Some Like It in Handcuffs by Christine Warner Read Free Book Online

beautiful girl she recognized as a smiling, bright eyed Karina. Even though she had the two short sentences memorized, she reread them.
    Benny is innocent. Look closer at his friends.
    Sunny sighed and tossed the paper on the table. She needed more information. For all she knew Benny had figured out her identity and planned to throw her off his trail and confuse her with fake clues.
    But her gut told her he wasn’t involved in Karina’s death, and she trusted her instincts. Her outside helper needed to tell her what friends to look at. No way could she narrow it down on her own. Benny knew too many people.
    Her stomach clenched. The next time she and Judson talked she’d show him the note and the picture. Even though she agreed to share everything with Judson regarding the case, there was one thing she couldn’t.
    Checking the time, Sunny walked from her office toward her bedroom to change into her sequined outfit. Her job at Benny’s was something she couldn’t let go, and she feared if Judson found out he’d inform her family and the gig would be up.

Chapter Four
    “Hey, little lady, running late tonight ain’t ya?”
    The hairs on the back of Sunny’s neck spiked. She recognized Slater’s raspy drawl as she rushed through the entrance of the dimly lit bar. She wanted to pretend she hadn’t heard him, but since he blocked her path to the time clock in the back room, it didn’t seem likely. Something about the stocky, red haired man made her skin crawl. She tried to keep their contact to a minimum, but he always sought her out. Not that they talked much. He preferred to sit in her vicinity, tapping his square black onyx ring on the side of his beer bottle and following her movements with his dead eyes.
    “Excuse me, Slater.” Sunny gritted her teeth and stepped toward the back room, stopping when he didn’t move. “I need to punch in. I don’t want Benny to have a reason to give me my walking papers.” Even to her own ears her words had a hard edge. She wasn’t doing too good of a job hiding her dislike of Slater.
    “No way would I let Benny ever let you go, little lady. Not only are ya a sight to look at, but we like havin’ ya round.” His leering smile lifted the corners of his untamed beard.
    It required all of her strength not to recoil as his stubby fingers slid down the side of her cheek.
    “I appreciate your support, but I need to clock in.” She glared at him. “Excuse me, please .”
    Slater moved aside, barely giving her enough room to squeeze past. The stench of beer and stale cigarettes assaulted her nose. She grimaced, and pushed through the swinging doors to the back room determined to hold her anger in check. Positive his intention all along had been to have her brush up against him. He liked to make all the girls uncomfortable.
    An equal opportunity jerk.
    Her hand shook. She’d like to give him a piece of her mind, and maybe a slap across his puffy face, but she couldn’t make an enemy of Slater and risk losing this job.
    Whatever brought Benny and Slater together as friends was a mystery to her. When she’d first met them she’d been frightened. Reputation alone, Benny wasn’t so bad, and as she’d gotten to know him, she’d discovered the rumors were scarier than the man. He was a good person. But Slater had been in and out of prison twice in the last five years for assault and harboring a fugitive. She clenched up when he was around, her instincts screamed bad news.
    Once behind the bar, Sunny popped caps off of beer bottles and mixed drinks for the patrons gathered around the stage. Her shift flew by, and after the first few awkward minutes, Slater left her alone. Although the tingle along the back of her neck had her feeling like she was being watched, she chose to ignore it and convinced herself she’d seen one too many scary movies through the years.
    The night passed in a blur, and just after midnight, Sunny headed down the steep wooden steps to the basement so she