Dirty Little Liars by Missy Lynn Ryan Read Free Book Online Page B

of her pocket. She dialed the number, already nervous about what she was going to say. She didn’t want to call Courtney, but she didn’t have Winston’s number in her phone. She could have waited for Ty, but the less she had to interact with him the better.
    “Hello,” Courtney’s high voice rang through the receiver.
    “Hey, Courtney. Are you busy?”
    “Jules? What’s up? How’s the media blitz going?”
    “Not so well it seems. We got lost during some pretty bad storms yesterday and now we’re stranded outside of Buckingham or Cumberland. I’m not sure which.”
    “Oh my God, that’s awful.”
    “I was just hoping maybe you could send someone from the local field office out to meet me.”
    “I guess.”
    Juliette could hear the suspicion in her voice.
    “Look, I know Tyler’s your boyfriend, but he just…he’s kind of intimidating, you know. I’m nervous enough as it is. I don’t want to look like a complete idiot in front of him.”
    This time she gave a slight laugh. “Yeah. I get what you mean. There’s definitely an intensity about Tyler Chase.”
    Honey, you have no idea.

    “I’ll call Melissa. She’s working in the Richmond office today. She will come get you, no questions asked. Just give me the address and I’ll send her a text.”
    “There’s no cell service here. Well, at least not with my carrier.”
    She paused. “Hang tight. I’ll see what I can do and call you back at this number in ten minutes.”
    They said goodbye and Juliette glanced up at the hotel manager who was back to doing his crossword. A not so fresh mug of luke-warm coffee sat on the counter.
    “She’s going to find someone to pick me up,” Juliette said. “Then we can hopefully get my car unstuck.”
    He nodded but was too caught up in his puzzle to pay her any real attention. She wandered over to the vending machine to check out the goods. It was your typical salty and sweet fare. Only it didn’t exactly look as if it got refreshed that often. There was a bag of chips on the third row that still had the Super Bowl logo on the corner. Win tickets, it said. Hmm. Pretty sure that game had come and gone nine months ago. On second thought, maybe she’d better pass on the food.
    The door chimed and Tyler walked in. Thank God he was fully clothed.

Chapter 14: A Cry for Help
    In the glass of the vending machine Juliette could see Tyler staring at her. Confused.
    “Jules,” he said, and she fought the urge to turn around. He was going to ruin everything.
    “Hey,” he moved farther into the lobby.
    “I’m sorry,” she turned around and his face relaxed. “Do I know you?”
    The frown lines returned. “Huh?”
    “You look familiar, but I can’t place it.” Juliette turned to her new friend behind the counter. “Doesn’t he look familiar?”
    The old man studied Tyler closely before nodding in agreement. “Yeah. He sure does. What do you do, son? You someone famous or something?”
    Or something was right.

    “Not famous, just a politician.”
    “That’s right. The great senator. Replaced that guy Reis, God rest his soul. He was a good man.”
    At that neither Ty nor Juliette knew what to say. So they stood in silence. Ty searching desperately for some clue of what was going on and Juliette trying to remain distant. It was harder than she would have guessed.
    “So, what’s your platform?” she said. Continuing with the charade that she had never met him before. A little improv storytelling was always good practice.
    Ty took the bait.
    “Well, I’d like to think I’m continuing the legacy that Senator Reis left. We share a lot of the same views on family values and hard work.”
    The old man nodded. “Hard work. That’s one thing I have to wonder if any of you young folks know something about. It seems everyone wants to take the easy way out. Like having a Senate seat handed to them on a gold platter by the governor of Virginia instead of paying your dues.”
    Uh-oh. This wasn’t going to