Within Striking Distance by Ingrid Weaver Read Free Book Online Page A

always had a gauntness to his features, but over the past few years his flesh appeared to be drawing in on itself.
    He’d seemed invincible when she’d been a child. There had been no request he would deny her, no problem he couldn’t solve for her. She’d always been able to count on him. Sometimes she found it hard to believe the father she’d relied on was the same person as this frail old man. When had their roles reversed?
    He jerked when he noticed her presence. The controllerhe’d left on the arm of his chair dropped to the floor. He doubled over to grope for it, then straightened up and hit the mute. “Did Peters call again?”
    Cynthia’s ears rang in the sudden silence. “No, Daddy.”
    “I want to be told immediately if he does. We have to figure out what to do.”
    She nodded, feeling a stirring of pity as she heard an echo of the man he used to be. Gerald hadn’t figured anything out in years. She had found him shaking in panic last week when one of the servants had unthinkingly woken him up to put Floyd Peters’s call through to him. She’d fired the idiot the next morning and had left strict instructions with the remaining staff about screening all phone calls through her. “It’s all right, Daddy,” she said. “I’ll take care of it.”
    “We can’t afford to let anyone ask questions about that baby.”
    “No one will find anything.”
    “But Peters sounded worried. What if he changes his mind and talks to that private detective?”
    “He’s kept quiet for three decades. There’s no reason for him to go back on his word now.”
    “I pray he doesn’t.” Gerald pinched the bridge of his nose, which meant he was trying to think. “We’ll be ruined.”
    We? she thought. No, her father would be fine. In his current state of health, any judge would be lenient when it came to sentencing. Everything Gerald had done, he’d done to help cover up his daughter’s crime. Cynthia was the one with the most to lose if the truth got out. In addition to her freedom, there was her position at the company, her reputation in the community, her marriage…
    At the thought of her husband, tears started to gather but she forced them back. No. She would not let one youthful mistake ruin a lifetime of achievement. “Daddy, I’m not going to let that happen.”
    “But—”
    “Please, don’t get yourself agitated. You know it’s not good for you.”
    “I want to help you, Cynthia, but I don’t know how.”
    “It’s my turn to take care of you now, Daddy. The past is going to stay buried. I’ve taken steps to make sure Jake McMasters doesn’t learn anything that could hurt us.” She patted his hand, then slipped the controller from his grasp and turned the sound back on. “I have a meeting in a few minutes,” she said, raising her voice above the din. “I have to go. Enjoy the race.”
    He made a weak protest, but his gaze had already moved back to the screen. Within seconds, his shoulders relaxed forward. He looked…relieved.
    Cynthia blinked impatiently at another spurt of tears. She truly couldn’t rely on her father’s help anymore. It was all up to her now.

CHAPTER THREE
    “Y OU REALIZE those things will kill you.”
    Jake bit into the hot dog and chewed with gusto, ignoring Len’s warning. He’d first met Lieutenant Leonard Denning when the man had been a rookie with the Charlotte police force and Jake had been learning the ropes as a P.I. They’d knocked heads a few times since then, but more often than not they found it mutually beneficial to cooperate. “There’s nothing wrong with a nice, juicy hot dog now and then, Len. Pure energy food.”
    “Do you know what’s in them?”
    “As long as it’s not still moving, I’m not particular.” He licked a drop of mustard that was inching out of the bun as he threw a glance at Len’s paunch. “Did Nancy get you on a seeds and nuts diet now?”
    Len waved a piece of his whole-wheat turkey sandwich. “I’m lucky my wife