Read Online Dirty Secret: A Bad Boy Romance (Bluefield Bad Boys Book 3) by Tess Oliver - Free Book Online

maybe, when it seemed anxiety and a major case of stage fright might keep him from cashing in on that golden ticket.
    Rex’s deep voice followed a knock on the door. “Lennie, food is here.” He poked his head inside and laughed when he saw me draped in a quilt. “It’s eighty degrees outside, and you look as if you’re hibernating from a winter storm.”
    “I wanted to avoid any lecture about sitting in front of a window where the rest of the world might see me and assume I’m just up here having a good time instead of singing on stage.”
    “Come on, Len, Rush is just trying to keep a lid on the problem. Anyhow, tacos and burritos, a California dinner tradition, are right downstairs.”
    “I’m not hungry.”
    “More for us.” He shut the door, and his big feet thundered down the stairs.
    I got up and dropped the quilt back onto the bed. I wandered around the room. The pale blue walls and pink quilt seemed to indicate that it was where a girl normally slept. I walked to the closet and opened the door. Everything was neat and tidy. There was even a box marked winter gear. I wondered how often it got used in a place that seemed to have perpetual summer.
    I felt a bit intrusive but just bored enough to open the box. A pink beanie and a red scarf sat atop a pile of ski sweaters. I picked up the beanie and twirled it on my finger for a moment before a terribly wicked and fun plan struck me.
    I ran to my suitcase and pulled on a pair of jeans and shoes. I shoved my red hair up beneath the beanie and pulled it low over my brow. I tossed the scarf around my neck. It was slightly comical in the heat, but I could pull it up easily to hide my face, if necessary.
    I looked absolutely dorky as I stared at myself in the vanity mirror. It was perfect. The next part of my plan meant slipping past the guys. I had tacos and burritos on my side though. The music was cranking downstairs too. Everything was in place for my escape plan. 
    I hurried down the stairs. The dining room was around the corner, past a big family room. It was one of those modern, open concept houses that let you see right through from one end to the other. Rex and Brick were leaned over the table stuffing their faces. Axel was sitting next to them, and even though he had the hearing of a rabbit with bionic ears, he was in his food zone and when Axel was in his eating trance, the world could crumble around him and he wouldn’t notice. Duff and Graham were faced the direction of the stairs. I peeked around the corner until the right opportunity presented itself. They were so focused on feeding their faces, I was fairly certain a giant, winged lizard could’ve crept through the family room, and they wouldn’t have paid it any attention.
    I hopped off the stairs and circled around to the front door. There were two beach cruisers in the screened in porch off the back of the house. The path along the front of the houses would be mostly empty, especially at night. I walked along the brick path to the back of the house. Succulents had been planted as a barrier between the yard and the hillside and stairs leading down to the sand. There were far less lights than I’d expected along the path, but the moon coming up was just big enough to give it a little extra illumination.
    I reached the back porch. Music and deep voices, halted intermittently by chewing and drinking, assured me that my escape had been successful. Chances were, they’d all be so full with burritos and beer after dinner, that no one would give me a second thought. I’d be back in an hour, long before anyone noticed me missing.
    My escape plan had been detailed, but the follow-up adventure wasn’t quite so organized. I had no real idea where I was going. I just needed that feeling of being free for an hour. Freedom was something I hadn’t experienced in a long time, and I missed it. Even if I’d had way too much freedom, being completely on my own by the time I was sixteen, it was still that