Summer Of My Secret Angel Read Online Free Page A

her, you idiots. She’s only a kid.”
Quinn elbowed his way through to me. “Are you all right,
kiddo?”
    The pain in my chest and back eased. I could
finally draw in air. “Wow, what a fight.” It didn’t feel like
anything was seriously injured or broken, so I pressed my lips
together and gave Quinn a halfhearted nod. “I’m fine.”
    I had to be. No weakness. Ever.
    He wrapped his fingers around my upper arms,
pulling me to a wobbly stand. “In God’s name, Jona,” he whispered.
“I beg you, behave.”
    A deep growl preceded my answer. “As you
wish, sir .” What other choice did I have with the cuffs
on?
    From the corner of my eye, I caught a
glimpse of my mother’s companion. The fair-haired god studied me
with narrowed eyes. Trying to figure me out ? That
made me very uncomfortable.
    With a gentle tug, Quinn led me up to Abe’s
desk. I turned my head to hold the blond stranger’s stare for
another moment. His arm was wrapped in a supporting way around my
mother’s shoulders. A god in his early twenties with
Charlene? Where in the world would a bony bitch like her find a
lover so close to my age—and that gorgeous to boot?
    “Jona Montiniere!”
    The murmurs in the room ebbed with Abe’s
thundering. My head snapped toward him. Nerves steeling for what
was to follow, I quickly rebuilt my mental wall of protection.
    He had risen from his chair and braced
himself on the desk, glaring at me over the rims of his spectacles.
“This time, you stepped over the line. Contempt of court.
Assaulting an officer.”
    “What? They assaulted me first!” My shout
echoed in the room, no less angry than his. “Riley here should be
sued for child abuse.”
    “Enough!” Abe roared. “Shut your mouth and
sit down.”
    “Sit down?” My dramatic glance behind me was
enough to point out there was nothing but the floor to sit on.
    Abe rubbed his temples. “For heaven’s sake,
someone fetch a chair for the girl.”
    One of the guards hurried to shove a chair
into the back of my knees, and I plopped down on the uncomfortable
wooden seat. Quinn stood beside me, arms folded over his chest like
the bouncer of a night club. Ooh, my personal pit bull . This
eased at least some of my fear. I could lift my chin again. The
move always ignited the pig-rude manners I’d gleaned from
Debby.
    The judge calmed himself with a few heavy
breaths and sat down, too. His black robe with its puffy sleeves
made him look more like a watchful owl than a person of authority.
When he lowered his gaze to the papers in front of him, I took the
chance to poke Quinn’s thigh with my elbow.
    “What?” he hissed.
    Hands lifted, I displayed the torturing
shackles and grinned sweetly. “Remove these?”
    Quinn cut a glance to the exit then studied
me for a second, his brows furrowing into a line. “I don’t think
so.”
    Huh ? And I thought he was my
friend. My you-evil-bastard scowl only coaxed out his grin,
and he tousled my hair.
    When Judge Abe cleared his throat, all eyes
returned to him. “Miss Montiniere, I’ve followed your criminal
progress for nearly a year now. As I was informed, you will be
released from the Westminster Children’s Home in less than seven
weeks.” He pulled his glasses off his nose and placed them
carefully on the stack of papers. “This gives rise to serious
concern. With a criminal past like yours, I don’t doubt for a
second that you’ll be out on a robbing tour of London as soon as
you turn eighteen.”
    Criminal past? Hello ? “I only
nick from the rich to give it to the poor.” In this particular
case, the poor was me. “Shouldn’t a person in your position
exercise his office without prejudice?” I had hardly spoken the
words when Quinn’s fingers dug painfully into my shoulder.
    The judge let my statement go by unnoticed.
He only drew a deep, slow breath. “To prevent the worst, I should
let you stay under house arrest in the orphanage and delay an
official accusation for your latest theft