Read Online Butterfly Palace by Colleen Coble - Free Book Online Page B

anytime.”
    “It’s complicated, Lily. I don’t want to be overheard.” He rose and tossed some money onto the table, then held out his hand. “Come along to a more private place.”
    Eyeing his open palm, she considered his request. Tea could wait. She put her hand in his, and the touch of his skin against her palm tightened her chest. He still had the power to affect her like no other man. Gathering up her gloves, she went with him.
    He led her down the street toward a small park. Children played on the other side of the grassy lawn, but no one was close enough to hear them as they settled on a bench under a tree. The branches screened them from any passersby. The sweet scent of flowers perfumed the air.
    She arranged her skirts and listened to the birds chirp overhead. The scent of fresh-cut grass mingled with the roses rambling up a fence nearby. “Well?”
    He sank beside her, close enough that his shoulder brushed hers. “I’m with the Secret Service.”
    “What? Why, when? You never told me.” She studied his serious expression. His statement seemed ridiculous.
    “You remember when I stalked off after the fire?”
    She nodded, her throat tight. It was an image she still carried with her. “I never saw you again. Not until last week.”
    “I crawled into a barn to sleep. I didn’t want to see you or anyone else. A man found me there. He told me our fathers had been killed because they’d discovered a counterfeiting ring.”
    The bench was hard under her thighs but not as hard as the lump in her throat. “The fire was deliberately set? I always wondered how it raged out of control so fast.” She couldn’t bear to think about the horrific night, so she concentrated on the birds chirping and the scent of freshly mown grass.
    He nodded. “I agreed to become a Secret Service agent to bring the killer to justice. I had to do something about the guilt eating me alive.”
    Though she flinched from it, she thought back to that night. “There was a stack of money on the desk. Was it counterfeit?”
    His eyes widened. “You never mentioned that.”
    “You disappeared. I couldn’t tell you anything. Go on with the story.”
    “My superior told me there was a counterfeiting ring operating in the house next to yours. The Ballards.”
    She gasped. “That’s ridiculous. Mr. Ballard was the nicest man. We were all crazy about him.”
    Drew’s dark brown eyes were steady and resolute. “I believe that nice man killed our fathers.”
    Something squeezed in her chest, and she shook her head. “Where’s the proof of that?”
    “I saw stacks of money in his barn. That’s where I was holed up when my boss offered me a job. I asked my boss to arrest them and he refused. The Secret Service wanted to get the entire gang. I was told to leave town, and they would send in another operative.”
    She struggled to reconcile what she knew with what he was saying. “Why didn’t you tell me? I would have gone with you if you’d asked.” Her heart had never recovered from his betrayal. She’dnever been able to fully trust another man after he left without a word.
    “I’m in a dangerous line of work. I couldn’t keep you safe.” His gaze dropped away. “And I didn’t deserve you. Not after my actions killed our fathers.” His lips flattened, and he looked off toward the children. “Ballard killed my father. I’ll have revenge if it’s the last thing I do.”

    Lammes Candies was filled with deliciously sweet smells when Belle opened the door and motioned her aunt inside. “Aunt Camille, you must taste their gem. It’s icy and fruity, much better than ice cream.” They passed a display of newspapers. The headlines held the lurid details of the last murder.
    Men and women glanced their way from the long bar on the right. Candies of every type filled the glass display cases on the left. The women stepped to the wooden bar beside two policemen, and Belle ordered strawberry gems for both of them. Her aunt signed