Page 69 of Vanishing Legacy
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The woman standing near the bar looked like a complete stranger. Almost everything about her had changed. Everything except her eyes. Cash would know those eyes anywhere.
The sunlight bathed her pale skin in the yellow-orange glow of the afternoon. She stood with her hip cocked. The hem of her short green dress flowing in the slight breeze. Long delicate fingers snaked around a champagne flute filled with amber liquid. Her thin frame was all sharp edges. A far cry from the curves he remembered.
Cash twisted his face into a scowl. The mere sight of her had his heart thrumming through the roof. After all she’d put him through over the years, she had the nerve to stand there with a tight smile on her face like they were friends.
Well, they weren’t friends. And now, he doubted they’d ever been.
She set her drink on the bar and lifted herself onto the padded deck stool, crossing her slim legs and smoothing the silky material of her dress down over her thighs. “Well, aren’t you going to kiss me hello?”
Cash gritted his teeth. “What do you want, Ziva?”
Ziva made a tsk, tsk, tsk noise and shook her head. “Now, now. Just because you divorced my sister doesn’t mean we can’t still be friends.”
“I didn’t divorce her. She divorced me.” He tapped his chest. “And where is she, Ziva? Where is Sonia?”
She ran a lazy finger around the rim of her glass. “At the bottom of the ocean, I suspect.”
Cash stormed toward her. “They found her car, you know.”
Ramón stepped in front of Cash, but Ziva waved him off. “It’s okay, Ramón. Cash here is a softy. He wouldn’t hurt a fly.”
“Don’t bet on that,” Cash said.
Ziva smiled.
“I don’t understand. Why did you bring me here? Why like this?” He held up his hands, gesturing to the yacht. “And why Penny? Is this about custody? I would’ve let you see her.”
“I doubt that.” She tossed back the remainder of her drink and stood. “Come. We’ll talk.”
With no other option, Cash followed Ziva up a narrow staircase to the deck above.
“Three years ago, I was diagnosed with Hodgkins lymphoma. After undergoing a grueling round of chemotherapy and radiation, I had a relapse. Do you know how rare that is?”
“I’m not an oncologist, but I think somewhere around thirty percent experience disease relapse.”
“That’s right. Seventy percent are usually cured after their treatment, but I relapsed.”
“I’m sorry, Ziva. Can you try autologous bone marrow rescue? It’s where they take your stem cells?—”
“I know what it is because I did it. They removed my stem cells from my blood, and after yet another horrible round of chemo, they returned my stem cells back into my body.”
They passed through what Cash assumed was the owner’s suite overlooking the pool. A massive bed was positioned in the center of the room beneath an enormous skylight. He imagined the effect was like sleeping under a blanket of stars.
Ziva continued to talk as they walked. “My only option now is ALLO. That’s where Penny comes in. We’ll need to take stem cells from her blood and infuse them into mine.”
Cash placed an arm on her elbow and stopped her. “Ziva.” He softened his tone. “If you needed a donor, you could’ve just asked.”
She laughed a soft laugh. “Oh, you’re cute.” She opened a door and gestured for Cash to enter.
He scanned the makeshift medical facility set up in the spacious cabin. The bright white lights overhead cast a sterile glow on everything in the room. He’d seen his fair share of oceanic trauma rooms and operating theaters, but this was something else. The cramped quarters were filled with all manner of medical equipment, from IV stands to surgical tools, arranged with precision on tables and trays. In the center of the room was a plush leather recliner surrounded by a cluster of IV stands.
Cash looked at Ziva. “You expect me to perform the procedure here?”
“It’s simple, darling. You collect healthy cells from my niece through the IV, then transfuse them to me through a central line.” She smirked. “You can place a central line, can’t you?”
“You can’t be serious. This…this won’t work. You don’t even know if Penny is a match.”