Almost Innocent Read Online Free

I’d never understand. Ron made enough to give her a life that didn’t include living in a trailer park and working retail. Yet that wasn’t what he did with his money. Instead, he was probably blowing it on women who wouldn’t spread their legs for a guy like him unless they were being paid and snorting the rest.
    Stupid son of a bitch. I had to start vetting people who came to me better. They were going to have to take an aptitude test, not to see what job they’d be best at but to make sure they had even the most basic level of common sense. Not only was this moron dumb enough to waste every dime I’d paid him, Ron had made the ultimate unwise decision by taking off with a payment from a buyer.
    A high-six-figure payment that he was supposed to bring right to me.
    Maybe if I’d thought he was making a power play or if he’d been skimming a little off the top of every sale, creating a nice bankroll in an offshore account so he and his family could live out their lives peacefully, I’d have a little respect for him. But no. The fucking weasel stole my cash on a whim, leaving his woman vulnerable and broke.
    If I hadn’t already planned on killing him, I would be now. You don’t leave your family unprotected. Ever. Especially if you’re going to do something fuck-all stupid. In my world, you get your family out first, or they’re the ones who suffer. Everyone knows that.
    The selfish dick had left his girl, knowing what I would do. Knowing who he was fucking over. I might even drag out his death, make it messy, just to send a message to those who had forgotten what I was capable of.
    When I’d gone into the store and asked for Ron’s girl by name, the woman at the desk eyed me cautiously, swallowed, then used her radio to find out exactly where the girlfriend was. She gave me the aisle number and turned away.
    My boots squeaked as I headed down her aisle, and the young woman with matted black hair glanced up, offered me a small polite smile, then looked back at what she was doing. It took all of two seconds for the recognition to hit, and she did a double take, the fear on her face clear as she tried to back away. The guys were behind her, though, so she didn’t get far. She’d started to shake before I could even tell her why I was there.
    I didn’t have many standards, but hurting innocent women was not something I enjoyed. That had been my brother’s thing. When push came to shove, I would do what I had to do, though. I gave the guys the nod then walked away as Mark carried her out back.
    I didn’t need to know how they got Ron’s location out of her, and with my temper, it was better that I didn’t know. All it would take was one of them to get on my nerves, and before I could stop it, I’d start picturing all the sadistic shit they’d done. Then I’d have to bury another one of my men.
    Instead, I’d walked up front to use the john. And right into Gabby.
    Gabriella fuckin’ Forte.
    That was a blast from the past I hadn’t expected. She’d been shocked to see me as if she hadn’t even thought of me in years. But I was used to seeing her. Her picture had hung next to my bunk, the first thing I saw every morning and the last thing I looked at each night.
    Hell, I’d seen her a million times since the day I got out. Of course, none of those women were actually Gabby, but my eyes refused to stop fucking with my mind. She never left me.
    She looked good. Shit, the adult version was more beautiful than the teenager ever had been. Her bleached-blond strands had been replaced by dark-blond curls. Her body and face had filled out, showing she was all woman now. Glasses replaced her contacts, pushed high on her thin nose, giving her a worldly and wise look but hiding the eyes I had spent hours trying to turn my way.
    Yeah, Gabby was still gorgeous. It was subtle though, not the kind of beauty that called attention to her. She gave off a vibe that told men like me that she was too fucking good for us.