Read Online Beneath the Silk by Wendy Rosnau - Free Book Online

works here.”
    “Did you and Joe ever date before he showed up at the police station claiming to be your alibi?”
    “No.”
    “So it was just business as usual until Milo was hit.”
    “Yes.”
    “At the restaurant you two didn’t look like strangers,” Jackson pointed out, still having a hard time forgetting what he’d seen.
    “He said the alibi story needed to appear real. Detective Williams has been very persistent.”
    “What about afterward?” Jackson tried to ignore what the question was doing to his insides.
    “Afterward?”
    “On the terrace last night.”
    “Joey spotted you. Not you specifically, but a shadow at the window across the alley. The kiss was just for looks to sell the alibi story to whoever was, at the window.”
    “But you knew who was at the window.”
    “Yes, but Joey didn’t.”
    “And you didn’t tell him.”
    “There really wasn’t time. And I didn’t know who you were. Who you worked for. Who to trust.”
    If that kiss had been faked, what was Sunni Blais capable of if she cared about the man she was tasting? The question had Jackson wincing as his imagination turned up the heat inside his already tight jeans.
    “Joey Masado is the reason I’m not in jail right now. I don’t know him very well, but I am grateful for the alibi.”
    “Just how grateful were you last night, Sis?” The question could squeak by as being a job-related inquiry, but Jackson’s motivation was fueled by something he wasn’t very proud of at the moment—a sudden possessiveness that made no sense at all.
    “Joey Masado didn’t slip out of my bed before dawn, if that’s what you’re asking. Was that why you were glued to your window last night? Were you actually working, Ace, or do you like to watch?”
    He’d always thought of himself as an action man. But lately, watching Sunni Blais had been nothing short of pure pleasure.
    “What, no explanation for window shopping at midnight?”
    Jackson blinked, irritated that she was picking at an already open sore. “There’s something else you need to know about me, Sis. I don’t explain or apologize for anything I do. Now, go put some clothes on before you get a chest cold. Breakfast will be ready in twenty minutes.”

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    Chapter 5
    « ^ »
    F or the past two years, Sunni had given herself a measured dose of insulin at exactly six-thirty, then eaten breakfast thirty minutes later. On her way to the closet, she glanced at the crystal clock on her nightstand, knowing exactly why she was feeling shaky and so anxious she could jump out of her skin—breakfast was late by an hour.
    “Routine is everything,” she whispered, then grabbed a silk suit from her closet and tossed it on the bed. “Stay calm,” she added, then mentally began to list why that wasn’t going to be possible.
    Besides, her stress level was on its way through the roof for reasons having nothing to do with breakfast. Her father had sent Ace to clean up her mess. Joey Masado knew she was a manipulative liar. And Detective Williams was convinced she’d killed Milo Tandi.
    Swearing that an evil genie had taken up residence in her house, Sunni stepped into her silver silk skirt, then shot her arms into a matching short-waisted suit jacket before realizing she’d forgotten her bra. “Damn!” Frustrated, she tugged open her drawer, pulled out the first bra she saw—a black lace push-up—and tossed it on, then the suit jacket once more.
    As if a tornado had taken control of her hands, she quickly brushed her hair, then tucked and twisted and pinned. When she turned to the mirror to make sure she’d hidden all the pins, her hair was forgotten as her eyes locked on her lip. “Oh, God! I look like Honey Harlot.” Her gaze fell to the open vee of her jacket and she cursed the bra she’d literally tossed on. Her breasts looked as if they matched her lower lip—swollen twice their normal size. Peeling off her jacket, she started over.
    Minutes later, in the hall, Sunni