Hurricane Bay. Heather Graham
Читать онлайн книгу.
long ago now, she had determined to keep herself far away.
So what the hell was she doing here now? Today, of all damned times?
She didn’t give him a chance to ask, didn’t even start off with so much as a simple “Hello.”
“Where’s Sheila?” she asked, a sharp note of demand in her voice.
His heart slammed. The name hit him like a blow to the head.
“Sheila?” he said, forcing a quizzical frown to his lips.
“Yes, Dane, where’s Sheila?”
He studied her for a long moment. “Hmm. Not, ‘Hi, Dane, how are you?’ Or, ‘Long time no see. How are you?’”
“Don’t get funny. And don’t pretend you don’t know what I’m talking about.”
“Kid, I’m not pretending anything.”
“Don’t call me ‘kid,’ Dane.”
“Sorry. You are still Joe’s kid sister, aren’t you?”
“Dane, where is Sheila? And don’t tell me you haven’t seen her. There are witnesses, you know.”
“Witnesses to what?”
“No one has seen Sheila in a week. The last time she was seen was here, with you. And you’re going to tell me exactly where she is.”
He was glad of his own sunglasses. And though there were few times in his current life when he was glad of his past, this was one of them. He kept his face totally impassive.
Because he did know what had happened to Sheila Warren, even if he didn’t know exactly where she was. And in the last two hours, the one driving purpose in his own life had become finding the exact whereabouts of Sheila.
Of all the damned things he didn’t need, it was Kelsey Cunningham coming here now, accosting him. Looking for Sheila. As far as he knew, the two women hadn’t seen each other in years.
“Sorry, kid. So she was here with me. She’s here a lot. With a lot of different people. Why in God’s name would I know where she is now…honey?” he asked, his voice a slow, lazy drawl, the tone purposefully insinuating. Why not? They weren’t kids anymore. And the time when they’d been bonded together in sorrow was eons ago now. The last time they had met, she had been far more than cool. In fact, she’d been as frigid and brittle as ice.
Kelsey the compassionate. Sincere, earnest, a daredevil at times. Quick with laughter, swift to challenge. Full of empathy for any underdog; a pit bull against any evil, real or imagined. Once upon a time, Joe’s darling of a sweet little sister.
Times changed.
“Dane, dammit, she talked to you. You were seeing her again.”
Irrelevantly he noticed that she had grown into her effortless grace. And she had gained the ability to appear as cool and remote as a goddess.
He almost sat up, but didn’t. He forced himself to shrug casually. “Seeing her? Well, yeah, honey, I was seeing her. In a way. Me and half the men in the southern half of the state, not to mention nearly every tourist in pants who set foot on the island.”
“You asshole,” she said. Her tone didn’t rise, but something in her words conveyed the extent of her contempt.
“Yeah, honey, I’m an asshole. But before you go off in a tizzy about Sheila Warren, you need to accept the fact that she’d changed over the years. In fact, you pretty much need to accept the fact that she was damn close to being a prostitute.”
She was silent for a moment. She didn’t move, but it didn’t matter. The fury she was feeling seemed to emanate from her like heat waves off black pavement.
“She was…a free spirit. But I know she was with you again and now she’s missing. Someone knows something. If it’s anyone, it has to be you. You talked to her, and she talked to you.”
“Yes, she talked to me. And I talked to her.”
“So talk to me.”
He slid his glasses down his nose for a moment, studying her. “She talked to me nicely,” he said.
“This isn’t a social call.”
“Right. So leave me alone.”
“Since you don’t seem to want to talk to me, I’ll have to see to it that you talk to the police.”
“Fine. The police are usually polite and courteous.” He pushed his sunglasses back up his nose and folded his arms over his chest.
She was still staring down at him. He sighed and looked up at her impatiently.
“So what is it now? I can’t help you. Can’t you leave me alone anyway? See something you like? Hey, kid, have you changed, too? Just like Sheila? Do you want to…catch up on old times?”
Her composure was amazing. She took her time answering him.
“Do I see something I like? No, not at all. In fact, I’m amazed by how much I see I dislike.”
“Well, then, you have changed, honey. So…you’re not into the muscle-bound beach type anymore, huh?”
“I’m just not into assholes like you. Available? You must be joking.”
He looked up at her blandly. “Is that all?”
“All? No, not quite.”
She spoke softly, and, with an economy of motion, she twisted her wrist. The fruity drink fell over his chest like a rain of sticky slime. He almost jumped up to grab her. Instinct again.
He managed to keep his place on the lounge chair. It was important that she keep thinking of him as an asshole.
Strange, he hadn’t seen her in years. But still…she was a Keys kid from way back. Joe’s little sister.
No, Kelsey was a hell of a lot more than that, he reminded himself. But any fleeting memory of what might have been an inescapable bond in the past was quickly doused by the lethal trauma of the present.
Even more than he had feared when he first saw her, he realized that she was trouble. Real trouble.
And he sure as hell didn’t want her…
Dear God, he didn’t want her going the route Sheila had gone.
Still staring down at him, she shook her head with revulsion. “An asshole and a drunk,” she said. “You’re covered in liquor and you don’t even move.”
“I imagine it’s good booze. I’ll just lick myself all over,” he said. “Want to help?”
With one last look of disgust, she turned on her perfect little sandal-heels and started to walk away.
“Kelsey!”
Despite himself, he got to his feet, every muscle in his body quickening with tension.
“Go to the cops, Kelsey, then get the hell out of the Keys, do you hear? Go back to your hot job and your condo on the bay. Do you understand?”
She paused for a moment, then told him what he could do with himself.
“Whatever you want, Kelsey. But I mean it. Tell the cops anything you think they ought to know. Then go home.”
“This is my home—as much as it’s yours.”
“The hell it is. Your home now is a cute little condo in a ritzy section of Miami, with a gate and a security guard. Now go away.”
“Who the hell do you think you are?” she asked. She didn’t expect an answer, but he gave her one anyway.
“I’m the man telling you that you don’t belong here anymore,” he said. Especially not running around asking questions about Sheila.
“Like