BAD Beginnings by Shelley Wall Read Free Book Online Page A

excitement. Leave me alone.”
    Gemma frowned. “You need to go to the hospital and get that checked.”
    “Don’t be ridiculous. I passed out. That’s what I get for skipping the meal and working like a fool.”
    “All the more reason to get it checked out.”
    No. That wasn’t happening. No one was going to “check him over”. Especially not anyone at a hospital. He picked himself off the floor and brushed the concerned hands away.
    “I’m fine and I’m not going anywhere. Take this bozo in the nurse suit out of here and let’s get this party going.” He raised a hand and waved. “Sorry, folks. Pretty lame of me to take the limelight away from these fine folks, isn’t it? Still, there’s food on the tables and lots of drink at the bar. Please help yourself. Me, I’m going to grab a dance with my fine-looking assistant here before someone else steals her away.”
    He grasped Gemma’s hand and strode toward the dance floor keenly aware that Sharon’s eyes bored holes into his back. Along with the District Attorney and a few others. Who cares? They probably all wished they were in his shoes at the moment.
    The music was slow and he hoped she wouldn’t expect him to do something fancy because he doubted he was up to that. His head still oozed with the loss of blood. It was only a matter of minutes before they grabbed him, tossed handcuffs over his wrists, and hauled him away. Until they did, he’d keep going—keep pretending long enough to have something he could remember the rest of his life. This is what it feels like to be that guy. The everyday guy who made good.
    “I thought you hated dancing.”
    “What made you think that?”
    “You’ve said it a thousand times. Every time you have to attend one of these things, in fact. You normally leave the minute someone tries to get you on the floor.”
    “Not me. I wouldn’t do that.” Basically, that was true. He’d always loved to dance with the ladies and considered it mean to say no if someone asked. For some reason, they always asked. He wasn’t all that fancy and sophisticated but he had a little rhythm in him.
    Gemma rolled her eyes. “No, not you.”
    He searched the crowd for the very man that was sure to end his charade but couldn’t find him. “On second thought, let’s get out of here.”
    “What? No. We can’t.” Her feet skipped a step and the heel of her shoe stabbed his toe.
    Baden winced. “Sure we can. We are. Let’s go.” Without waiting for an answer or caring about Sharon and her new hubby, he pushed Gemma toward the side exit. A few steps down a quiet hall, they found an exterior door, and escaped into the darkness.

C hapter Six
    G emma followed him because she hadn’t a clue what else should be done. Everything smelled wrong. Sharon wasn’t what she had expected…contrary, she was a cold woman with little to no mothering instincts. The woman hadn’t even hugged him more than the once for the crowd, nor wanted to know a single thing he’d done. Though she was more than willing to take over his role as chair for the fundraiser.
    The look on Sharon’s face when they arrived wasn’t a welcome—more shock and fear. An unexpected and odd combination. Was the woman afraid of her own son?
    She struggled to remember the details of his family from his profile—there had been a sister when he was a child. She died young. His father disappeared soon after. Other than the many marriages his mother scurried through, she knew little about the woman. For all appearances, Sharon was a desperate woman seeking a man to keep her in Prada shoes and Escada dresses.
    Not a single sign of love for a son showed in her features. Sharon was afraid of her own child.
    “There’s the car.” Logan’s soft voice cut through her thoughts. For the oddest of reasons, it also cut through the coldness of the evening. She shivered. “Here, it’s a little chilly for a dress like that.” Logan slipped off his Armani suit coat and draped it