her hand