One More Shameless Night by Lili Valente Read Free Book Online Page A

drunk and letting my husband take advantage of me.”
    Clay’s eyes flashed. “That sounds like an excellent plan. But be careful, okay? Don’t step into any dark corners. Parties like this can get dangerous after the liquor’s been flowing.”
    “I will.” She leaned across the table to press an impulsive kiss to his cheek, silently promising that she would tell him everything she’d been keeping from him the second she was sure Mallory was safe.
    Right after she gave Dom free rein to deliver her father’s criminal history to the CIA wrapped up in a nice little bow.
    “Be right back,” she whispered before turning and weaving her way across the patio. The restaurant’s awnings were rolled up tonight in a nod to the lovely weather and every table in the place was filled with people laughing, drinking, and canoodling under the stars.
    As Harley passed the other tables, she let her gaze slide from one face to another, certain none of these happy, sunburned, half-wasted people had ever worked for a drug lord, had their father threaten to do terrible things to their son, or spent a year fighting to save their half sister from human traffickers. These were ordinary people, who took their safety and right to pursue happiness for granted. They didn’t go to bed worried for the lives of their family.
    But then, they probably didn’t wake up feeling breathlessly grateful for another day, either. For all the misery her father and Marlowe and all the other dark forces from her past had caused her, they had also made her grateful for the miracle of an ordinary life.
    She treasured every moment she spent walking Jasper to school and helping with homework, loved spending Sunday afternoons at her in-laws’ farm playing baseball in the backyard, and lived for lazy mornings making pancakes while Clay, Jasper, and baby Will snuggled on the couch watching cartoons. Since her return from the dead, prices of her old artwork had tripled and her new pieces were sold before she could even finish them, but it wasn’t money or fame that made her smile when she woke up every morning.
    It was those precious, everyday moments that were locked away in her heart, filling her with joy, hope, and the determination to keep fighting to eradicate the shadows from her life one by one.
    Which made her wonder what the hell she was going to do about Dom.
    She needed him to do the legwork she couldn’t, but him showing up here unannounced was a clear violation of their working arrangement. They’d only met a few times in the past year and had always planned their meetings at least a week in advance.
    Not to mention the fact that no one, not even Clay’s parents, had known where they were headed this summer. They had deliberately kept their travel plans secret, which inspired a host of other unsettling questions.
    Had Dom been tracking her movements? Had he installed that spyware he was so leery of on her cell phone so he would know where she was at all times? And if he had—why?
    A few minutes ago, Harley would have sworn that any romantic feelings or regrets were in the past for her and Dom. She knew he’d been hurt when she’d called things off, but she had never pretended that she felt anything more than friendship and physical attraction for him. And she suspected his broken heart had more to do with losing a stand-in for Hannah than any deep and abiding feelings for her.
    Dom had always had a thing for her sister, but Harley understood. Most people with any sense would choose sweet and sunny over sarcastic and complicated—and those were some of Harley’s better traits.
    But maybe she’d been wrong about Dom letting go and moving on…
    The thought made her pause at the edge of the kiddie pool, where a map of the resort was illuminated by flickering tiki torches on either side. She didn’t need to look at the map—she could see the restrooms where she was supposed to meet Dom from where she stood—but she couldn’t ignore the unease