Dalton, Tymber - Stoneface (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Tymber Dalton Read Free Book Online

and watch TV. They did more talking than watching, Gwen lying with her head in Liam’s lap. It’d been months since the last time Liam had spent the night at her house, even though he came over a few days a month to spend the day.
    Usually meaning he vegetated or watched HBO or Showtime to decompress from being around their parents.
    “I may lock myself in my bedroom when you try to take me back. You realize that, right?”
    She looked up into his handsome face. He had the same shade of brown hair as her, but he was the only one of the kids with blue eyes, like their mother. In high school, he’d had girls drooling over him. “I promise it’ll only be for a couple of days. You’ll need to start packing anyway.”
    “Maybe I should start sneaking stuff out with you a piece at a time.”
    “If you want to be moved in before doomsday, I suggest a more up-front approach. What will they do, forbid you to move? You’re an adult. I won’t let them hold you hostage, I promise.”
    He played with her curly hair, wrapping strands of it around his fingers. “Mom’s going to cry and guilt-trip me.”
    “I survived it. You can, too. Just think—beer.”
    He laughed. “You know how to get right to my heart, don’t you?”
    “Of course I do, bro. We’ve got to stick together.” She reached for her BlackBerry and checked her e-mail. Still nothing from Amy. She tried calling and got her voice mail. “Hey, I gave Liam beer. If you don’t call soon, I’m ordering him a tranny hooker off Craigslist. Bye.”
    Liam roared with laughter. “That’s mean!” he finally choked out. “She’s going to have a cow.”
    “Yeah, well, maybe it’ll get a response.”
    An hour later, her phone vibrated. She picked it up and frowned.
    “What is it?” Liam asked. “Is it her?”
    Gwen stared at the text message from Amy.

    Pls leave me alone. No more calls. I’m staying here a few weeks. Need space.

    She turned the phone so he could read it.
    “Oh, fuck.” He reached for his phone, dialed, and also reached Amy’s voice mail. “Hey, Amy? Give me a call, okay? Please? Love ya. Bye.”
    A moment later, his phone also vibrated as a text message came through.

    Told G no more calls. Not coming home right now. Seriously. I need space & 2 b alone.

    They looked at each other. “This isn’t like her,” he said. “I really hate to say this, but you need to go out there and find out what’s going on.” Then he groaned. “Dammit, that was the world’s shortest parole on record.”

Chapter Five

    “Ruthie, I need you,” Gwen pleaded.
    Ruthie shook her head. “How am I supposed to take care of Liam?”
    Gwen took a deep breath. If it was up to her, she’d let Amy stay MIA in Rapid City, except it would worry their parents and get a buttload of aggravation dumped on her and Liam as a result. Not to mention her parents would invariably blame her for Amy’s disappearance because of the research Amy had done, regardless of the fact that she went out there for her day job in the first place.
    And she didn’t want to be the one to narc out Amy’s secret man on the side to her parents. Just because she was aggravated didn’t mean she wanted to pile even more trouble on her sister.
    Unfortunately, Liam had a few valid points as to why Gwen should go looking for her, including that maybe something had happened to her with her mystery man.
    Gwen thought if it did, it was Amy’s own fault for being so secretive. But since Liam had asked her to go, no way could she refuse. Not to mention it did worry her that dependable, good-girl Amy would bug out like this.
    “There’s nothing for you to do except be there for him,” Gwen assured Ruthie. “Keep him company. Make sure to help him if he needs it. He’s not an invalid. He just has problems with strength in his hands sometimes. He hasn’t had a bad day walking in a while. Help him cook if he needs it. If you don’t, he’s got to go back to Mom and Dad’s, and he’ll go stir