Hidden Kiss (Love Is The Law 2) Read Online Free Page A

and insistent buzzing as
someone in the entrance lobby of her apartment block leant on her intercom.
    What the hell? Instinct took over, propelling her to
her feet. The heating hadn't clicked on yet and the wooden floor was chilly.
She dragged a robe around her shoulders and ran through to the hallway.
    "Hello?" If it were kids messing around, she'd go
down there and rip their heads off.
    "Ms Carrera?"
    "Yes. Who is this?"
    "Ms Emily Carrera, my name is Shaun. You are the owner
of the blue Smart car?" The voice was light and efficient, a Liverpool
accent. He read off a registration number - her registration number.
    "Yes, that's mine." She began to understand what
was happening, and she felt sick. She leaned against the wall, grateful now for
the cold air in the flat that was waking her up. She knew what it was about,
but she pretended not to, as if that would make it all right.
    "Do you have the money to settle the loan?" the
chipper Scouser continued.
    "What loan?"
    "You know what loan, Ms Carrera." He let a bored
tone slip into his voice. They must both be following a script, she realised;
the same old script everyone would stumble through when the log-book loans
company came for their possessions. The man downstairs knew exactly what she
was going to say.
    Damn.
    "Shit. Okay. Yes. Um, do I need to come down?"
    "We could do with your keys, love. Yes, please. Quick
as you can."
    "Okay. Won't be long." She placed the receiver
back in the cradle and squeezed her eyes shut, but no tears came. She was too
stunned to cry or even move, for a moment.
    She'd needed the money to pay the rent and she had been so
sure that a big commission was just around the corner. So she hadn't bothered
going to the bank to arrange an overdraft. With her credit history she wasn't
sure she'd get one, and she hoped, one day, to buy a house. The more overdrafts
and loans she had, she was sure, would reflect badly on her.
    So she'd used a high-street shop, instead. The sort that
offered loans of cash in exchange for the registration documents on your
vehicle. Don't pay, and they came for your car.
    The beeping resumed. There was nothing she could do about
it. She didn't have the money to pay them off; the rate would be ridiculous by
now anyway. The big commissions had never come, of course. She knew she hadn't
really tried, and so she had no one to blame. Dully, she went back to the
bedroom and pulled on a pair of baggy jogging bottoms over her pyjamas, and
wrapped a thick winter coat around her upper body.
    There was no time to do her hair or wash her face. She
untied her ponytail, scraping her fingers through her locks as she took the
stairs down to the ground floor.
    Oh great, and there's a fucking audience . She had no
idea what all these people were doing at this time in the morning, but like
rubber-neckers on the motorway, suddenly the car park was full. Dog walkers,
joggers, people just randomly passing to buy their papers or milk. Perhaps
there was a breed of voyeurs who followed repossession vehicles and bailiffs,
hoping for a free drama show.
    There was a large orange recovery truck backed up in the car
park, lights flashing to really advertise its presence, and her beloved car was
being attached to the tow ropes. She held her head high and ignored all the
onlookers as she walked over to the two men in high-visibility vests.
    "Keys," she said flatly.
    "Cheers, love. Makes it a lot easier." A tall man,
the one with the Liverpool accent,  took her keys and flashed her a friendly
smile. He threw them over to the man who was kneeling at the front of her car,
who smartly caught them without even standing up.
    "Got a few bits for you to sign, if you will," the
Scouser continued.
    "What the hell am I signing?" she muttered,
following him to the recovery vehicle's cab. They both knew it was a weak and
pointless protest, and he didn't answer. He passed her the clipboard and she
barely even skimmed the wall of text that she was given.
    "There." She