Deborah Brown - Madison Westin 06 - Revenge in Paradise Read Online Free

the truth when needed and then there are those times I make up stories out of whole cloth.”
    He put his lips to my ear and chuckled. “Do you agree to the rules? A simple, ‘Yes, sir,’ will do.”
    “What if I’m naughty and forget?”
    “I’ll check with Didier and get back to you. I forgot to ask that part.”
    “No more man-bonding for the two of you.” I flicked water on him.
    The two of them enjoyed exhausting sports. They ran sprints on the beach, challenged each other to see who could do the most push-ups on the sand, and went for grueling bike rides that took them up and down the Keys.
    He tipped my head, cradling my face in both hands, and bent his face toward mine, seeking my lips and brushing them slightly. “I thought about you all day,” he whispered. His mouth fell upon mine, pressing me with a bruising kiss.
    “Thank you for announcing to the family that we’re together. I would’ve waited until we were caught naked. My favorite part was when you sealed it with that look daring them to say anything.” I lifted his hand to my lips, kissing his fingers.
    “Who’s going to be the one to tell them there was no wedding in South Carolina, that we ran off and spent very little time out of bed?”
    “No one’s going to ask except maybe Mother and I’ll change the subject.”
    “You’re all mine now,” he whispered.
    “Yes, I am.”

 
     
     
Chapter 3
     
     
    Trying to enter unnoticed, I turned the knob to the front door slowly, peering around the corner into the kitchen.
    “No one’s here but me,” Fab said, filling her coffee pot with water to drink her early morning cup of mud. The bag said “coffee,” but I wasn’t convinced. “Brad drove your mother home last night. Her car disappeared a few hours later so I assume Spoon must’ve had it picked up and delivered to her.”
    Spoon owned an auto body shop down in the seedy section of the docks. This family didn’t have car problems; he picked them up, left a courtesy car, and delivered washed, waxed, and noise-free running vehicles when they were returned. He made it very clear that he’d prefer us to get rides home at night and made sure our cars were waiting in the driveway the next morning.
    “You in trouble with Didier?” I asked.
    Fab looked ready for work in her halter-top and white mid-thigh shorts, showing off her long legs. She reeked of sexiness. Her signature Walther lay in front of her on the counter.
    “His initial anger pretty much evaporated when I launched into an excruciatingly detailed explanation instead of weaseling. He told me he was proud of me for being upfront. Then I jumped in his arms and sniffled about how happy I was that he came back early.”
    “What’s your version of what happened? Hit the highlights and don’t gloss over the unflattering details like you usually do.”
    She pressed her lips together but not before an exasperated sigh escaped. “I caught your mother, which is probably not an accurate description since she sat at the bar and made calls to set up her game, oblivious to anyone listening. It sounded like fun at first, so I offered to be security. I had second thoughts the night before, but telling your mother she should rethink her bad idea is a waste of breath. The game barely got under way when out of nowhere the shit hit the fan. I texted your mother. You know the rest.”
    “Thank goodness there wasn’t any cash lying around.”
    “She had that angle covered.” Fab gave me a wary smile. “Set it up as a pre buy-in, the money held by that CPA of yours. Once they finished, they’d cash out. In retrospect, we shouldn’t have tried to hide anything and let the cops investigate. The game didn’t have the appearance of anything illegal. But the doctor, lawyer, and CPA didn’t want their names linked in a headline with gambling. So they hit the secret door at the first sound of trouble.”
    The microwave dinged and I took out the hot water and mixed myself a cup of coffee.