Dark Halo (An Angel Eyes Novel) by Shannon Dittemore Read Free Book Online Page A

on the beach. Water too frigid to swim in.”
    “That’s right,” she says, nostalgia written all over her face. “You remember the Bellwether?”
    “Sure,” Marco says. The Bellwether Lighthouse. It was decommissioned years ago. “We used to climb the rocks on the cliff there. Why?”
    “’Cause I bought it.”
    The highway grows dark as the road narrows, trees growing up on every side. Through the shifting light he watches her, confused.
    “You bought a lighthouse?”
    “Well,” she says, lifting a piece of tobacco off her tongue, “the foundation bought it.”
    “Does the foundation make a habit of acquiring assets that technology has made outdated?”
    “Only since I’ve taken over. Henry would never have allowed such a thing.”
    Henry’s name sits between them. It festers like an open wound for a solid minute before Marco regains enough of his composure to speak in measured tones.
    “I hate him, Liv. When you stormed into the house today and said ‘Get in the car,’ I thought that’s where we were heading.”
    It’s another painful minute before she answers him. “You’re not the only one who hates Henry, and you’re not the only one who wants him dead. But I’m not taking you to him.”
    Marco explodes, measured tones forgotten. “Then why am I here?”
    Unfazed by his frustration, Liv flicks the cigarette out the window, and with the press of a button the wind is closed outside. “Let me tell you about the lighthouse, okay?”
    He’s angry and confused, doing his best to not think about all the crazy that’s found him since the psych hospital gave him a clean bill of health. But it’s the gleam in her eye, the excitement there—about a lighthouse, of all things—that does it. Girls have always been his Achilles’ heel. Beautiful, passionate girls. He deflates, settling against the seat once again.
    “Go ahead. Tell me about your bouncing baby lighthouse.”
    She smiles. The first real em;
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.tx1D1Aone he’s seen since they stumbled into one another at the lake last week.
    “Well, about a decade ago this old couple cashed in their retirement and bought the Bellwether. They converted the light-keeper’s house into a pastry shop. Adorable little place. A rock garden out back, sea spray on the air, and the best chocolate tarts you’ve ever had, I swear.”
    She removes a hair tie from the emergency brake, and with both hands pulls her hair into a ponytail. The car veers slightly left.
    “Geez,” Marco says, moving to help with the steering wheel. She swats his hand away and steers with her knees as she continues to talk.
    “It wasn’t long before the unthinkable happened.”
    “The economy tanked?” Marco guesses.
    “Yes, and this poor old couple went belly-up. Their life savings, retirement fund, children’s inheritance, everything.”
    “Sucks,” Marco says. It does suck, but it’s a story heard ’round the world these days.
    “So the Bellwether sat on the market for months. I watched it, watched the price drop. Finally, when it dropped far enough, I jumped in and snatched it up. I’d like to use it one of these days.”
    “Use it for what?”
    “Here’s something I bet you didn’t know about Beacon City. It houses one of the largest group-home programs in the state. Thought it’d be a great work project for them . . . if we could get it up and running. Teach the kids to cook, teach them to run a business.” She shrugs. “I paid next to nothing for the place. If it fails, it fails. But if I can turn it into something, it’ll be great press for Ingenui and a great pick-me-up for a seaside town in desperate need of some help.”
    He’s still annoyed but kind of impressed. “I didn’t know you were such a bleeding heart, Liv. Thought you were all business.”
    “My heart bleeds a bit.”
    But Marco can tell this is more than just a side project to her. He knows what it is to dream, to put yourself out there and cross your