Killing Bliss by EC Sheedy Read Free Book Online

Her lungs tightened, the air in them suddenly iced and heavy. She stood still as stone.
    "Meow..."
    Her breath fled her lungs. "Spike. You mad thing. Come here." She squatted and reached out her hands. Her trembling hands...
    The fiercely arrogant tomcat ambled over, and she scooped him up, both to cuddle him and steady her nerves. Holding him close, she wished he were the tiger he thought he was.
    Wished he'd tear Bliss to bloody shreds.
    When he leaped from her arms to escape her too-tight embrace, she sat on the delicate chintz settee near the window, poured herself a glass of wine, and tried desperately to think.
    Bliss was a disaster waiting to happen, a dirty, massive mud slide that would ruin everything in its path.
    In the two hours since she'd left him, her mind hadn't stopped racing. Trying to pull a plan out of the blur was impossible, not that planning had ever been her strong suit. On the road she'd traveled, looks and sex were the only currency needed. She shuddered.
    With Bliss, sex was not an option. She'd cut her wrists first. She would.
    If it were only money, she'd handle it. She hadn't been lying on her back for the best and brightest in San Francisco for years without hoarding some serious cash.
    But Bliss wanted more than money; he wanted Gus and Addy, and she knew why. Revenge.
    He wanted her so he could, as he'd said, "fuck her brains out"—anytime he wanted.
    Never.
    Whatever it took, she had to get rid of him.
    If only she could talk to Gus, he'd know what to do, but she hadn't seen him since the... murder. Gus. The thought of him filled her, warmed her.
    Oh, Gus, why didn't you take me with you?
    Her heart stammered and stilled.
    The lurking fear that she knew the answer to her own question froze her very bones. Abruptly, she downed the last of the wine in her glass and poured herself another.
    Denial fit perfectly in a wineglass.
    She forced herself back to the problem at hand. Bliss. Reminded herself this wasn't just about her.
    Addy. She'd call Addy.
    Maybe Beauty wasn't much as a problem solver, but the Wart was so smart it was scary. She'd come up with something.
    And maybe, just maybe, she knew where Gus was.
    She pulled herself together, went to the antique desk in the corner of her bedroom, and searched out the number for Star Lake.
    Drawing in a calming breath, she picked up the phone.
    * * *
    Addy was getting milk from the fridge when the phone rang.
    "Star Lake Resort," she said brightly, grabbing the milk container, then swinging the fridge door closed with her hip.
    "Addy?"
    One word. In a voice barely above a whisper.
    "Mary Mother of Christ. Beauty."
    "The latter," Beauty said, her tone lifting a notch. "And nothing at all like the former." A pause. "How are you, Wart?"
    Her mind still a shocked whiteout, she mumbled, "I'm good." She set the milk carton on the countertop and pressed a palm against the fridge to steady herself. "Damn it. I can't believe it's you."
    "I guess it has been a while."
    "Yeah. Like fourteen years."
    "That long?"
    "Close to." Addy took her hand from the counter and rubbed her stomach. Something slithered there, a wary tension, settling, coiling itself into place. "Where have you been all these years? Even Lund couldn't find you."
    "You mean he actually roused himself to give a damn? Amazing." She laughed, and when she did, if there'd been any doubt it was Beauty, that low, smoky laugh of hers put it to rest. "How is the old geezer anyway?"
    "Dead. A few months ago."
    "Oh." After a moment of silence, she added, "I'm sorry to hear that. Lund was okay."
    "Yes, he was." And better to us than we deserved. "You should have called, let him know you were all right. He would have appreciated it. So would I. God, Beauty, we thought you were dead, figured—" She didn't finish, didn't want to show that her trust in Beauty ran so deep she'd actually thought she had to be dead not to call, that she'd been dumb enough to buy into the sisters-forever routine Beauty had