Read Online In Her Secret Fantasy by Marie Treanor - Free Book Online

Chrissy’s words seemed to throw a blanket of confusion over him, reminding him of old customs and civilities, the old life that had been Aidan Grieve’s. But he wasn’t that kid anymore, he was a cop, righting wrongs he no longer understood. Chrissy wasn’t the bad guy here. Hell, even Brody had committed no obvious crime since getting out. And yet here Aidan was, pursuing them, threatening, the bad guy… “Fuck off.”
    Somehow, he found himself on the attic stairs, and halted. Glenn Brody sat on a step near the top, not looking at him, but still, Aidan was sure, aware of his position and every movement.
    “Chrissy told you to fuck off,” Brody said with deceptive casualness.
    “Behold me—er—fucking off.” Brody must have been out here, listening, waiting to see if he needed to intervene. Shame surged up from Aidan’s toes. The girl was brave, but she’d suffered too much already. He’d known that in his heart from their first encounter.
    “What’d you do?” Brody asked.
    Aidan stirred. “I asked too many questions about you.”
    “Aye, that’d do it.” Brody turned his head and glanced up at him. “You should ask me. If you’ve got any more.”
    Aidan swallowed, grabbing back what he could of himself, still thinking as he was trained to.
    “I have, as it happens. My sister told me about your fishing trip plans, with your guests staying at the B & B. What sort of guests would they be?”
    “Whoever pays. I won’t vet them.” To Aidan’s surprise, Brody indicated the step beside him. “On the other hand, I still know names to avoid. I won’t be welcoming known criminals. It’s not a cover-up for gangland conventions of my old pals.”
    Aidan stepped down and lowered himself to sit beside Brody. “Thanks for your honesty.”
    “You’re looking out for your family. That’s fair enough in anyone’s book.” Brody’s hard eyes scanned his face. “Still, you’ve got me flummoxed. I can spot the polis pretty much infallibly within a hundred yards. Most people like me can. But I never clocked you.”
    Aidan’s lips twisted. “Maybe I wasn’t a very good polis.”
    “Maybe. But I doubt that.” Brody glanced down at his hands which were hanging loosely between his knees. Big, scarred hands that had done some damage in their time and still could. Brody didn’t look as if the sight of them pleased him much. “You know what happened to Chrissy.”
    Aidan thought about lying in order to learn more. What Brody thought had happened, what Chrissy had told him. But all his instincts, wherever they came from, urged the truth at this point. He nodded.
    Brody said, “We don’t crowd her. We don’t loom or threaten or play arm-wrestling with her.”
    Aidan gazed at the scarred, averted face and wasn’t even surprised. He couldn’t pretend to know who were the good guys and who the bad. But it seemed he still knew the good things .
    When Brody turned to meet his gaze, Aidan let his lips quirk. “Looking after your family?”
    Brody nodded once.
    “She’s in no danger from me,” Aidan said quietly. “She never was.”
    Brody stood as if he’d got what he’d come for and had no more reason to hang around. “Aye, well, it’s easy to piss Chrissy off. I should know.”
    “How do you get round her again?” Aidan asked, standing with him.
    “No idea. Either she forgives me, or she realizes she was wrong. So far. Good luck.” Brody nodded and clattered off down the rest of the stairs.
    A whistle brought the dog hurtling from the flat and down the stairs. Aidan followed more slowly. “Good luck,” Brody had said. It had almost sounded as though he’d meant it.
    Aidan didn’t come back for his coffee. Chrissy didn’t know whether to be relieved or disappointed. Either way, when Louise left, she was still too wound up to go back to work. So she grabbed her coat from her room and decided to walk down to the beach and look for seals. And if there weren’t any, she was sure she’d felt