Read Online Deadly Charade by Virna Depaul - Free Book Online Page A

when they bothered him. But of course what would initially start as a therapeutic massage had almost always transformed into something sensual before too long. When images of their past lovemaking flashed in his head, his hand instinctively moved to cup her neck and pull her down toward him. But before he could, she pulled away.
    He forced himself not to reach for her again.
    She’d been right to reject him. He was in jail for killing a man! And hadn’t he just been wishing for the oblivion the drugs could bring him?
    Once an addict, always an addict.
    He was a high-maintenance mess. Far more work than caring for a dog ever would be and she’d already voiced her preferences for cats because even a dog would require too much of her.
    “You ever get a cat?” he asked, surprising both of them.
    She blinked, then laughed. “What?”
    “You used to want one. When we were together. I was just wondering....”
    Her expression closed up. “No. After what happened with Guapo’s men, I had a lot of physical therapy to do. And then catching up with work...well.” She shrugged. “I don’t have a lot of free time to give a pet.”
    He stared at her, imagining her participating in hours of painful physical therapy because of him. “Do you still do physical therapy?”
    “Occasionally. When something’s bothering me. Mostly...mostly my right knee. One of Guapo’s men broke it,” she said.
    He closed his eyes in horror. “God, Linda. I wouldn’t blame you for wishing me dead. A whole lot of lives would be better off if I wasn’t around. Everyone knows that.”
    “Not everyone. Not me. And Mattie would never say that. Not in a million years.”
    He didn’t argue with her. She was right, after all. His sister had stuck by him and though she’d tried to talk him out of coming back to Sacramento, in the end she’d continued to stick by him. If he needed her—correction, if he asked for help from her—she’d be by his side in a second. And that’s why he couldn’t ask for her help.
    “Mattie left me a letter telling me about WITSEC.” When he said nothing, she gave an exasperated sign. “I know you can’t tell me where they are. Or maybe you don’t even know. But she was my best friend. Do you know if they’re okay?”
    He shifted to sit up, and a wave of pain hit him with the strength of one of California’s northern coastal waves. Again he could barely stop himself from asking for drugs. From begging Linda to get them for him. But he forced himself to take several deep breaths until the urge passed. Still, she frowned as her gaze swept over him, as if she was trying to assess what part of his body was troubling him the most.
    This wasn’t good. The fact that she’d told him about her knee injury and had even asked about Mattie was reminding him all too well of how easy it had always been to talk to her. He’d revealed things to her that he’d never told anyone else, some things that he’d been deeply ashamed of. And he’d always felt safe doing so. Until she’d left him.
    “Small talk, Linda?” he said finally, knowing he’d get a rise out of her. Knowing she’d be diverted enough to at least not ask about his level of pain.
    “So you won’t even tell me Mattie and Jordan are safe?”
    “The answer is, I don’t know. Where they are or how they are.” Only half of that statement was a lie. He didn’t know where they were, but he had no doubt they were safe. Dominic Jeffries, Mattie’s husband, would make sure of that.
    For months, they’d all been in WITSEC together—Dom, Tony, Mattie, and Jordan. But one of the conditions of him returning to Sacramento was that Dom move them again. And not tell Tony where they went. Just in case. “And it has to stay that way.”
    “Even though Guapo’s dead now?”
    God, he wished it wasn’t so. “Guapo has plenty of men who are willing to do his dirty work for him. That’s going to be especially true now that his drug business is up for