Boyfriend from Hell (Saturn's Daughters) by Jamie Quaid Read Free Book Online Page A

one there when this got stolen, either.” I slapped the bag down on the bar and gratefully accepted the icy soda. I wasn’t particularly coherent, but Bill frowned and nodded as if he understood.
    “It’s been happening here and about,” he agreed. “I lost all my hundreds one night when there was no one here but me, so I keep the cash drawer locked now. Andre gets antsy when things like that happen.”
    I stared. “You’re saying ghosts are stealing cash?”
    He shrugged and began hanging beer mugs in the overhead rack. “I’m just saying you have to watch your back down here. Don’t knock invisible just because you can’t see it.”
    I pulled the contents of the bag out and slapped the checks on the bar. “Then I want a bodyguard from now on when I go to the bank. And tell Andre if he files the insurance claim for Friday’s entire tally sheet and he wants to commit theft by depositing these later, he’d better figure out how to do it, because I won’t.”
    He nodded sagely. “You gotta be honest in your business. He gets that. Sorry to hear about your fella. Let us know when the funeral is.”
    Anguish ripped another hole in my heart. I needed to check with the good detective to see what happened with bodies after autopsies. Even if I ought to hate the bastard, I didn’t want Max going unclaimed. And I really didn’t want to think about Max as a corpse. Maybe that was why I thought I’d seen his face earlier. I wanted him to come back. To not be gone. My rattled mind had simply conjured his image.
    I was afraid to go out on the street again, which meant I had to leave immediately and get over myself. Finishing my drink, waiting until it was almost time for the next bus, I waved at Bill and sauntered out as if I hadn’t just run from shadows like a jackrabbit.
    The tailless kitten was waiting right outside the door. Big yellow eyes and a pleading mew broke my already broken heart. “My bodyguard,” I told him, picking him up and tucking him into my messenger bag. He promptly burrowed down and went to sleep, and I was glad to be able to give someone, something, the feeling of safety that I had just gained from Bill.
    I wasn’t much used to people looking out for me. With my track record, I decided I probably shouldn’t get too comfortable with it, either.
    • • •
    I made it home without further incident. Even the green mud had disappeared, replaced by new gray cement with a footprint in it that could have been mine.
    Once I reached the tenements, I walked around the block, checking all the alleys for news vans first. I didn’t like the looks of the leather-clad stranger lurking near the front step, so I eluded him by going in the back, by the garbage cans. Reporters ought to be made to wear PRESS signs on their hats like in the old cartoons. And if that was one of Max’s biker buddies, I didn’t want to know about it. They might kill me if they blamed me for his death.
    I paid one of the kids playing in the lobby to go up and see if there was anyone near my door. Once assured the coast was clear, I fell into my apartment with a sense of relief, locking up behind me. I’d had enough of the world today. Life was easier when I slipped past everyone’s radar.
    My new furry pal tumbled out and began exploring. I didn’t know why I thought I could keep a kitten. I was woefully unprepared. I apparently needed to be needed. Or wanted company so I didn’t have to think too deeply.
    I had a hundred and one errands to run, plus new-kitty duty—like acquiring cat food and litter box—not to mention finals to study for.
    Instead of attending to any of that, I picked up Schwartz’s business card and dialed his number. I left a message asking when Max’s body would be released. I tried to sound very professional and business-like. I broke down and cried when I hung up. Kitty leaped onto my lap, arched his back, and stroked under my chin.
    I knew I had to be stronger than this, but knowingand doing