Read Online Poison by Leanne Davis - Free Book Online Page A

presence. Sarah was a minor nuisance when compared to the danger she’d dealt with when she and Tim had been alone. She needed to be grateful for the safe, lovely house, John and Luke’s protection, and even the unexpected warm friend in Luke. Those were the things that mattered. Not her petty jealously of Sarah.
    It was only as Sarah grabbed an apple and started munching on it that she turned and looked at Cassie. “Hey Cassie, I’m sorry we were gossiping about you last night.”
    Cassie stifled a groan. Why here? Why now? With two of the most gorgeous men she’d ever come across both pausing from their different tasks; John reaching for a bowl, Luke opening the paper. Suddenly, they looked at Cassie. Cassie paused, and then set her cereal bowl down on the table with a sharp rattle. Even the air was suddenly tense. All eyes were her way. She took a breath and relaxed her shoulders.
    “What? Sorry that I caught you?” Damn. She had meant to say a gracious, don’t worry about it. Just two nights ago she’d promised John she’d stay out of his way and not comment on his life, and now here she was taking it up with his girlfriend.
    Sarah quit chewing her apple mid-bite, her eyebrows wrinkled in surprise. Then she set the apple behind her.
    “Okay you’re probably right. I’m sorry you heard it. I was just, you know, stating—”
    “The obvious? You think I’m old, well you seem like a little girl to me. And you know what? What little girls think of me doesn’t really bother me anymore.”
    Sarah’s mouth dropped open. Why wasn’t her strive for gracious happening? The tension cut the room. John and Luke’s heads swung back and forth between her and Sarah.
    Cassie picked up her bowl and went to the sink. When she turned back she put a strained smile on her face. It took all of her effort to pull off. “Besides Sarah you were right. I am a cleaning woman. That’s what I do for a living.”
    That brought Luke and Sarah’s eyes up to her.
    “You’re kidding?” Sarah asked.
    Cassie caught the tone. “No I’m not. I own my own cleaning business. Tim and I live alone. So you know what Sarah, all that you did was compliment me.”
    Cassie spun around and marched out of the kitchen without meeting Luke, John or Sarah’s eyes. Where had this come from? Cassie wasn’t sure; other than there was something about Sarah that brought her hackles up. Something she hadn’t experienced in a long time. But she had to stop picking petty fights with Sarah, because one of these times John was going to use it as a reason to kick her out.
    ****
    Marcus slumped down in the seat of the black sedan he had recently acquired. Kelly came out her front door, her ass swaying in the tight jeans as she headed to her car. He’d been watching her for days. Not a sign of Cassie. Maybe he’d have a little face to face with the bitch, get her to tell him where Cassie was…
    No. He couldn’t draw attention to himself just yet. Getting his ass tossed back in prison before he found his wife would suck big time.
    He put the car into drive, keeping a safe distance from Kelly’s little white convertible. His thoughts drifted to when he’d first set his sights on Cassie. He started by bumping into her around the office. Eventually, he started talking to her, treating her with reserved kindness and politeness. He “accidentally” ran into her in one of the bars she frequented. He innocently offered to buy her a drink, making sure to keep any sexual pretense out of it. She only started to warm toward him when he explained he wasn’t drinking because he was a recovering alcoholic. That had initiated her interest in him. She asked him about it, and he crafted a story he suspected paralleled her own.
    He formally asked her out for a date, making sure to seem the utmost gentlemen. She accepted. They had gone out several times before she opened up about her drinking. And he used that to form a relationship with her and show her how she