The Lives Between Us Read Free Page A

from her face. “I’m not having any luck.”
    “It’s okay, Skye—”
    “No, it’s not okay.” Skye scowled. She’d never failed at anything important before. Failing Niki made her furious, but it was the helplessness that ate at her soul.
    “What’re we going to do? The two largest organizations of stem cells in the world, the ICBS and the NMDP, don’t have a match for Niki. More than ten and a half million chances and not one match. What are the odds of that?” She’d done so much research on stem cells, she now spoke in acronyms instead of words.
    “Skye—”
    “I’ve contacted over fifty stem cell companies worldwide, but I’m coming up empty.”
    “I know—”
    “There are tons of cord blood storage companies where a person can store her child’s cord blood and placental stem cells, but hardly any of them catalogue donated stem cells,” she said with frustration.
    “We knew it was a long shot. If the doctors couldn’t find any, with all their resources, it was unlikely you’d find a match. But we love you for trying.”
    “The real kicker, that pisses me off more than anything is every blessed time I search stem cells, Senator Hastings’s name comes up—and he’s definitely not a fan.” She paused, then whispered, “I failed Nik.”
    “You didn’t fail.”
    “I did.” She rubbed her aching forehead. “I couldn’t find any matching stem cells. All I found was ridiculous politicians and righteous religious fanatics getting in the way of progress. What does it matter to him where the stem cells come from?”
    “Him who?”
    “Hastings. You know, our famous Michigan Senator they’re saying is the next JFK.”
    “I like Hastings.”
    “Well, you shouldn’t. He’s done more to block the progress of stem cell research and therapy than any other person. What the hell does he know? He’s led a charmed life. The closest he’s probably come to a medical emergency is having a plantar wart—or a hang nail.”
    “You don’t know that.”
    “What’re we going to do?” Her voice lowered and wobbled. “We can’t just let her die.”
    It’d been years since Skye turned to her big sister for help. When Dad died, newly wed Faith and Peter took Skye in and got her through those difficult teenage years. Even when she was at her obnoxious worst, Faith had known what to do—but this was different.
    “We’re not going to let her die.” Faith’s reassurance was calmly delivered, yet there was something in her voice.
    Skye frowned, perking up. “What do you mean?”
    “We’re taking care of it.”
    The hairs on the back of her neck stood up and Skye straightened in her seat. “What? How?”
    “You don’t want to know.”
    “Yes, I do.”
    “Well, I’m not going to tell you. Just trust—”
    “Geeze, Faith. You’re not doing anything illegal, are you? No scratch that, I’m in. Whatever it is, I’m in.”
    “You’re already helping. Tempting Niki to eat, entertaining her, and keeping her spirits up— it’s all very important. But you’ve got to trust me. Niki just needs to hang on a few more months and everything will be fine.”

 
     
     
Chapter 2
     
     
    Six months later
     
    Skye hated technology in general, computers in particular. Like animals that harassed people who feared them, she was convinced computers could smell her ignorance and capitalized on it.
    She wanted to pick up the notebook computer and slam it into the floor but feared that instead of shattering into a million satisfying pieces, it would only taunt her with its structural fortitude. It still wouldn’t cough up the info instructing her on which magic commands she should use to get the printer to clean its print heads so that she could print out her copy before she missed deadline.
    Skye propped her chin on her hands and scowled at the monitor, wondering what to try next. Why had she taken Drama instead of Computers 101 her freshman year?
    “Skye, I need to talk to you.”
    Skye looked up as