Deception (Southern Comfort) by Lisa Clark O'Neill Read Free Book Online Page A

shoulder.  “Just be cautious, Sam.  If you continue doing… that, I want you to make sure you’re not endangering yourself.”
    “Careful is my middle name.”
    Nodding, satisfied for the moment, Justin left her and Donnie alone with the Highlander.  And Samantha looked at her brother’s still form and told herself that she was right.  Donnie was in there, somewhere, and he was trying to get better.  And she’d do whatever she had to, to see that he had the chance.
     
    JOEY Santone hung outside the emergency room entrance.  Sometimes he got good and tired of watching the chick, listening to her read those stupid books to her stupid vegetable of a brother, but the damn boss said that he had to keep his eye out.  Why they were even still bothering when it was clear old Donnie wasn’t never gonna wake up was anybody’s goddamn guess.  And if the boss was so worried about Don spilling his guts… well, a quick pillow over the face and problem solved.
    Except the damn sister would probably go ballistic and stir up a whole hornet’s nest of trouble.
    At least she had a smokin’ bod, and he’d more than enjoyed watching her get ready for bed at night on the occasions he’d followed her home.  Chickie had a couple of broken blinds that she needed to do something about.  And last night, when she’d come home, there’d been an unexpected treat under that trench coat.  Unless he was very much mistaken, goody-two-shoes Samantha had taken on a little side job.
    Maybe before this whole ordeal was over he’d get to sample some of baby sister’s wares.
    But for now it was strictly hands off.
    The boss said they didn’t need to arouse suspicion.
    Yeah, and suspicion wasn’t the only thing that girl could arouse.
    Striking a match against the side of the building, Joey ignored the prissy scowl of one of those stupid volunteers as she left the building, no doubt getting her granny-panties in a bunch because he wasn’t smoking in a designated spot.  Those little glass box things they had all over outside the hospital were about as bad an idea as he’d ever heard of.  Like smoking a cigarette was so bad a crime that he should be penned in like some kind of freak in a cage?  Like what?  They was all gonna get cancer and croak on the spot because they’d breathed in some secondhand smoke?
    Shit.  He’d been smoking since he was nine, and it never done no harm to him.
    Coughing, Joey blew smoke rings out through his nostrils just to give himself something to do.  No doubt one of those damn nurses was probably lookin’ for his ass, wantin’ him to empty out a trash can or transport a patient or some such shit, and he guessed he’d have to get back in there in a minute.  Wouldn’t do to get fired for slacking on the job, as the boss would be good and pissed.  Said they needed somebody to be the eyes and ears at the hospital, make sure Donnie-O didn’t pull a Lazarus and return from the dead.
    Damn.  How many years ago had he learned that shit when his mamma dragged him to church, and he was still rememberin’ it?
    Crushing the butt of his cigarette under the heel of his rubber soled shoe, Joey guessed it was true what they said.
    You never forget the stuff you learn in childhood.
     
    THE night was still balmy as Sam emerged from the hospital, pulling her car keys out of her purse.  Visiting hours had ended long ago, but she’d become enough of a fixture around the place that most of the nursing staff were willing to bend the rules.  Light from the harvest moon shone clear and bright, illuminating the advertisements for local festivals fluttering against the lampposts onto which they were stapled.  She gave a brief thought to picking up a pumpkin to sit on the front step of Donnie’s apartment – Halloween was just a few weeks away – but given her reclusive and questionable neighbors and the generally depressed state of the neighborhood, she figured it was probably best to forgo drawing