Read Online Sweeter Than Sin by Shiloh Walker - Free Book Online Page B

stain.
    He’d discounted all of it. Every damn thing, because Lana had asked him.
    And now there was a body. A body … and worse. His gut told him there was more going on than just that body. Blue, Caleb. All of it connected to that house. That knowledge had festered inside Adam ever since he’d learned about Caleb and his connection to the Frampton place.
    What if she wasn’t out there somewhere? What if she hadn’t been out there, trying to help David?
    Could it be her?
    What if somebody had forced her to lie to Adam on the phone, to mislead him, and he’d just let his one chance to help her slide by him?
    Memories of that smile haunted him, that taunting, unintentionally seductive smile—even back then, she’d been like that. She’d just been a kid and maybe only three years had separated them, but it felt like a lifetime. He’d wanted to put his hands on her then, his mouth … but he’d waited. Because she was so much younger, and then he’d waited too long.
    Now she was gone.
    What if, instead of being off someplace doing God knows what for the past twenty years, she’d actually been dead ?
    A sob tried to rip its way out of Adam and he fought it down.
    But that smile—
    Memories of it teased him. Taunted him … that crazy-sexy smile, with its top-heavy upper lip and the way her eyes had that wicked glint.
    He could call her smile from the back of his memory with practiced ease and all he had to do was just think of her.
    And he did just that.
    But when he closed his eyes and pulled her face to mind, he saw another one.
    Dark hair, framing a thinner, narrower face. A pair of dark, sleek glasses perched on an upturned nose and grey eyes that he’d hadn’t seen without eye shadow and mascara … at least not since she’d figured out how to put it on.
    “Fuck,” he whispered, staggering a few steps while his mind whirled and stumbled, merging to the images.
    A huge, towering oak was there, and if he hadn’t flung out a hand, he just might have fallen, face-first, down the short embankment, straight into the water.
    *   *   *
    She saw him running.
    Lana didn’t know if she should stay where she was or just grab her stuff and hope for the best, sneak away once he was out of sight.
    If he’d just gone on the other way, she wouldn’t have worried about it, but then he came to a stop at the river and stood there, first bent over like he had to catch his breath.
    Then, slowly straightened and she’d thought he’d leave.
    She couldn’t see him from this far away, but she had a bad feeling she knew who it was.
    He’d sent her too many measuring looks while she’d been in the bar and now—
    Abruptly everything about him changed and she caught her breath as he took off running, yet again.
    But this time, he was running right toward her .
    Oh, fuck.
    He couldn’t see her, could he?
    She didn’t have a fire.
    She’d found a strange sort of shelter, a pretty little gazebo that had tugged at something deep inside, and the flowers planted around it had pulled at her heart. Knockout roses, baby’s breath and daisies bloomed in a chaotic rush of color, making her think of the flowers she’d planted around her dad’s house. She hadn’t had a lot of money to do it, but those flowers had been cheap and easy to maintain, so that was what she’d gone with.
    Now, hidden by the panels of the gazebo, breathing in the air perfumed by the roses, she stared at the sleek form as he pounded the pavement. Barely daring to breathe, she waited.
    He’d go by.
    Right?
    He’d go by and she’d have to make sure she stayed out of his way while she figured out the next step. The pain in her head increased as he barreled past her, not even looking her way.
    She couldn’t even explain why she did it.
    Rising to her feet, the sleeping bag puddled around her, she crossed her arms over her chest and said his name.
    “Hello, Adam.”
    He was twenty, thirty feet away and moving—
    He stumbled to a stop and swung