Wicked Dreams by Lily Harper Hart Read Free Book Online Page B

not true,” Jack said. “Kelly didn’t spend the night in this house.”
    “I … .” Emily broke off, biting her lower lip and shooting a look in her husband’s direction.
    “What’s going on?” Derek asked.
    “Kelly was found in Shadow Lake yesterday,” Brian said. “She was hiding in a greenhouse at a local business. Her arms were bruised, and she was traumatized to the point where she screamed when anyone tried to approach her.”
    “I … that’s not possible,” Derek said. “She has a curfew. She has to be in this house by nine every night.”
    “And you’re saying you saw her last night?”
    “Of course,” Derek said. “We’re diligent foster parents. We take care of the kids the state places with us. I don’t know what you think … .”
    “I’ll tell you exactly what I think,” Jack interrupted. “I think you take kids from the state to get the paycheck. I don’t think you’ve seen Kelly in days, maybe weeks even. I think you’re trying to cover your asses, but it’s not going to work because we’ve had Kelly for the past twenty-four hours. Stop lying.”
    “Don’t you dare accuse me of anything,” Derek snapped.
    “We’re not accusing you of anything,” Brian said, shooting Jack a dark look before focusing back on the Gideons. “I raised a few teenagers. I know how troublesome they can be. We need to put a timeline together, though. Something happened to Kelly, and we need to know what.”
    “Why don’t you just ask her?”
    “She’s not keen on talking right now,” Brian said.
    “What happened to her?” Emily asked.
    “We’re not sure yet,” Brian replied. “She’s … adjusting … right now. When she’s ready to talk, she’ll talk.”
    “She should be with us,” Derek said. “We’re her guardians.”
    “She’s … good where she’s at,” Brian said.
    “She’s safe,” Jack added.
    “Are you insinuating she wouldn’t be safe here?” Derek asked. “We’re good foster parents. We take this job very seriously.”
    “Obviously,” Jack replied dryly. “A good foster parent always lies to law enforcement about a child in their care.”
    “Hey, you have no idea what we’re dealing with here,” Derek said. “We’ve got four mouths to feed under this roof, and that’s not counting us. Kelly is a teenager. She doesn’t need constant supervision.”
    “No one was suggesting she did,” Brian said. “The fact remains that Kelly has been gone for at least twenty-four hours. You either knew and didn’t report it or you didn’t know. I’m not sure which prospect is worse, quite frankly.”
    “Kelly doesn’t always stay here,” Emily said.
    “Shut up, Emily,” Derek snapped.
    “No,” Emily said, shaking her head. “She’s a teenager. She kind of … comes and goes as she pleases.”
    “I thought she had a curfew,” Jack said.
    “She does,” Derek said.
    “Okay, I’ve had just about enough of this,” Brian said. “When was the last time you saw Kelly? If you say this morning … or last night … I’m going to have a caseworker out here every day for the next month, even if I have to pay them out of my own pocket.”
    Jack arched an eyebrow, surprised and impressed.
    “We saw her four days ago,” Emily said, resigned. “She stopped in to get some fresh clothes and do some laundry.”
    “How often does she stay here?”
    “A couple nights a week.”
    “Where does she stay the other nights?” Jack asked, rampant dislike for the Gideons rolling through his stomach.
    “She has a few friends,” Emily said. “She usually sleeps on their couches or … I don’t know … maybe she has a boyfriend.”
    “Are you saying you have no idea where she spends her nights?”
    “She’s here two or three nights a week,” Emily said. “She comes in after we’ve gone to bed most of the time. Then she eats breakfast with us and takes off again.”
    “As long as she keeps her grades up and is here for social worker visits, we kind of let