Read Online Cliffhanger (The Belinda & Bennett Mysteries, Book One) by Amy Saunders - Free Book Online Page A

Bronze year-round like Kyle with milk chocolate
brown hair that had the slightest bit of curl at the ends. And blue eyes. But
not light blue like most people. They were dark like indigo. She wondered what
he would look like now. Where he would be. Who he would be with...
    The stack slipped
from her grasp, all one-hundred photos splaying out onto the wood floor.
Belinda panicked, trying to corral them with her palms when she caught glimpses
of herself in a couple of the photos. Then she noticed she was in several of
them. Looking closer, she realized she was in almost every single photograph,
except the first few.
    Her heart raced.
There were photos at different times of the day in different locations on different
days with one common denominator: Mark. Mark was with her in every photo.
    Then Victoria whistled.
    It was the signal
they'd used years ago when doing things they shouldn't have been doing. Belinda
frantically gathered the photos, sticking two down her waistband. She stuffed
the envelope back where she found it and slammed the dresser shut, flying out
of the room and down the stairs and back out the side window, hastily setting
the screen back in place.
    Belinda ran
straight for the edge of the property toward the Ocean Walk. She turned
sideways to sidle between two tall bushes that acted as a fence, getting
entangled in the branches and finally pushing and pulling herself free on the
other side and hopped down. Belinda spun around, not sure which way to go and
headed to her left. She could walk to the next street entrance and circle back
around.
    She speed-walked
in that direction, hoping Victoria had not driven home since Belinda didn't
even have a cell phone with her. She almost tripped going down some stone steps
and at the end, standing under one of the low-lying arches, was Bennett Tate.
    "You!"
she blurted out. "What are you doing here?" She had hoped to sound
casual, but failed from the startled look in his eyes.
    Bennett surveyed
her, either confused or annoyed by her appearance. He got up close, his lips
pulled tight and eyes hard, and reached his hand toward her. Belinda held her
breath and tilted back. He plucked a leaf from her hair and brought it up near
his eyes, twirling it. Belinda's eyes went wide, envisioning what she must look
like after fighting with the bush. Her hands automatically went to her head,
feeling for the damage. Of course, what could be worse than the paint smudge on
her nose?
    "Been in the
woods?" he said.
    Belinda laughed
rather unintentionally, stopped herself, and tried to answer rationally.
"My hair must have gotten caught in one of the overhanging bushes. You
know, along some of the walls that kind of stick out." Bennett's
expression didn't let on whether he believed her. "Are you out for a
walk?"
    Bennett tucked
the leaf into his palm but stayed a mere breath away. He looked pretty much the
way he had the day before, except he'd skipped shaving, which, naturally, only
made him hotter. Meantime, she looked like Bush Woman. "I'm thinking,"
he said. "But I like to walk when I do that."
    "Thinking
about what?"
    Bennett's gray
eyes held that little spark in the back. She might have missed it, but he was
standing so close. "I was thinking about your unfortunate friend." He
aimed the leaf in the direction of the cliffs jutting out beyond the ones they
stood on.
    "He was
unfortunate," Belinda said, regaining some calmness. She licked her lips,
rough on her tongue, and dropped her eyes. "I...I have to go. My friend is
waiting for me." She tucked hair behind her ears that blocked her vision
and stepped to the side to walk around Bennett who blocked her path. She
squeezed her back to the stone to pass him. "It was nice meeting you
again!" She jogged toward the street entrance, praying he didn't follow
her.
    Thankfully, Victoria was on her wavelength and waited for her in the turnaround by one of the Walk's
entrances. Victoria looked horrified as Belinda crashed in the passenger's
seat.