Unfinished Business by Heather Atkinson Read Free Book Online Page B

Ross, were younger, both in their mid twenties, eager and sometimes reckless with it but they were good boys and got the job done.
    He hoped he had to bring Cass down here, he missed her already.
    “No, don’t go there,” he muttered to himself, removing his jacket and shoes and lying back on the couch, eyes already closing. He didn’t think Sarah Creegan would sleep so easily.

CHAPTER 4
     
    Sarah shuffled about the lounge, wincing at the daylight streaming in through the chink in the curtains.
    “You look rough,” commented Brodie before he’d thought through what he was saying. He’d only just woken up after a deep, satisfying sleep on the luxurious couch.
    “Thanks a bloody lot,” she mumbled, rubbing her eyes. She’d failed to remove her make-up from the day before and black eyeliner had smeared around her eyes, making her look like an angry blond panda. Brodie decided not to say anything, he didn’t think it would help.
    “I just meant you look hungover, that’s all,” he said. She didn’t look like she’d got much sleep. Her hair was all over the place and dark shadows circled her eyes that hadn’t been caused by the make-up. She looked like someone who’d spent the night tossing and turning.
    “I couldn’t sleep, I was too busy trying to work out how to deal with Mark,” she yawned. “Sometimes things seem better in the cold light of day but this just seems sodding worse.”
    “Did you come to a decision?”
    “No.” She looked down at her fingers, which were twisting themselves together with anxiety. “Want a brew?”
    “Aye, that would be lovely thanks,” he replied, pushing himself upright and swinging his legs over the edge of the couch.
    “Tea or coffee?”
    “Coffee black, no sugar please. Can I use your bathroom, that’s if it’s okay for me to go upstairs now?”
    She nodded. “Upstairs, fourth door on the right.”
    Fourth door, thought Brodie. Flash.
    While she shuffled off in the direction of the kitchen he mounted the impressive staircase and eventually found the bathroom, which was the size of his living room. A large round marble bath dominated the room and he gazed at it longingly. Instead he splashed water on his face at the sink and ran his fingers through his hair. At least he looked more refreshed than Sarah.
    As he returned to the stairs he quietly opened each door and stuck his head inside. In the master bedroom there was actually a four poster bed, rumpled after Sarah’s dark night of the soul. Two of the rooms were decorated in pinks and lilacs, clearly the girls’ rooms and another seemed to be filled with nothing but antiques, floor to ceiling glass cabinets bursting at the seams with mannequins in period clothing and a weird and wonderful assortment of historical objects. Brodie didn’t know anything about antiques but even he could tell these things added up to a fortune. A burglar’s paradise, that was if the burglar in question was smart enough to get past the state-of-the-art security system. In his experience most of them weren’t.
    The remaining doors revealed nothing but bland guest rooms, holding no interest for him whatsoever, so he returned downstairs before Sarah realised what he was up to.
    “Nice place you’ve got here,” commented Brodie as he strolled into the kitchen.
    “Only the best for Mark,” she said peevishly. “After being poor when he was growing up he likes to surround himself with expensive things.”
    Brodie took in her streaked hair, manicured nails and silk dressing gown and wondered if that included her.
    They took their coffee through to the lounge and sat on opposing couches.
    “Thanks for staying over by the way, I felt much safer,” she said.
    “No problem.”
    “I know you’ve got your suspicions about Mark but just wait until you meet the rest of the clan, especially Seth.”
    Before he could question her further about that statement there was a crunch of gravel and Sarah was on her feet, slopping coffee