Read Online Snow Blind-J Collins 4 by Lori G. Armstrong - Free Book Online Page A

story behind why he gave it to you?”
    I squirmed because I didn’t know.
    A few weeks ago, a white box with a big blue satin bow had shown up on the coffee table in my living room. No card. I’d opened the package to find the gorgeous necklace nestled in midnight velvet. Later, Martinez called to ask if I liked my birthday present.
    That’d been the extent of it. I reacted as coolly as he had, because I’d never had a man give me jewelry. Afterward I suspected Martinez had as much experience giving it as I had receiving it so I’d been leery of asking questions.
    “Julie?”
    “It was a birthday gift from my boyfriend.”
    “My late husband was romantic to the core. You’d never know it by looking at him, a big, rough, dirty Wyoming oil rigger.” Her blue eyes were soft, her smile wistful. “He’s been gone ten years and I miss that sweet, gruff man every damn day.”
    I didn’t do well with tears. “The librarian and the roughneck? Sounds like the makings of a fine romance novel, Reva.”
    A sly wink. “More like an erotic romance novel.”
    I lifted my teacup. “Here’s to men who are a little rough around the edges and the edgy, rough sex.”
    “Amen.” She chinked her cup against mine.
    “Thanks for the tea party. Next time, maybe we should toast with something stronger. Like this.” I set 71

    the bottle of Jack Daniels next to the cookies. “Thanks for your help. Don’t drink it all before I come back, okay?”
    Reva’s mouth opened and closed. Tears shimmered in her eyes.
    Ah, hell, I hadn’t meant to fluster her. Dammit.
    Apparently I sucked at the gift-giving thing as much as my sweetie pie did. “Consider it a bribe. I’ll be around to pick your brain some more.”
    “You’re really planning to come back?”
    I said, “Yes,” and meant it.
    She watched me closely as I wrapped up in my winter gear. “Be careful out there, Miss PI.”
    “I will. You be good. And if you can’t, have fun being bad, spy girl.”
    Guilt made me search out Luella before I escaped.
    As I neared the employee break room, I heard male laughter.
    “You’re a fuckin’ pussy, Damon, blowing chunks in the hallway.”
    “Yeah? Well, it was fuckin’ gross. Seeing that fat gut-eater in a pile of his own shit and piss. Smelled like bad Indian tacos in there.”
    “So? I wouldna puked.”
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    “Bullshit. You think you’re so fuckin’ tough, Ricky.”
    “No, I’da been happy to find spooky fucker dead.
    He freaked me out.”
    “Why? Think he’d do some Indian voodoo shit to you? Make you wear feathers in your hair? Do the Sun Dance and pierce your man titties? Force you to call him chief and smoke the peace pipe?”
    “Fuck you. I ain’t afraid of no fuckin’ red-skinned hoop. Weirdo never looked me in the eye. Just mumbled and shuffled his moccasins if I asked him something. Always stunk like booze and that stupid incense shit he burned in his room, too. I’m just fuckin’
    glad he’s gone to the happy hunting grounds.”
    They both laughed. “Another one bites the dust.”
    A slap of hands in a high five. “Maybe we’ll get someone in there now who isn’t a fat fuckin’ welfare case and they’ll tip us for all the shit we do.”
    I made myself visible in the doorway. I hoped I looked as pissed off as I felt. “Good acoustics in the hallway. Which means I just heard every disrespect-ful, stupid, racist piece of garbage that fell out of your big, stupid mouths.”
    Surprise, followed by defiant looks.
    “What in the hell is the matter with you two? It’s not enough a man is dead? You have to rip him and his heritage to shreds? In public? Why? To make yourselves look like big men rather than whiny-assed babies?”
    “Who the fuck are you?”
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    “Someone who will go out of her way to make sure your boss knows every inappropriate word you’ve spewed and how unprofessional you’ve acted.”
    Another round of laughter. “Right. Like anyone cares what we said about another dead