Dangerous Kiss by Avery Flynn Read Free Book Online Page A

pearls and a black, scoop-necked dress.
    “Why would the Voice of Doom kill her? She looks so sweet,” Claire said quietly.
    All three men turned to stare at her.
    “The Voice of Doom? Who the hell is the Voice of Doom? And what kind of dumb name is that?” Hank asked.
    “I had to call him something. Whacked Out Killer Who dumped a Body in my Dumpster seemed a little too long.” Claire twisted a strand of hair around her fingers. She had to tell them about the call and the threats. This would not be fun. Hank would be irate that she had held it back from him. Who knew what Jake would think? She felt like crap already, best to get it over with.
    She took a deep breath, then told them about the call and the demand for Kendall’s flash drive and phone.
    “I was going to tell you all of this at Harvest, but then my car got blown up.”
    “You knew all of this and took off after this guy anyway?” Hank smacked his head with his hand as he hollered. “Do you have some kind of death wish?”
    “Hank, stop acting like my older brother for a minute. We have proof this guy is tied to Kendall. Isn’t it worth something?”
    “It’s not worth your life.”
    The worried look on Hank’s face shut her up. She’d scared him when she’d run after the killer. To be honest, now that the adrenaline had leaked out of her system, her reaction frightened her, too. She hadn’t thought first, she’d let impulse rule her actions. Again.
    She wouldn’t actually tell Hank she had acted reckless. No, confession went against the little sister code. Instead, she hobbled over and gave him a hug. He squeezed her back. She was sorry. He understood.
    “All right, all right. Enough PDA here.” Hank gave her a quick peck on the forehead and headed toward Harvest.
    She shuffled, hopped, shuffled down the alley to keep her weight off her injured foot. It felt like she’d been stung by a bee the size of a mountain lion, but wouldn’t cripple her for life.
    Hank, already ahead, didn’t notice her discomfort, but Chris did. He hunkered down. “Piggy back?”
    She awkwardly pulled herself up onto Chris’ back. Glancing back at Jake, she saw he hadn’t moved. A look of stark yearning lay bare on his face.
    For her? For her crazy but loving family?
    He caught her staring and the emotional display disappeared. He ran his fingers through his short black hair and looked into the distance.
    A pang of regret squeezed her chest.
    Wrong time.
    Wrong man.
    She needed…well, no one right now. Not after Brett. She’d sworn off men for at least a year. Add to that her three interfering brothers and the last thing she wanted was another man who thought he had to protect her and guide her. For too long she’d let the men in her life do just that.

    An hour and two cups of coffee later, the firefighters were gone but the stench of burnt Jeep remained. Its carcass dripped in the afternoon sun, a bizarre centerpiece in Harvest’s parking lot.
    Damn, Claire had loved that car. She’d miss the feel of the wind blowing through her hair on the twenty-minute drive home while she blasted the satellite radio.
    “Mourning the Jeep?”
    Sitting on the employee bench outside the back door, she shaded her eyes with her hand and looked up at her brother. Chris held an industrial-size brown bottle. She squinted at the label. Hydrogen peroxide. He’d wanted to distract her with his question. Really, it was kind of sweet. She would have told him so too, if he hadn’t chosen that moment to yank her foot out and pour the clear liquid over the small gash. It bubbled and hissed like he’d just opened up a shaken Coke bottle. She jerked her foot out of his hand.
    “Hurts like crazy, doesn’t it?” Chris twisted the cap back on the bottle. “Mom always said the sizzle means it’s working.”
    “Give me the stupid bandage.”
    He slapped it into her outstretched palm.
    “I’ll be right back.” He paused right outside Harvest’s door and waved the bottle at her.