3 Buried Leads by Amanda M. Lee Read Free Book Online Page A

one bathroom at the far end, near the smaller of the two bedrooms, and a wide and expansive living room. The kitchen was adjacent to the living room; you just had to take a step up. It was kind of like the letter “L.”
    “Have you ever lived here?” Eliot asked.
    “Yeah, twice. Once when I was a kid and my parents were waiting for our house to be ready. That was only for a couple of weeks. Then I lived here with Derrick for the summer before we went to college. Neither one of us wanted to live at home and this was our next best option.”
    “Why didn’t you want to live at home?”
    “You’ve met my mom. Imagine what she was like when she still thought she had an inkling of control over me. It was ugly.”
    “Yeah,” Eliot chuckled. “She’s a little intense. Is she like this with everyone – or do I just rub her the wrong way?”
    “Don’t take it personally,” I admonished him, climbing up into the kitchen and sitting at the small rectangular table. It was the only furniture currently in the apartment. “She can’t help herself. She doesn’t see herself as being oppressive.”
    “Oppressive?” Eliot raised his eyebrows as he regarded me. “That’s an odd word to describe your mom.”
    I shrugged noncommittally. “She’s just a control freak. She doesn’t see it. There’s no way to change it.”
    “So how do you handle it?”
    “I purposely try to make her head implode,” I replied simply.
    “That doesn’t seem like it is much of an endeavor.”
    “Most of the time, it’s not.”
    Eliot eyed me speculatively for a few minutes and then turned back to the empty apartment. “Where are we going to sleep?”
    “I think there are some sleeping bags in the closet,” I offered.
    Eliot wandered over to the small closet beside the bathroom and opened the door. I could hear him chuckling to himself. I remained sitting until he walked back into the living room and held up two sleeping bags. One of them was Star Wars and the other was G.I. Joe . “I’m guessing the Star Wars one belonged to you, but who was the G.I. Joe fanatic?”
    “Derrick,” I said simply. “Our interests as kids were somewhat limited. We spent a lot of time in the woods with paintball guns – and our imaginations.”
    “You two were close?”
    “Yeah, we’re only nine months apart in age.”
    “Are you still close?”
    I shrugged. “As close as we can be. I can’t imagine it’s easy to have me as a cousin – especially when you work for the police.”
    “I guess,” Eliot said. “I think you two are kind of funny. You act more like brother and sister than anything else.”
    “We were essentially raised together,” I said.
    “Is he close with Lexie?”
    “No,” I shook my head. “If I’m embarrassing, Lexie is mortifying.”
    “I see that,” Eliot said.
    He started spreading the sleeping bags out on the floor, tossing two pillows he found in the closet on the floor next to them. He plopped down on the G.I. Joe one, pulling his boots off and placing them against the wall as he did.
    I watched him curiously. “Why did you volunteer us to stay here?” I finally asked.
    “Why not?”
    “It just seems odd,” I admitted. “Like you’re trying too hard for them to like you.”
    “You think this was about them liking me?” Eliot looked surprised.
    “It wasn’t?”
    “It was about irritating you – and maybe getting you alone.” The look Eliot slid towards me was predatory – and sexy.
    “You knew that we’d end up alone up here?” Somehow, I doubted that.
    “No,” Eliot admitted. “I thought we’d end up in a hotel – but this is just as good.”
    “Yeah, childhood sleeping bags and a hard floor are definitely sexy,” I teased.
    “Sexy is a state of mind, not your surroundings,” Eliot leaned back against the wall. There was a about twenty feet between us – but it felt like I could feel his warmth emanating from here.
    “You seem pretty sure that you’re going to get lucky,” I