Christy Barritt - Squeaky Clean 04 - Dirty Deeds by Christy Barritt Read Free Book Online Page B

I grabbed some ballet flats and slipped them on.
    “No flip-flops?” he asked, his eyebrows raised.
    “I decided to step it up a notch. Ballet flats somehow seem classier than my normal flip flops.” So did the nautical wear I’d seen on sale downstairs, but a girl had to have some standards.
    “You look cute in either.”
    “I knew there was a reason I wanted to marry you.” I grabbed my purse. “Let’s go.”
    We started down the hallway. I tried to remember my posture and to keep my chin up. I’d been perfecting the act of drinking with my pinky in the air, so I’d be all set come breakfast this morning. Hoity-toity, as Deanna the maid had said.
    “So, what’s the update on Jackie?” I asked. “Have you heard anything?”
    “Her mom is on her way into town early this morning, and two of Clint’s friends are here for him.”
    His friends? Were they the guys I’d seen him with last night?
    Riley continued. “I think they all want their privacy. Derek and I stopped by to see Clint this morning, and he said they didn’t need anything. They were going to follow the kidnapper’s instructions, and he’d let us know what happened.”
    “And that’s that? It just seems like we should be doing something.”
    Riley shook his head. “That’s your modus operandi. Speaking of which, I’m proud of you. I half expected you to be out all night looking for answers.”
    I pointed to myself, guilt pounding at me. “Me? I’m a changed person. What can I say?”
    By all definitions, I wasn’t searching for answers. I was just asking questions. There was a difference.
    Riley squeezed my hand. “I’ll check in on them later today, but there’s not much I can do. They’re just waiting all of this out. None of us really know Clint.”
    “What was Jackie like? I mean, what is Jackie like?” I corrected myself.
    “She’s a great girl. I hate to think of her going through this nightmare. She’s a bit of a space cadet, almost made it to pro tennis status, and her family has more homes than I can count.”
    “Must be nice.”
    He cast a lingering glance my way, slowing his pace for a moment. “How are you doing? I know this is probably bringing up bad memories for you.”
    Leave it to Riley to be the thoughtful one. My brother had been kidnapped when I was a child. My family had never gotten a ransom note or any contact with his abductors, for that matter. We went years with nothing, and that very nothing had torn my family apart. Just within the past couple of months, my brother had shown back up in my life.
    “I’m doing okay. I’m grateful, grateful that I got a happy ending after all of those years.” Tim had turned out just fine, despite the trauma in his life. I was happy to have him living only fifteen minutes from me now and to be able to reconnect.
    We stopped in front of a dining room. My eyebrows took on a mind of their own and shot up toward the ceiling. Wow. My jeans and ballet flats just didn’t seem sufficient for the linen tablecloths, tuxedoed wait staff, and multiple pieces of silverware.
    “You’re going to love this,” Riley insisted. He squeezed my hand and pulled me inside.
    I’d been joking about raising my pinky while drinking, but maybe it was no laughing matter. This was just the type of place where I was bound to trip into a vat full of sugary strawberries or accidentally knock the candle over and catch a tablecloth on fire.
    The maître d’ led us to a group of Riley’s friends. Derek and Lillian were sitting with Jack at a table for four. Instead, Riley and I sat at a table beside them.
    I overheard Derek bragging to Lillian and Jack about how he got a car thief off on charges because the police had mishandled his arrest.
    I was really glad I wasn’t sitting with them because I might not be able to bite my tongue. I was so glad that Riley didn’t defend scumbags. The whole “true love conquers all” thing would be invalid if he did. True love did not conquer