The Muse (Interracial Mystery Romance) (Dark Art Mystery Series) by Kenya Wright Read Free Book Online

you’re saying you want me to stay here so that I can keep your brother busy while you deal with dead girls?”
    He moved his closed lips around like he was gritting his teeth. I almost laughed, and would have, if the situation hadn’t been so serious. Here was a man who wasn’t used to people calling him out on his crap. Sure, his grandma probably resisted, but in the end it seemed like she did what he asked. Hex appeared to break rules and whine like a child from that scene earlier in the studio when he threw his paint brushes on the floor, but Alvarez still held all the control over his brother.
    “So?” I asked. “Am I right?”
    Again, he rubbed his face. It was a wonder that his sculpted face never sagged due to all the rubbing.
    “Just tell me the truth.” I leaned my head to the side.
    “No. There are not lots of dead women. Yes. I would like you to keep my brother busy.
    You would still be modeling like before, but now with everything happening around me, I don’t have time to focus on him. If you’re here, he’ll be obsessed with the art, and in the end all the same results will happen. Greatness will show in his collection. You’ll be paid and everything will return to normal.”
    I can’t believe I’m even considering this. But then, where the hell was I going anyway with only five hundred dollars in my pocket?
    Michael had emptied all of my bank accounts. I checked at the layover in Dallas when I went to the ATM machine. It had been a risk to try and get my money anyway. I wanted him to think I was leaving the States. An ATM withdrawal in Dallas may have kept his search in the country. Either way, it had all been for nothing. When I checked my balance, the screen said zero. I yanked out all of my other debit cards and discovered the same thing. Although I’d snuck out of the house at three in the morning while he slept on top of his nude model in the studio, in less than four hours he’d discovered my letter saying I was leaving and cleared all the money from my accounts. I figured he would never take all the money I’d earned with him and knew that he wouldn’t be that cruel. I was wrong and wouldn’t be making those same mistakes again.
    When I got off the plane, I had ten missed calls from him.
    “Will you stay?” Alvarez pulled me back to reality and the present problem at hand.
    “Has there already been a dead girl on this property?”
    He waited for one long silent and uncomfortable minute before he answered, “Yes.”
    “Do you know who killed her?”
    “No. I found her near the garden. There’s a police detective assigned to the case who’s waiting for me in my office to figure out who did it.”
    “Did you know her?”
    “No. I barely saw her around the grounds. Hex loves to invite many writers, artists, and models here. He calls it a colony for creative thinkers. I tend to keep my distance from his guests.”
    “What did she do?”
    Again, he hesitated before admitting, “She modeled for Hex and had been done for a
    while. I’d checked her model schedule and realized that she, along with several other models, were complete and just hanging out in the castle for fun. My assistant notified them that it was time to leave and booked them all flights for this morning. All of them left but her and a few others who remained.”
    “And now she’s dead.”
    “Yes, but I can guarantee you’ll be safe.”
    “Why, because your grandma will be stewing hearts and doing black magic in her rotting garden?”
    He grimaced. “It’s not black magic and the hearts aren’t . . . just never mind about all of that. I’m going to have a bodyguard follow you around. He’ll keep his distance to not get my brother’s attention, but he’ll always be around to protect you.”
    I relaxed a little and didn’t think having a bodyguard around would be a bad thing. There was Michael after all. I didn’t think he would come at me with violence. He never physically hurt me, but then I’d