Nobody's Fool by Sarah Hegger Read Free Book Online Page A

wasn’t going to fall for his trap and relax her guard.
    â€œI do.”
    â€œGood.” He adjusted his grip on the gym bag and nodded, as if the matter was settled. “The first step is to see what we can find out about your sister.”
    â€œHey.” The steamroller went right over her head.
    â€œI’m pretty sure she’s not hanging around your old house in the middle of the night, but maybe we can stumble across something useful.” He turned and strode off across the lobby, headed toward an exit door partially concealed by a bank of glossy green foliage. “Come on. Babe.”
    â€œWhere?” And dammit all if she didn’t trot after him. It was his help that got her moving, not some deeply conditioned master/slave mentality—the finest of the species holding dominion over the lesser beings, or some crap.
    â€œThat’s what you need to tell me.” He said it patiently, as if he were afraid she wouldn’t get his meaning if he used too many big words.
    â€œI don’t know where she is, genius.” Holly almost plowed into his broad back as he stopped suddenly.
    He frowned down at her. “You must have some idea.”
    â€œI think she’s in Willow Park,” she said. “But I was there earlier tonight and I couldn’t find her.”
    â€œSo where were you going?”
    â€œWhen?”
    â€œEarlier, before your car was stolen.”
    â€œI was going back to Willow Park.”
    He made a soft moan of irritation and turned to loom over her. “You’re not making any sense. I seem to be missing some pieces of this puzzle.”
    â€œYou are missing a great many pieces of the puzzle.” He absolutely was the most condescending ass on the planet. “But, as this has nothing to do with you, you are going to carry on missing those pieces.”
    His eyes narrowed.
    Holly straightened her shoulders and glared back. Blue clashed with black and held. Neither of them moved a muscle.
    Somewhere El Düguello wailed.
    â€œFine.” He threw up one hand. “But I’m going to Willow Park right now. You make up your mind if you want to come along.”
    He slapped open the exit door and disappeared.
    Holly narrowly caught it before it swung back and banged into her. She followed him down the stairwell feeling ridiculous.
    His jeans weren’t tight, but they framed his spectacular ass.
    If she was looking, which she wasn’t. It just happened to be there.
    Oh, get real, Holly. She lost patience with herself. She was so checking him out. It couldn’t be helped. He’d always been a rather superior specimen, and she’d have to be dead from the neck down not to notice. It didn’t mean she liked him, though, because she didn’t.
    She stood there for a moment, warring with herself. It was a brief but bloody skirmish, and in the end the need to find Portia won. Right now, she was screwed without him. The idea got stuck in a wad in the back of her throat.
    He stopped at a door at the bottom of the short stairwell. “Did you say something?”
    â€œNope.”
    He ran one hand through his hair, raking his fingers across the scalp. “Come on, Holly. Stop being so goddamned stubborn. You need help and I’m offering. After you’ve found your sister, you can go back to hating me. Okay?” His tone got smooth and persuasive, like he was selling youth elixir, which was why she was floored to feel her hackles starting to lower.
    â€œIt’s no big deal.” He continued to dole out the charm. “Let me drive you over to Willow Park to have a look around. Have you called the police?”
    â€œYes. Why are you being nice to me?” Holly waited for the other boot to drop.
    â€œI am nice.” His voice bounced off concrete and back at her. “You’re probably the only woman I know who doesn’t think so.”
    â€œLucky me.” He was probably right about the only