Read Online THIEF: Part 2 by Kimberly Malone - Free Book Online Page A

“Yeah,” I say, guardedly.  “How’d you know?”
                  “Didn’t,” he smirks.  “Figured I’d ask before I went up to your apartment, though.  Here.”  He passes me two pieces of paper.  “Got a couple summons for you.”
                  “Summons?”
                  “Yep,” he says.  It bugs me how casual he is about this, like he just handed me a spa brochure.  “You know, for court.”
                  “I know what it means,” I snap.  “Why are there two?”
                  He shrugs, tips his baseball cap at me, and turns.  “I’m just the messenger,” he calls out.  The door hisses shut behind him.
                  “Hey, beautiful,” Silas yawns when I return, stretching against the sofa like a cat.  His hair is still matted from sleep.  “What’s that?”
                  “Summons,” I answer quietly, opening the second one.
                  He cringes.  “Fox Ridge sure didn’t waste any time on that, did they?”
                  “No,” I tell him, shaking my head.  “That’s this one.”
                  “What?  You got two?” he asks.  He takes the first one, the one I opened in the stairwell and read twice.  “Then what’s this—”   He stops short.  “Oh, my God.  Is this serious?”
                  I lean against the door and nod.  “Gordon’s suing me.”
     
     
     

Chapter Eight
     
     
                  “Fortunately, Erin, we’ve got the edge in both of these cases.”  Kyle’s confidence seems genuine, but only relaxes me a little.  He must sense this, too, because he starts directing all his strategy at Silas, who seems equally sure I’ll win both cases.
                  “No one has anything on you, babe,” he said last night, as I sipped a rum and Coke.  My no-alcohol resolution shattered with Gordon’s summons, and I was thankful Silas didn’t make a big deal out of it.  By the time we’d finally heard back from Kyle and scheduled a meeting, I’d put away at least four drinks to calm my nerves.
                  “Sure,” I’d muttered, but as the drinks took effect, I started to catch his cavalier attitude.  I knew I was innocent; surely, the courts would see it, too.  And as for Gordon, I didn’t care if I had to pay him for the now-donated car or not.  I could even face him in court, if I had to—even if the thought of a courtroom with Gordon, under different circumstances, had once terrified me.
                  “I’m sorry I bought alcohol,” I slurred into Silas’s shoulder, as he helped me to bed.  “It was stupid.  I didn’t need it.”  Stumbling out of my clothes, I watched him light some candles on the bureau.  He smiled and looked at me in the mirror.
                  “Don’t apologize, Erin,” he said, turning down the bed.  “I told you, I don’t mind if you drink.  You don’t get blackout wasted every night, like I used to, and besides—you’ve had the official shittiest summer ever.  Unwinding with a few drinks is totally justified, in your case.”
                  “Well…thanks.”  I smiled a little, shivering and naked, suddenly dizzy as he peeled off his shirt.  We’d fooled around quite a bit the last few weeks, but hadn’t had a romantic night since my mom died.  Now, in the candlelight, I stared at his muscles and smooth, tan skin, the slightly crooked smile I already knew better than my own, and wanted nothing more than to forget every piece of this summer, except him.  Except this, the weight of his body against mine, pulling me into the bed and down to a world where nothing else mattered.
                  “I love you,” he whispered, tucking my hair behind my ear.  “Everything’s going to be okay.”
                  “I