Confer, Lorelei - Deadly Deception (Siren Publishing Classic) by Lorelei Confer Read Free Book Online Page A

her. He felt obligated to help her. But what could she want from him?
    Suspicious by nature, anxious to try to find out exactly who she was, he glanced toward his desk, then at the blinds covering the sliding doors. If she was lying to him or setting him up, he wanted to know about it before rather than after.
    He returned to his desk, opened his laptop, and sat down. He began a local people search for “Isabella.” He had written down the street address when she gave it to him, checking his typed entry against what he had written down. He double-checked his entry for a spelling error. No listing for Cameron Lakes Drive in this city, so he checked statewide. No results. No results for the street in Stoney Creek or Suffolk or in the entire state of Virginia . How odd!
    He hadn’t asked her for her city or state, assuming she was local from Stoney Creek , VA. He remembered everything she told him about herself. A second grade teacher at Lakes Elementary School but she hadn’t told him the street address of the school, just the name. He entered Lakes Elementary School into his browser. The only one listed in the entire United States had an address in Colorado . None of it made sense. Two and two equaled five.
    He checked the databases available to him, which was numerous. He checked missing person’s reports. None reported a young woman her description missing.
    What about the park she claimed to have run through all day? The nearest park was located about three miles from his house and he knew it very well. He had established it a few years ago for the neighborhood kids as well as for his desired isolation and privacy. About the size of a football field, surrounded on three sides with woods thick with tall oak and pine trees and a heavy growth of short bushes and shrubs. It would be extremely hard to travel through on foot.
    He spent a few more hours on the computer, finishing some work, answering the too-numerous e-mails always filling up his inbox. He also took advantage of the opportunity to send out a number of e-mails requesting a couple of favors.
    He sighed, rubbed his eyes with his hands, looking at the time. As fatigue consumed his body and mind, he turned off his computer. He began pacing in front of the couch, his anger with her deception increasing with each step he took. How dare she lie to me?
    When he looked at her face, still wet with tears, he stopped, ashamed. He retrieved a blanket out of the trunk in front of the couch and settled into the recliner.
    He wanted more answers. He knew how and from whom he would get them, but he would have to wait until morning. Right now, he needed to make sure she would still be there in the morning. His mind raced with possibilities and probabilities. His every instinct screamed for him to protect her. He didn’t intend to let her leave until he had all his questions answered.

Chapter 9

    Joe was out of breath, out of daylight, and out of ideas. He had spent the entire day chasing the girl, traipsing around the woods. He found no clue of any sort to lead him anywhere, and was strongly rebuffed at the only house within miles where Amanda thought she had seen her peeking out of a window.
    Hot, irritable, scratched, and bleeding, he was mad as hell. He was humiliated and embarrassed for letting down his guard, especially on a job for boss man Spike, literally taking his hold off the girl’s arm when he became overcome with excitement about finally completing the deal—so distracted that he let this one get away.
    Now, he had something to prove. He had to come up with a plan to make it up to him. He had to find her and deliver her when Boss specified if he wanted to get paid the much-needed money as well as stay in the organization.
    Amanda babbled in the background as they made their way along the street to the parked van.
    “Hey, shut up, will ya? We gotta come up with a plan, a good one, and find her. We don’t have much time left. We hafta find her or someone like