Dirty Truths by Renee Miller Read Free Book Online

knuckles as he drew away.
    “I’ll be talking to you. Make sure you do have a good night, sweetheart, like the old guy said.”
    Kristina nodded and he left. Sighing she moved away from the register, and pushed the mop bucket to the middle of the store. She ignored the voice in her head warning she’d regret it.
     
    ***
     
    Wade clutched the paper she’d given him, opened the car’s door, and climbed in. The light from a large white sign on the front of the building lit up the empty parking lot directly below. He’d parked to the side, just out of the pool of light. Hidden in the shadows, he waited.
    Kristina lugged a yellow bucket out and began mopping.
    He slipped the key into the ignition but didn’t turn it, his gaze on her face.
    She bit her lower lip as she mopped, her brow furrowed in concentration.
    If he didn’t know her better, he’d think she was searching for the secret to life under the dirty floor. But he knew she mulled over her decision, probably regretting it already. By morning, she’ll have worried herself sick, and if he didn’t act before she did too much thinking, she’d change her mind.
    She heaved the mop over the bucket again and wrung it out.
    He remembered the day he met her at a barbeque held at a friend’s house. She’d been so young; a little chubby, with fuzzy strawberry blonde hair, and a tendency to slouch. She’d turned and smiled at him and a little shiver had coursed down his spine. Her dimpled smile and pale green eyes boldly appraised him. The look had stuck in his mind, haunting his dreams and causing him a few sleepless nights.
    Being drawn to her had disgusted him. Christ the girl wasn’t even sixteen. A child. But over the years—as he and her father, Joe, became good friends—he’d watched the gawky child grow into a beautiful woman. The brassy hair had darkened to a deep brown and she’d slimmed out a little, but the innocence stayed there for a long time. He’d been sad when it disappeared, as though part of her had been stolen from him. Although, he didn’t know why he thought it belonged to him in the first place.
    Kristina pushed the bucket toward the back of the store. She straightened, rubbed her lower back, and turned.
    Wade froze, certain her gaze met his, but she turned away and leaned over the mop again. As she moved acr oss the floor, he relaxed. Her mouth was set in the frown that marred her beautiful face too often.
    When Joe had lamented over the man she’d begun dating a few years ago, Wade checked him out. He hadn’t liked what he’d found.
    Daniel Riley had been accused of several assaults, but the accusations never amounted to any real charges. His high school sweetheart left town before she finished her senior year. Those who knew her said she’d left a complete mess, with a broken arm and wounds on her face that would stay with her for life. She didn’t go to the police though. Wade figured Daddy Riley had something to do with her sudden silence. He would bet if the old man lived today, Kristina wouldn’t have gone to the police either. The old man’s wife had disappeared years ago, and no one could explain what happened to her.
    At the time, Wade advised Joe to stop the relationship before it progressed too far, but Kristina had proven too stubborn. The more her poor father objected, the more she fell in love with the miserable prick. She had been impressed by Riley’s name and his charm, a trait Wade grudgingly admitted he had.
    Daniel used to be respected around town, rather his family’s name was respected; the man himself was a loser. His connections and his bad boy reputation made his slow manipulation of an innocent girl much easier. Nice girls always fell for the tormented soul, the one no one understood, believing their love could tame the beast within. Men like Riley made sure they played up the fantasy too. If the girl could just make herself good enough, she could make him happy, and then she’d earn scraps of his