Cursed Read Online Free Page A

camera fixed to Kim’s face.
    â€œHappy, darling?” Sarcasm dripped from Lille’s mouth.
    Kim shrugged her small shoulders. Jordan had remained at the Box to handle the customers. Lille wondered if Kim was thinking about him.
    â€œMaybe I should film you and Jordan together for the show. I think the audience would like to see that as well.”
    Kim leaned around the side of her camera. “Your arms look fat in that dress,” she whispered succinctly, and went back to filming.
    Lille folded her arms over her chest and clamped her fingers on her biceps.
    Mary leaned over from the front seat. “Lille, they do not. Kim, quit it.”
    Lille dropped her hands. “Okay, I won’t mention Jordan again. God.”
    Kim continued filming. “I guess we’ll see what the audience thinks of your arms.”
    â€œBitch.”
    Jobman’s was fairly crowded when they arrived. There was a new waitress, a young black woman with skin so clear and dark it looked like a jewel, and Kyle was working with Max behind the bar. There was a Dolphins game playing on all the TVs, so the bar had both the regulars and the sports nuts inside. Lille didn’t watch football if she could help it, but even she wasn’t immune to the shouting and fist-pumping and general excitement of the men and women who’d come to watch.
    The three of them took a seat at a booth that Max had set aside for them. Kim had wandered off to film some of the action with a handful of releases for people to sign.
    â€œHi, I’m Keisha. Max says you guys are friends of his?” The waitress approached their table cheerfully enough, but she did a double take when she saw John’s scars. Lille looked at them automatically, but she didn’t notice them much anymore.
    â€œThat’s one word for it,” Lille muttered in an aside.
    â€œHey, Keisha.” Mary smiled at her. “That’s us. It’s nice to meet you. I’m Mary, and this is Lille and John.”
    â€œCool. What can I get you guys?
    John ordered a water, Mary a greyhound, and Lille a margarita.
    When Keisha left, Lille asked, “Do they make a decent margarita here? I forgot we were in an Irish pub.”
    Mary rolled her eyes. “I’m sure it will be fine.”
    Lille looked over her shoulder and saw Max watching her as he poured a Guinness; he looked pissed off, though he usually did around her. She thought maybe that was his default expression.
    â€œWho pissed in Max’s Cheerios?” Lille asked the others. “For a man who was supposedly worried about me, he seems awfully angry.”
    â€œThat’s one of John’s favorite expressions.” Mary grinned and bumped John with her shoulder. “She’s one of us now.”
    Lille rolled her eyes. “Seriously?”
    John nodded at Max. “He’s mad because he’s scared. Someone attacked you. Oh, and I told him you’re taking a date to the Halloween party.”
    â€œWhat else did you tell him?” Lille demanded, eyes narrowed.
    â€œNothing about your father, as promised,” John assured her, though a frown gathered on his forehead. “I think it’s a mistake, though. The more people watching out for you, the better.”
    Keisha came back with a tray and deposited their drinks. “Can I get you anything else? Something to eat?”
    â€œMaybe after this round,” John told her, and she took off. Her uniform—black jeans and the pub T-shirt—wouldn’t gather much attention. Lille thought about suggesting a more revealing costume, like the ones at Tilted Kilt or Twin Peaks, but the thought of half-naked girls parading around Max all day had her forehead creasing into a frown.
    â€œI can watch out for myself,” Lille muttered, but her stomach hurt. She hadn’t heard anything, not for weeks, but that didn’t mean there was no danger. As the idiot this afternoon proved, people could