Read Online Thirty-Four and a Half Predicaments Bonus Chapters: Rose Gardner Mystery by Denise Grover Swank - Free Book Online Page A
Authors: Denise Grover Swank
Ads: Link
name tied to her?”
“ I know that, goddammit! ” I took a deep breath. “This isn’t the first time I’ve posted bail! Use my Texarkana corporation to arrange it. No one knows it’s me. But let me make this clear—” I made sure my voice was harsh. “She’s not to spend a damn minute longer in jail than necessary, is that understood?”
“Perfectly.” He knew there was more to the story, but he also knew better than to ask. “You know she’s a sitting duck in there . . . the girlfriend of the guy who put some of them behind bars.”
Fuck. I hadn’t let my imagination go that far. My stomach cramped. “Get your ass to the courthouse and get her out tonight.”
“I suspect she’s stuck there until Monday. I can’t see Judge Berger holding an arraignment over the weekend. But I’ll let them know I’m her attorney and petition for her to be placed in solitary confinement for her own safety.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
“I’ll let you know when I have news.”
After ending the call, I turned back to look at Neely Kate. “Hale’s takin’ her case. But she’s not safe in there. He’s working to get her out ASAP.”
Fear filled her eyes, followed closely by resolve. “I’m paying a trip to Carter Hale myself. I want him to know that he’s gonna answer to me personally if anything happens to her.”
I nodded. “Don’t be breathin’ a word to anyone I arranged this. Especially not the bail. I know she doesn’t have any money. She wouldn’t take any from me when I offered, and God knows, she wouldn’t accept this either. But she can’t stay in there.”
“Okay.” She swallowed, her anger all burned up and replaced with fear. The fear had changed, though—she was afraid for Rose now, not afraid of me. “Thank you.”
I gave her a brisk nod and Jed walked her out the door.
When he returned about five minutes later, he found me pulling money out of a safe I had hidden in the floor.
“Where the hell are you goin’?” Jed asked.
I grabbed a bag out of the cabinet behind me and put my stash inside it. “I’m not stayin’ here like a sitting duck. I’m goin’ to take the bastard down myself.”
“What bastard?”
I grabbed my gun out of my desk drawer and slid back the chamber. “J.R. Simmons.”
“Skeeter.”
I added the gun to the stash and slung the bag over my shoulder. “You want to know where I was for six years? I wasn’t in Memphis like I told everyone. I was J.R. Simmons’ lackey. I was learning at the foot of the master until he sent me back here to build my empire, but I never escaped his clutches. When I used to leave for days at a time and put you in charge, I was working for him. But five years ago he asked me to do something so heinous, I refused to consider it. I quit. I was stupid enough to think he’d let me go, but he’s been plotting and planning all this time. Now he’s ready to unveil his scheme. But Rose is caught in her own web with J.R. Simmons and it has nothing to do with me.”
“You think the older Simmons framed you for the murders and the younger one is helping him do it?”
“I wouldn’t put it past either of them, but here’s what I know: The sheriff’s department is comin’ for me. I wouldn’t be surprised if they pulled into the parking lot any minute. Because J.R. Simmons plays the long game, and he plans to make me bleed until there’s not one drop of blood left. He’ll destroy everything and everyone I care about and I guaran-damn-tee you you’re on his list too. So go hide out at our safe house and wait for me to contact you.”
I grabbed my coat off the hook on the wall and headed for the back door.
“Skeeter!”
I looked back to face him.
His uninjured hand was clenched at his side and his eyes were hard. “This here is our county and our turf. We’re not going to let someone steal what we rightfully earned.”
I gave him a grin. “Damn straight we’re not. We’ve built our business
“ I know that, goddammit! ” I took a deep breath. “This isn’t the first time I’ve posted bail! Use my Texarkana corporation to arrange it. No one knows it’s me. But let me make this clear—” I made sure my voice was harsh. “She’s not to spend a damn minute longer in jail than necessary, is that understood?”
“Perfectly.” He knew there was more to the story, but he also knew better than to ask. “You know she’s a sitting duck in there . . . the girlfriend of the guy who put some of them behind bars.”
Fuck. I hadn’t let my imagination go that far. My stomach cramped. “Get your ass to the courthouse and get her out tonight.”
“I suspect she’s stuck there until Monday. I can’t see Judge Berger holding an arraignment over the weekend. But I’ll let them know I’m her attorney and petition for her to be placed in solitary confinement for her own safety.”
I breathed a sigh of relief. “Thank you.”
“I’ll let you know when I have news.”
After ending the call, I turned back to look at Neely Kate. “Hale’s takin’ her case. But she’s not safe in there. He’s working to get her out ASAP.”
Fear filled her eyes, followed closely by resolve. “I’m paying a trip to Carter Hale myself. I want him to know that he’s gonna answer to me personally if anything happens to her.”
I nodded. “Don’t be breathin’ a word to anyone I arranged this. Especially not the bail. I know she doesn’t have any money. She wouldn’t take any from me when I offered, and God knows, she wouldn’t accept this either. But she can’t stay in there.”
“Okay.” She swallowed, her anger all burned up and replaced with fear. The fear had changed, though—she was afraid for Rose now, not afraid of me. “Thank you.”
I gave her a brisk nod and Jed walked her out the door.
When he returned about five minutes later, he found me pulling money out of a safe I had hidden in the floor.
“Where the hell are you goin’?” Jed asked.
I grabbed a bag out of the cabinet behind me and put my stash inside it. “I’m not stayin’ here like a sitting duck. I’m goin’ to take the bastard down myself.”
“What bastard?”
I grabbed my gun out of my desk drawer and slid back the chamber. “J.R. Simmons.”
“Skeeter.”
I added the gun to the stash and slung the bag over my shoulder. “You want to know where I was for six years? I wasn’t in Memphis like I told everyone. I was J.R. Simmons’ lackey. I was learning at the foot of the master until he sent me back here to build my empire, but I never escaped his clutches. When I used to leave for days at a time and put you in charge, I was working for him. But five years ago he asked me to do something so heinous, I refused to consider it. I quit. I was stupid enough to think he’d let me go, but he’s been plotting and planning all this time. Now he’s ready to unveil his scheme. But Rose is caught in her own web with J.R. Simmons and it has nothing to do with me.”
“You think the older Simmons framed you for the murders and the younger one is helping him do it?”
“I wouldn’t put it past either of them, but here’s what I know: The sheriff’s department is comin’ for me. I wouldn’t be surprised if they pulled into the parking lot any minute. Because J.R. Simmons plays the long game, and he plans to make me bleed until there’s not one drop of blood left. He’ll destroy everything and everyone I care about and I guaran-damn-tee you you’re on his list too. So go hide out at our safe house and wait for me to contact you.”
I grabbed my coat off the hook on the wall and headed for the back door.
“Skeeter!”
I looked back to face him.
His uninjured hand was clenched at his side and his eyes were hard. “This here is our county and our turf. We’re not going to let someone steal what we rightfully earned.”
I gave him a grin. “Damn straight we’re not. We’ve built our business
Similar Books
