Summer Of My Secret Angel Read Online Free

her pale, bony face.
In short, she looked like she’d been through hell.
    Good, I hoped the bitch had suffered just as
much as I had. She could crawl back into whatever rat hole she’d
emerged from. And she’d better not even think about saying anything
to me. She’d lost that right when I was five.
    My hatred-filled glare silenced her. One of
her shaky hands rose slowly, as if she wanted to touch me from the
eight-foot distance that stretched between us.
    “Drop dead, Charlene,” I growled.
    “Jona Montiniere, I insist on you behaving
in an appropriate manner, so we can continue this hearing,” Abe
Smith roared. “I understand your mistrust against your mother, but
once you listen to the reasons, you might change your mind.”
    No way in hell.
    The alarm signal in my head was flashing
bright red. Another minute in the same room with my mother would
have been an eternity too long. I spun around to face the old man
behind his monstrous desk and gave him a mocking military salute.
“Goodbye, Abe. I’m outta here.”
    The roar to call me to order was futile.
Consequences? Not my concern. I strode toward the door, my only
goal fresh air and a good deal of distance between me and that
bitch.
    People shouted my name, some addressing me
as Miss Montiniere, some using only my first name as if we were
friends.
    “Kiddo, don’t be ridiculous. Stay where you
are!” I heard Quinn call out.
    Not happening.
    His desperation wouldn’t stop me from
leaving. But a set of chunky arms around my waist could. Riley was
the first to capture me. The delight of victory shone in his eyes
as he pressed my back against the wall. “You’re not going anywhere,
little miss, apart from jail.”
    Don’t panic. Hysteria never got me
anywhere, and there was a very real place I needed to get right
now. Out of here.
    Fists clenched, my nails bit into my palms.
“Take your bloody paws off me!”
    The high-pitched squeak Riley gave nearly
shattered my eardrums when I bit into the hand he’d clasped on my
left shoulder. The donut residue I could taste on it made my
stomach roll.
    He jerked his arm back. “Damn brat, you’re
gonna pay for this!”
    Over his shoulder, I spotted both Quinn and
Riley’s partner rushing toward me, but the stumbling Riley bounced
into Quinn, and my only friend at the police station staggered
sideways. He caught his balance by grabbing Miss Mulligan’s arm.
The warden squealed something hysterical and slapped his hands
away.
    With all the confusion in the room, I saw my
chance of escape. However, my freedom was short lived. The moment I
started for the exit, Riley’s tall partner caught my wrist and
swung me around. The momentum tossed me against the edge of a
small, dark brown desk in the back corner of the room.
    In self-defense, I leaned back on the desk
and pulled my legs to my chest as the policeman came for me. My
hard kick hit his chest, and the soles of my boots popped a wheeze
out of the cop. The deputy careened backward, doubled over. When he
caught his breath, he cursed in a tongue that would have made Debby
Westwood, the uncrowned queen of swearing, go green with envy.
    I shoved away from the desk, but my chance
of flight was gone as the door flung open and two guards stormed
in. Whether it was Riley’s screams, Miss Mulligan’s screeches, or a
secret button under Abe’s desk that alerted the guards, I never
knew. But they had my shoulders pinned to the floor before my next
breath. All air escaped from my lungs. A flash of pain soared
through my upper body.
    “No!” two men in the room shouted at once.
One of them was Quinn. His voice was edged with sheer horror. In
that moment, I was grateful he didn’t just abandon me like so many
others had.
    Who the other worried guy was, I couldn’t
tell.
    One guard pulled handcuffs from his belt. He
fastened them around my wrists in front of me. Neither my kicking
nor shrieking could prevent the awful click when the locks snapped
into place.
    “Get off