Keepers & Killers (The Alchemy Series) by Donna Augustine Read Free Book Online Page B

looked at him, so sure on his feet. He was the picture of health again.
    "Dodd, call Burrom and find out what he saw." Then he turned toward me. "You. Don 't leave this casino." I watched him walk from the garage.
    I 've never been good at following directions. All you have to do is look at my Ikea bureau with the crooked drawers to figure that one out.

     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Five
     
    "So what do you think?" Lacey asked.
    "Huh?"
    "Jo! You need to pay attention! I just can 't figure him out," Lacey complained as she lounged on my couch, feet on the armrest, while she waited for her toenails to dry.
    I looked down at my phone again. I called Rick the moment Cormac left yesterday, in hopes of setting up a meeting. It was two in the afternoon the next day and still no call back? I was starting to think he wasn 't that anxious to see me.
    "Jo! Stop staring at your phone and help me!"
    "I'm sorry. What's the problem with Cormac?" I left my phone on the counter and plopped down on my couch with her. I'd hear it ring, staring at it wouldn't do anything for me.
    "I swear you don 't listen to me. He's acting all buddy buddy with me."
    "And?" I asked trying to figure out the problem.
    "I don't want to be his buddy." A pout appeared on her face.
    "I thought you said you were okay with just being friends? You didn 't even used to want to be in the same room with him." I knew she'd been either lying to me or herself, but I couldn't help point it out.
    "That was when I thought he was scary. But then he seemed…I don 't know, not as scary? Plus, you've seen him."
    Yes, a bit too much , but it was a little late to come clean on that. I'd always been so good at secrets but all I wanted to do now was spill the entire story to Lacey. I wouldn't. I was too afraid. The way things were getting so weird around here, what if that contract actually had some juice?  And if I didn't tell her any of the weird stuff, it was going to be hard to explain the kiss. How do I tell her that I couldn't date the hot rich guy because he shot me in the head? She'd think I was a nut, because if I got shot, how am I still alive? And if I did blow my promise all to pieces then I'd have to hear it for even kissing the guy that had me shot. Nah, some things were better off as secrets.
    "Yeah, he 's cute," I said trying to act disinterested.
    "You need glasses if you think he 's just cute. There is something about him that makes me just want to jump him. I swear, we were that close a couple of weeks ago." She held up her fingers demonstrating for me. "Arnold asked me to run something up into his place. I got there and I was trying to chat him up and use my wiles on him. At first, I didn't think it was going to work, but then all of a sudden he's all 'come sit next to me' and stuff. Even put his hand on my leg. A minute later, he said he had to go and was giving me the bum's rush out. That was it. Nothing. Not even a hot kiss to show for it. Now we're in some weird yucky friend zone and I don't like it."
    "Did he say anything about it? The night you thought he was interested?" I looked at my nails, feigning interest.
    "Nothing, like it never happened. He's not always even that nice to me. Never mean, just disinterested."
    She la y there for a second, and I could tell she wanted to say something that she felt uncomfortable with. I just waited. 
    Finally, it came out. "This is going to sound stupid, but I think he 's nicer to me when you're there," she shot out quickly. "What do you make of that?"
    I wanted to talk but I couldn 't. Her big brown eyes stared at me, and I could see all she wanted was for me to tell her she was be mistaken. Because, if he was doing that, it meant he was just be using Lacey to get to me and we both knew it.
    My phone started to buzz on the counter and I jumped for it and not just because I wanted to speak to Rick anymore.
    "Desperate much?" Lacey said as I grabbed it and hit the answer button and held it to my