Double Dealing (2013) by Linda Cajio Read Free Book Online Page B

love with the car. Coming to an instant decision, she swung the car around a corner and floored the gas pedal. The Rolls shot forward like an arrow from a bow—clean and fast.
    “Rae!” Jed yelped in astonishment. “Are you crazy?”
    “Runs in the family, Jed,” she said, swerving around the other cars in the street. “It gets worse during a full moon. Check and see if there’s a full moon, would you?”
    “Slow down, or we’ll have an accident!”
    “Oh, I hope not,” she said with a nervous giggle. “It would ruin the kidnapping.”
    “What!”
    She let go of the wheel with one hand and patted his knee. “I’m kidnapping you, Jed. So sit back and enjoy the ride.”

Five
    “You’re kidnapping me!” Jed exclaimed, positive he hadn’t heard her correctly. “This is a joke, right?”
    “You can laugh after the ransom is paid,” she said as the Rolls screeched around another corner. “Besides, what’s a little kidnapping between friends?”
    Although unconvinced about her seriousness, he realized the car was heading farther and farther away from the hotel—and at a rate of speed that was unsafe for the traffic. She was certainly going all out to pull off the punchline, he thought. Deciding to take her advice, he deliberately relaxed back against the leather seat cushion.
    “I don’t mind being kidnapped, Rae,” he said in a casual tone, playing along with her. “But I would like to get to the hideout in one piece. Could you slow down a little?”
    “As long as you promise not to jump out of the car at the first stoplight.”
    “And miss my kidnapping? Heaven forbid!”
    She immediately slowed the Rolls to a more normal speed, and they rode in silence. It wasn’t until she steered the car onto the ramp of the Benjamin Franklin Bridge that he began to wonder if she really was kidnapping him. Amused by the thought, he admitted he couldn’t think of a more beautiful kidnapper than Rae. The only question he had was why she would do it. It certainly wasn’t for the money. He chuckled to himself. It would be interesting to see what she intended to do with him once she got him to her “hideout.” He leaned his head against the back of the passenger seat and closed his eyes, thoroughly content to go along for the ride.
    Half an hour later, Rae brought the Rolls to a stop in front of the portico of her new home. She glanced over at Jed, who hadn’t uttered a word since he’d asked her to slow down. His eyes were closed, his chin rested on his chest, and his body was slouched down in the seat. It was depressing to realize her kidnappee had fallen asleep.
    “Wake up, Jed!” she snapped, disgusted with him and herself. Hell, she thought, her first kidnapping, and the victim had slept through most of it! She shut off the engine and yanked the key out of the ignition.
    “Where are we?” he asked, rubbing his eyes as he sat up.
    “At the hideout. Come on.” Getting out of the car, she spotted Burrows opening the front door. The foyer light silhouetted his figure in the entry.She slammed the car door shut and hurried up to him.
    “Good evening, miss,” said the butler. “Did you enjoy the ball?”
    “It was … different,” she replied. “By the way, I’ve kidnapped Mr. Waters. He’s in the car.”
    “Very good, Miss,” Burrows said without hesitation. “Shall I put him in the cellar? I believe that is standard practice among kidnappers.”
    “I think we can find better accommodations for him.” Annoyed that Burrows hadn’t even flinched at the news, she wondered if she’d skipped something important, like fireworks at the scene of the abduction. Still, very little fazed Burrows, she admitted. He was an old-school butler. “Put Jed in the trophy room. He’ll be company for Harvey.” She smiled in satisfaction at the thought.
    “I doubt that Mr. Waters will be happy sharing a room with a tarantula.”
    “Why not? Harvey won’t eat him.” Harvey had been a gift from Uncle Merry