Crime by Sofia Cruz Read Free Book Online Page B

permit. If a cop catches you with that you'll be facing felony charges. Then you can kiss your license goodbye."

Jessica glared at Melanie. Melanie stared right back, hands in her pockets, looking somewhat bored. "I know. I don't plan on getting caught."

"No one ever does, cher. Get rid of that damn thing, or don't come back to the office. I swear, if you show up with that gun, I'll call the police myself." With that, Jessica stormed out of the alley, heading back towards her office building, straightening her clothes as she went.

Melanie walked out to the edge of the alley, leaned against the corner of the building and pulled out another cigarette. Lighting up, she watched Jessica disappear down the street. She stood there for a few minutes, considering her options. She didn't doubt that Jessica would, indeed, call the police on her. Glancing at her watch, she saw that it was almost time for her meeting in David's office. The bodyguards she hired should already be here. Making up her mind, Melanie spotted a large trash container half way down the alley and walked up to it.

She looked around to make sure no one could see her. She reached under her shirt and pulled out the gun. She released the clip and freed the bullet from the chamber, then, using her shirttail, wiped the gun down and tossed it into the trash bin. She picked the extra bullet up off the ground and worked it back into the clip, tucking the clip into her jeans pocket. She may have had to toss the gun, but she'd be damned if she was leaving a loaded weapon laying around for some fool to find. As she passed a community trash can, she palmed the clip out of her pocket and dropped it in. Now she felt naked, already regretting ditching the Glock. As she neared Matthews Enterprises, she admitted to herself that losing the gun wasn't the only thing bothering her. Finally getting a taste of Jessica Matthews, only to have her storm off, was what was really sticking in her craw.

Spotting the drug store she had just bought the cigarettes in, she ducked inside. She really was worn out and needed to get some caffeine into her system. Walking up to the cooler, she snagged a couple bottles of Cherry Coke, paid the clerk, and rushed across the street to the Matthews building. Riding the elevator back up to the top floor, she glanced at her watch again. She was late. Well, at least she'd get to make a grand entrance.

Moments later, she pushed through David Matthews's office door to find all three Matthewss already there, plus her two security pros. Felicia was sitting on the couch, looking incredibly bored. Jessica was standing in the far corner; her arms wrapped around her stomach, looking out the window, her back to the room. Their uncle stood behind his desk, Lisa and Tori, the pros Melanie had called, standing on either side of him.

The two newcomers where both tall and well built. Lisa looked a lot like Melanie. Both women were brunettes, their hair so dark some people thought it was black. Both had brown eyes, but Melanie's had a tinge of green, a genetic gift from her mother. They even looked enough a like in the face, for people to ask if they were related. Tori is a blue-eyed blonde.

Melanie addressed the two bodyguards. "Thanks for coming on such short notice. Have you met everyone yet?"

"David introduced us," Lisa replied.

Jessica had turned around at the sound of Melanie's voice, never once taking her eyes off of her. Melanie stood watching her for a minute, and then deliberately turned her back to Jessica. She set the cokes down on the conference table and made a show of taking off her shirt jacket, folding it over the back of a chair. She turned around and met Jessica's eyes.

Jessica smiled, relieved to see that Melanie had listened to her and gotten rid of the illegal gun. She had panicked when she saw it, afraid that Melanie would get caught with it. Jessica wouldn't admit it to anyone, not even her sister, but the thought of facing this