Read Online His Stolen Bride (Chicago Sons) by Barbara Dunlop - Free Book Online Page B

have to do any of this.”
    He shrugged. “I fix problems. You have a problem.”
    “You don’t even know me.”
    He felt like he did know her, at least a little bit. And what he knew he admired. “I don’t have to know you to help you.”
    “Most people don’t think like that.”
    “Lucky for you, you ran into me.”
    Her brows rose in skepticism. “Ran into you?”
    “I see an exit.” He didn’t want to get into any of the details of his investigation. He sure didn’t want her asking again about who’d sent him.
    She watched out the side window. “Looks like a shopping mall down there.”
    “That’ll do. You want to go in and try things on or just tell me your size?”
    She looked down at the billow of her skirt. “I’ll wait in the car, if you don’t mind.”
    “Worried you might attract attention?”
    “The last thing I need is for someone to snap a picture and post it to social media.”
    He nodded in approval. He was relieved she understood she was being chased by the Gerhards. “Good call. I can see you going viral in that outfit.”
    She heaved a deep sigh, her cleavage catching his attention so that he nearly swerved off the exit ramp.
    “I was supposed to be on a yacht today,” she said. “Bobbing around the Mediterranean, sipping chardonnay, reading a celebrity magazine and working on my tan.”
    Mentally, Jackson added that she would have been under Gerhard’s control, at the mercy of his family. His suspicions were pinging in earnest. Gerhard wasn’t a worried groom. He was a thwarted con artist.
    If everything Trent said was true, the Gerhards were organized and ruthless, and they sure wouldn’t want to lose track of Crista. She’d been gone for twenty-four hours. There was every chance Daddy Gerhard had people on her apartment by now. They might even be watching her credit cards and bank account.
    Jackson was definitely looking into the diamond mine, its size and location, its ownership, and how it could possibly have made it onto Gerhard’s radar.
    * * *
    Crista was going to pay Jackson back for everything just as soon as she had access to her bank account.
    For now, explaining that he was invoking his regular precautions, he’d put her up at the Fountain Lake Family Hotel, leaving his own credit card information with the front desk to cover her expenses. The place was full of boisterous vacationers, and it seemed like an easy place for her to blend in with the crowd. Her room was spacious, with a king-size bed, comfy sitting area, a small kitchenette and a furnished balcony overlooking the pool and a minigolf course.
    She’d tried right away to call Ellie, her best friend and maid of honor, but she only got through to voice mail. It seemed far too complicated to leave a message, so she’d decided to try again later. Instead, she liberated a soft drink from the minibar and wandered onto the balcony.
    The temperature was in the high eighties, but a breeze was blowing across the lake, cooling the air. She was on the third floor, so it was easy to make out the activity below, kids splashing in the pool, teenagers lounging on striped towels. There was a young couple in one of the gazebos. He was slathering suntan lotion on her bare back, playfully untying her bathing suit top.
    The woman batted awkwardly at his hand to get him to stop. When he kissed the back of her neck and looped his arms around her, Crista quickly looked away. They were probably on their honeymoon.
    She eased onto a rattan lounger, wishing she had a bathing suit herself. She wondered if Jackson’s credit card was connected to the hotel shops as well as the restaurants. It would definitely be nice to take a swim, and since her three jewelry stores, Cristal Creations, were doing very well, it would be a simple matter to pay back every dime.
    Afterward, she’d order something from the room service menu. She’d get a bottle of wine. Maybe gaze at the moon and the stars out here and get some perspective on life.