Aftermath (Dividing Line #6) Read Online Free Page B

Unbelievable. Maguires just keep popping up, don’t they?”
    “They do,” she sighed. “What are we going to do?”
    “I don’t know yet and I certainly can’t think in this position, it’s too distracting.”
    “I’m sure someone walked past us and heard everything.”
    “Then they would have got a thrill,” he said, sitting up and fastening his trousers, crooking his head so he wouldn’t bang it on the roof. He smiled down at her. “Damn we’re good.”
    “I know,” she smiled dreamily, shrugging down her skirt. “You ripped my blouse.”
    “Sorry sweetheart, I’ll get you another one out the back.”
    “You need to do it fast or we’ll miss our flight.”
    They’d decided to stop by Estelle’s and catch a plane from East Midlands Airport for Mikey and Amber’s wedding in a Scottish castle in Aberdeenshire. They’d intended to bring the kids along too but Rachel’s parents had kicked up such a fuss they’d given in and left them with them just to keep the peace. They didn’t want them anywhere near the Maguires again. Her dad hadn’t even wanted her and Ryan to go but Mikey was like her little brother and she was damned if she was going to miss his wedding day. Rick had seemed doubtful but she’d managed to convince him she wouldn’t be kidnapped again. He’d retorted that anything could happen when Maguires were about.
    Her mum and Leah still didn’t know what had really happened during those lost days when they’d fought against Alex Maguire. She’d explained away the scar on her throat as the result of an operation she’d had due to an injury she’d sustained in the fire that had burnt their home to the ground, a fire that had been started by Alex. He was dead at Ryan’s hand, his remains secretly buried in Frank’s grave. His absence had naturally been noted in Manchester and, after the police had found his severed hand in an alley, they’d wasted no time launching an inquest and the coroner had been very pleased to declare him dead at the insistence of senior police officers who’d investigated his disappearance. No one mourned his loss.
    Her mum and daughter had accepted her explanation about her scar, although occasionally she did catch Leah staring at it, attempting to puzzle out what had really happened. Rachel swore she would never know that Alex had slit her throat.
    She took the black lace choker she used to hide the scar out of her handbag and replaced it around her neck. Looking at it no longer filled her with horror, she’d just accepted it was a part of her now. To her it represented what she’d endured and was a constant reminder that those you loved and trusted most could easily turn on you. She’d never fully trust anyone again except her husband. The scar was also very useful as an intimidation tactic. People saw it and she knew they were thinking this woman survived having her throat cut, so what else was she capable of? It just added to the hard bitch image and she used it to her advantage.
    “Will this do?” said Ryan, climbing back into the driver’s seat clutching a white blouse.
    “Fine. Close the door, you’re letting in a draught.”
    He handed her the blouse and shut the door.
    “Anybody outside?” she said, readjusting her seat to its original position.
    “No, all clear.”
    Hastily she sat up, removed the ripped shirt and pulled on the fresh one, Ryan watching with a smile.
    “What are you grinning at?” she said.
    “Just thinking of the eyeful anyone driving past will get.”
    “Thanks to you and your excess of testosterone. That was one of my favourite tops.”
    “Worth it though.”
    He leaned across to kiss her, undoing the buttons she’d just fastened up.
    “Will you please stop it, we’ve got a plane to catch,” she smiled, half-heartedly batting his hands away.
    A knock on the passenger window made them both freeze, Rachel tilting herself towards Ryan and frantically fastening up the rest of the buttons. “Oh shit, who’s