Flash and Fire by Marie Ferrarella Read Free Book Online Page A

I can’t talk about this matter over the telephone and you’re the only one I can turn to about this.”
    She was both proud and frightened.
    Her scalp tingled as tiny needles of anticipation pricked at her. She resisted the urge to prod him. “You could never impose, Whitney. I owe you too much.”
    He understood. “Not much, Amanda. A few moments here and there.”
    It wasn’t a careless remark; he just wasn’t a vain man. “Very important moments. Moments my father couldn’t give me. Moments no one else could spare.”
    She had been highly impressionable and vulnerable then. And Whitney had gone out of his way to make her feel special. It was partially to please him, to catch his eye, that she had developed the backbone she had. And in so doing, she had forged the course of her own life.
    She heard him draw a long breath, as if he was fortifying himself to deliver his next sentence. But when it came, it was devoid of drama and offered her no clues as to what was happening, or why he had called. “Then you’ll come now?”
    She thought of the agenda she’d planned for tonight. There were tapes of her broadcasts she had wanted to review to assure herself that her delivery was still credible and sincere. The station manager’s constant criticism was making her uncertain about her work. She had to stay on her toes at all times.
    But Whitney needed her.
    It was no contest.
    “Of course I’ll come.” There was a crash from the kitchen, followed by a string of colorful Spanish oaths. When Christopher began talking in earnest, those would probably be his first words. “You really want me over right away?”
    She heard the barely suppressed relief. “Yes. As soon as possible.”
    “I’m on my way.” She forced herself to sound upbeat.
    Was it something to do with his health? Had he discovered his wife with another man? Adultery would have been a stupid move on Alicia’s part, but then, Amanda had never thought of the woman as particularly intelligent, just very, very lucky.
    She harnessed her imagination before it got completely away from her. “Are you still at the same address?” She remembered filing it away in her address book.
    “For now.”
    For now.
    What did that mean? He had transferred his business holdings here. Dallas had become the heart of all his operations. He wouldn’t leave unless ...
    Unless what?
    “I’ll send Saunders around to get you.”
    “Fine, I’ll—“ She was already on her feet when there was an embarrassed cough from Whitney on the other end of the telephone line, as though he’d just remembered something.
    “No, sorry, I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Whitney said, voice rough. “The truth is, Saunders doesn’t work for me anymore.” She heard him struggling to compose himself. “Amanda, I hate asking, but would you mind driving over yourself?”
    “No problem. I’ll be there in half an hour,” she promised.
    Even if I have to break every speed limit from here to your house.
    Saunders was, or had been, Whitney’s chauffeur for as long as Amanda could remember. The older man had relocated with Whitney, first to L.A., then to Dallas. Had the man died? She knew for a fact that the man would never retire. He had nothing else in his life except for his work. He was too devoted to Whitney, too proud of his position to ever quit.
    Unless, of course, Alicia had forced him to. Alicia had steadily grown more and more critical of every facet of Whitney’s life, constantly nagging him that he could do better, be better. Even her father had thought that Whitney’s marriage to Alicia had been a mistake. Had the woman fired Saunders for some reason?
    Impatience clawed at her as she went to tell Carla that she was leaving. What the hell was going on?

Chapter Five

    The speedometer rose steadily until it hit seventy and hovered there as Amanda pressed down on the gas pedal. Curiosity and impatience shared the car with her like phantom passengers, spinning question after