said. Always so eager, so Nora. “I’m not a billionaire, but I have more than plenty. Amy can pay me back after you recover whatever this man stole.”
“That’s generous,” I said as I kissed her hand gently. “I really appreciate it, but no, that’s not necessary.” I sat up a bit and leaned my head against the couchlike headboard, a large, semirounded number permanently affixed to the bulkhead behind the queen-size bed.
“Let’s see what we uncover about this man her mother married and then we’ll reassess. For the moment, Amy is with Sammy. He’s got her in a safe house.”
“Safe house?” she said, sitting up. Nora sounded alarmed. “She in danger?”
“Just a precaution.”
“She could stay with me, you know.”
“No way.”
“Why not? I’d love to have her. And I wouldn’t cost you or her anything...” She ran a fingernail up my arm and toward the nape of my neck. She knew damn well what that did to me. She wasn’t playing fair.
But this was no game. Robertson didn’t seem like an amateur, and I had to assume he was playing for keeps.
“If this asshole is the kind of person I believe he is, then Amy may be in danger, and if she stayed with you, that could put you in harm’s way. A risk I’m not willing to take.”
“I feel so bad for her.” Nora’s shoulders slumped a little.
“She’ll be safe where she is,” I said, sitting up next to her. Thanks to the air-conditioned cabin, we were no longer sweating like horses after a six-furlong race.
“It’s unfair, but shit like this happens, Nora. People get kicked even when they’re down. That’s life. A chain of events gets set in motion, for one reason or another the victim refuses to deal with the problem or simply lives in denial, and then disaster after disaster occurs until there’s nothing left. And along with the material things lost, the human spirit vanishes, too. It’s human nature. Some victims end up taking their own lives. Like I said before, when you look into these cases and you examine the events leading up to the final deception, almost without exception you find out that there were warning signs all along. Victims, for whatever reasons, simply refuse to heed the warnings. In all likelihood, Amy’s mom was just another victim who let someone take advantage of her. It was a choice she made. And now Amy is paying the price.”
Her head snapped toward me, and her back straightened. “Do you think Amy might do something irrational? End up like her mother?”
“No, not Amy,” I reassured her. “The girl may have been dealt her share of bad hands, but she’s really determined and she is not blinded by his charms. She wants to fight this guy.”
“What does she want you to do?”
“She’d like to get everything back. But what she’s particularly concerned with is that tapestry that hung in her mother’s house. Supposedly, her dad left something hidden in it just for her some sort of insurance policy in case things went bad. She has no idea what it may be, but she’s convinced its valuable.”
“And you being you, and her father having been a convicted embezzler, you don’t believe it for a second, do you?” Nora knew me well. Or maybe I’m just that damned predictable.
“You blame me?” I asked.
“Not at all. You’re just naturally skeptical. I like that about you. I like it a lot. Me, I’m way too trusting. Too naïve. I guess we balance each other.” She smiled and nuzzled my cheek. “But you’re gonna help her find whatever it is, aren’t you?”
That was too much. I was getting tired of being a marionette for women like Nora to pull my strings almost at will simply because they were beautiful and I had certain needs that weakened my otherwise strong, manly resolve. I looked her square in the eye and said, “What if I say no? What if I just don’t want to get involved in something like this?”
It didn’t work. She purred like a kitten and took my face in her soft, knowing
“That’s generous,” I said as I kissed her hand gently. “I really appreciate it, but no, that’s not necessary.” I sat up a bit and leaned my head against the couchlike headboard, a large, semirounded number permanently affixed to the bulkhead behind the queen-size bed.
“Let’s see what we uncover about this man her mother married and then we’ll reassess. For the moment, Amy is with Sammy. He’s got her in a safe house.”
“Safe house?” she said, sitting up. Nora sounded alarmed. “She in danger?”
“Just a precaution.”
“She could stay with me, you know.”
“No way.”
“Why not? I’d love to have her. And I wouldn’t cost you or her anything...” She ran a fingernail up my arm and toward the nape of my neck. She knew damn well what that did to me. She wasn’t playing fair.
But this was no game. Robertson didn’t seem like an amateur, and I had to assume he was playing for keeps.
“If this asshole is the kind of person I believe he is, then Amy may be in danger, and if she stayed with you, that could put you in harm’s way. A risk I’m not willing to take.”
“I feel so bad for her.” Nora’s shoulders slumped a little.
“She’ll be safe where she is,” I said, sitting up next to her. Thanks to the air-conditioned cabin, we were no longer sweating like horses after a six-furlong race.
“It’s unfair, but shit like this happens, Nora. People get kicked even when they’re down. That’s life. A chain of events gets set in motion, for one reason or another the victim refuses to deal with the problem or simply lives in denial, and then disaster after disaster occurs until there’s nothing left. And along with the material things lost, the human spirit vanishes, too. It’s human nature. Some victims end up taking their own lives. Like I said before, when you look into these cases and you examine the events leading up to the final deception, almost without exception you find out that there were warning signs all along. Victims, for whatever reasons, simply refuse to heed the warnings. In all likelihood, Amy’s mom was just another victim who let someone take advantage of her. It was a choice she made. And now Amy is paying the price.”
Her head snapped toward me, and her back straightened. “Do you think Amy might do something irrational? End up like her mother?”
“No, not Amy,” I reassured her. “The girl may have been dealt her share of bad hands, but she’s really determined and she is not blinded by his charms. She wants to fight this guy.”
“What does she want you to do?”
“She’d like to get everything back. But what she’s particularly concerned with is that tapestry that hung in her mother’s house. Supposedly, her dad left something hidden in it just for her some sort of insurance policy in case things went bad. She has no idea what it may be, but she’s convinced its valuable.”
“And you being you, and her father having been a convicted embezzler, you don’t believe it for a second, do you?” Nora knew me well. Or maybe I’m just that damned predictable.
“You blame me?” I asked.
“Not at all. You’re just naturally skeptical. I like that about you. I like it a lot. Me, I’m way too trusting. Too naïve. I guess we balance each other.” She smiled and nuzzled my cheek. “But you’re gonna help her find whatever it is, aren’t you?”
That was too much. I was getting tired of being a marionette for women like Nora to pull my strings almost at will simply because they were beautiful and I had certain needs that weakened my otherwise strong, manly resolve. I looked her square in the eye and said, “What if I say no? What if I just don’t want to get involved in something like this?”
It didn’t work. She purred like a kitten and took my face in her soft, knowing
Similar Books
