Hunted Read Online Free Page B

a fortune.”
    “ I want you to be at that meeting tomorrow. You might convince Mark to join us.”
    “ I’ll do my best. Right, what now?” she said, all eagerness. That meeting with Mark had done her the power of good, put her back in the right frame of mind and she felt much calmer.
    “ Now I want to have a talk with you,” said Mikey, green eyes sharp.
    Jules felt the jitters start to return so she took a sip of coffee to disguise her nerves. “What about?”
    “ The Parker’s house. You still own it.”
    “ Yeah, so?” she said, trying to sound carefree and failing.
    “ Why, if it’s so full of bad memories?”
    “ Because the market’s on its arse, thanks to this retarded government. I’ll sell when it picks up again.”
    “ That makes sense but my problem is you’ve had the house for years. Why didn’t you sell sooner, before the market went tits up?”
    “ It needing doing up after the fire.”
    “ You had fourteen years to do that.”
    “ There was a lot to do.”
    Mikey ’s eyes narrowed. “What are you hiding in there?”
    “ Nothing,” she replied a bit too quickly, her left knee starting to jiggle.
    “ What happened to Leighton Parker?”
    “ I am not discussing him.”
    “ Jules…”
    “ No,” she snapped savagely, jabbing a finger in his face. “I appreciate what you’ve done for me but since I’ve been back in Manchester I’ve jumped through hoops for you. I’ve moved house, started seeing a psychiatrist, even disposed of three of my friends,” she said, dropping her voice to a vicious hiss so no one could hear. “When will it be enough?”
    “ When I can be sure you’re not keeping anything from me and you are.”
    “ Why shouldn’t I have my secrets? I bet you have yours and Leighton Parker’s fuck all to do with you.”
    “ Interesting.”
    “ What is?” she barked.
    “ That you use the present tense and not the past when talking about Leighton.”
    “ You’re bloody delusional,” she said, getting up and storming out.
    He hurried after her. “Jules, hold on.”
    She sighed and halted by his car, the annoyance in her grey eyes making her look so much like Ryan it unsettled him.
    “I’m sorry, okay?” he said. “What you went through at the hands of the Parkers was so traumatic. We’ve only just met and I’ve no right to keep hassling you about it. But I do hope that one day you’ll trust me enough to tell me.”
    Jules gave a non-committal shrug, wrapping her arms around herself, the jitters returning.
    “Get in,” he sighed, indicating the car.
    She threw herself into the passenger seat and slammed the door shut.
    “Steady,” he said. “This motor’s new.”
    A glower was her response.
    “I want to open a tattoo parlour,” she suddenly blurted out as he started the engine.
    “Where did that come from?”
    “It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while. Now things are settling down it seems the right time,” she replied, careful to keep her eyes straight ahead, refusing to look at him.
    “Fine by me. It’s a good idea, something to focus your attention on. Will you be doing the tattoos?”
    “Yeah.”
    “Do you know how?”
    “Course I do,” she sniffed. “You know the tiger on Jax’s back? That was me.”
    “Then you’re very talented.”
    “I’ll be giving discount for family members,” she said with a small smile.
    He was encouraged by her light-hearted tone. Maybe she was forgiving him for prying. “I don’t know if a tattoo’s really me.”
    “I’d say it was. You’d look great with a nice tribal band round one of your muscular arms. Sorry,” she added when he shot her a disapproving look. “Only playing.”
    “What have we said about inappropriate remarks?”
    “Can’t I have any fun now?”
    “Not when you’re working. Have you found any premises for your studio?”
    “I have actually. Right next door to your boxing gym.”
    He sighed inwardly. “You mean the hairdressers that shut down?”
    “Yeah.