Bad Boy's Revenge: A Small-Town Romantic Suspense by Sosie Frost Read Free Book Online Page B

might.”
    “Doing what? Electrical work?” He laughed. “Matthias Davis took you as an apprentice—a favor to Josie. After you burned down his granddaughter’s store, I doubt many of my citizens will be eager to invite you into their homes to update their basements.”
    “I didn’t burn it down.”
    “It was an electrical fire.” He laughed, watching as I seethed. “Who else would it have been?”
    I stared the asshole down. Nolan was the only man in town who didn’t avoid my gaze. That would end soon enough.
    The car turned another corner, passing the town’s only grocery store. People swarmed the aisles inside like they lined up for communion, all gathered around their chosen priest—Luann McMannis. Gossip spread easier than salvation. Soon enough, everyone in town would know I asked Freddie for the job.
    The news had yet to cascade down the street, past the florist, insurance company, bank, and city hall. I gave it an hour before people would hear and the word would get to Josie.
    Then what would she think?
    “I have work for you,” Nolan said. “You need money.”
    “I told you to fuck off.”
    “You need money. I need a man to do a few jobs.” He shrugged. “We worked together before.”
    “Shit’s changed.”
    “It hasn’t. You were always going to end up in jail, breaking her heart.”
    “What the fuck do you know about her heart?” The words burned. “If I catch you harassing Josie—”
    Nolan interrupted me, wielding some sanctified tone. “I told you to stay away from her. It was part of your agreement when I freed you from prison.”
    “You really think I’m a man of my word?”
    “For her, you are.”
    The SUV parked in front of the vacant lot. I still saw the flames, the fire, the flashing lights. They’d shoved me in the cruiser before I knew if Josie had been seriously hurt in the fire. I didn’t know what happened until the next day when a cop left an old newspaper close enough to my jail cell. She was alive. Matt nearly died.
    Everyone blamed me.
    She didn’t come to see me at the hearing. Didn’t go to the trial. Never came to visit in prison.
    Nolan rapped his fingers against the window, teasing me with the sight of the vacant lot. “I need you to do a job. I’ll pay you well.” He cleared his throat. “I’ll pay you double if you never see her again.”
    “It’ll take more than a couple thousand dollars to keep me away from her.”
    “Ten.”
    “Don’t put a price on a girl like her.”
    Nolan snorted. “And you would know about woman and their prices? How much was your sister worth to you? To her johns?”
    I’d break his neck. Instead, I stared at the empty lot, the lost opportunities, the reason Josie wasn’t mine.
    “You won’t keep me from her,” I said.
    “She deserves better. You’re no good for her.”
    “Yeah,” I said. “But she makes me want to be better.”
    “Why ruin her future?” Nolan straightened his tie. “I could give her more.”
    “She hates you.”
    “Only because you hated me. Given time, without your influence, she’d see what I could give her. More than anything you’d offer.”
    “Yeah?”
    “A solid home. A good future. Success. I aim to begin my political career at the state level. Run for governor when I’m thirty-five. A woman like Josie would help my career.”
    “Secure that African-American vote with a black wife on your arm?”
    Nolan’s practiced smile would win debates but not Josie’s heart. “My policies would reflect my commitment to all my constituents.”
    “Of course.”
    “Stay away from her, Maddox.”
    “Not gonna happen.”
    Nolan exhaled. He pulled an envelope from his suit. Instructions for a job, delivered in the same manner he used to conduct our business. I might have shoved it down his throat, but I needed some money, if only to get me started again. The longer I stayed without incident, the easier it’d be to convince people I was safe.
    And then I could get her back.
    “You’re