the people arrested had to spend a night in a place like this, they’d probably think twice about ever committing a crime again.
The stuffy cell wasn’t cold or hot. Still, she felt so uncomfortable in her damp things, she decided to take everything off and wrap the sheet around her. Hopefully by morning her clothes would be dry.
Her poor leather sandals were ruined, but she wouldn’t complain. Not after the sign she once saw at the shoe repair which said, “I felt sorry for the man who had no shoes, until I saw a man who had no feet.”
She had to be losing her mind to think about that at a time like this.
There was no place to hang anything, so she spread everything out on the cement floor including the damp blanket. After separating the money so it would dry out too, she lay down on the cot.
The lumpy mattress had to be made out of straw, but she was so exhausted it didn’t matter. She stretched out on her side using her arm for a pillow. Catching hold of the other blanket, she drew it over her head. No telling what crawly creatures she’d be spending the night with.
Missing her sisters horribly, she knocked on the wall the way she knocked on the front door at home to let them know she was there.
If one of them was lying on a cot on the other side of it, maybe they would hear her and answer back. But after five minutes of bruising her knuckles against the rough plaster, she gave up and closed her eyes.
Their plan to escape had gone without a flaw. It had seemed like destiny when the police cruiser came alongside them and the authorities offered to help them aboard. But then fate played a cruel joke. What happened next she didn’t want to think about.
After handing them a blanket, the police took them to the dock, then hauled them into a van without any windows and no explanation. They must have been on the road several hours, only to be dumped here, her pendant confiscated.
What a laugh Max must have had as he and his cohorts sailed away scot-free, possessors of two pendants, one of which might be the authentic piece.
Sorry, Daddy. You and Mother should never have left us money to “try” to find a husband. We’re no good in that department.
The men who want to marry us, we don’t want.
And the men we shouldn’t want…
The memory of a certain male mouth closing over hers took her breath. She pressed her sore knuckles against her lips, wishing she could drive away the ache that had never left her body since he’d first kissed her.
“Signore di Varano! This is a great pleasure.”
“Commissioner? Allow me to introduce my cousins, Lucien de Falcon and Nicolas de Pastrana. We’re here to interrogate the prisoners.”
“What a tragedy that sisters so beautiful have found themselves on the wrong side of the law.”
Max didn’t want to hear it. “Did you arrange their cells the way I instructed?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“How long have they been here?”
“Approximately two hours.”
“Good. Have they caused any problems?”
“Problems? No. The one with the violet eyes was dismayed to be shut up without knowing her crime. I must admit I was moved.”
Despite his frustration over their incredible disappearing act, Max had to struggle not to laugh. “Did you enlighten her?”
“Si.”
“How did she respond?”
“She protested her innocence. At that point they all protested their innocence and demanded to phone their attorney long distance. The one with the aqua eyes put a damp twenty dollar bill across my palm for a bribe.”
A sound bordering on a chuckle broke from Nic.
“The one with the flame-blue eyes informed me every prisoner in the United States is given a square meal their first night in jail and she was in need of one. It was very amusing as she clearly expected me to comply with her wishes. She, too, handed me a damp twenty-dollar bill.”
“Mademoiselle Olivier had her chance to eat earlier,” Luc declared in a cold tone, but Max noticed his cousin’s lips
The stuffy cell wasn’t cold or hot. Still, she felt so uncomfortable in her damp things, she decided to take everything off and wrap the sheet around her. Hopefully by morning her clothes would be dry.
Her poor leather sandals were ruined, but she wouldn’t complain. Not after the sign she once saw at the shoe repair which said, “I felt sorry for the man who had no shoes, until I saw a man who had no feet.”
She had to be losing her mind to think about that at a time like this.
There was no place to hang anything, so she spread everything out on the cement floor including the damp blanket. After separating the money so it would dry out too, she lay down on the cot.
The lumpy mattress had to be made out of straw, but she was so exhausted it didn’t matter. She stretched out on her side using her arm for a pillow. Catching hold of the other blanket, she drew it over her head. No telling what crawly creatures she’d be spending the night with.
Missing her sisters horribly, she knocked on the wall the way she knocked on the front door at home to let them know she was there.
If one of them was lying on a cot on the other side of it, maybe they would hear her and answer back. But after five minutes of bruising her knuckles against the rough plaster, she gave up and closed her eyes.
Their plan to escape had gone without a flaw. It had seemed like destiny when the police cruiser came alongside them and the authorities offered to help them aboard. But then fate played a cruel joke. What happened next she didn’t want to think about.
After handing them a blanket, the police took them to the dock, then hauled them into a van without any windows and no explanation. They must have been on the road several hours, only to be dumped here, her pendant confiscated.
What a laugh Max must have had as he and his cohorts sailed away scot-free, possessors of two pendants, one of which might be the authentic piece.
Sorry, Daddy. You and Mother should never have left us money to “try” to find a husband. We’re no good in that department.
The men who want to marry us, we don’t want.
And the men we shouldn’t want…
The memory of a certain male mouth closing over hers took her breath. She pressed her sore knuckles against her lips, wishing she could drive away the ache that had never left her body since he’d first kissed her.
“Signore di Varano! This is a great pleasure.”
“Commissioner? Allow me to introduce my cousins, Lucien de Falcon and Nicolas de Pastrana. We’re here to interrogate the prisoners.”
“What a tragedy that sisters so beautiful have found themselves on the wrong side of the law.”
Max didn’t want to hear it. “Did you arrange their cells the way I instructed?”
“Yes. Of course.”
“How long have they been here?”
“Approximately two hours.”
“Good. Have they caused any problems?”
“Problems? No. The one with the violet eyes was dismayed to be shut up without knowing her crime. I must admit I was moved.”
Despite his frustration over their incredible disappearing act, Max had to struggle not to laugh. “Did you enlighten her?”
“Si.”
“How did she respond?”
“She protested her innocence. At that point they all protested their innocence and demanded to phone their attorney long distance. The one with the aqua eyes put a damp twenty dollar bill across my palm for a bribe.”
A sound bordering on a chuckle broke from Nic.
“The one with the flame-blue eyes informed me every prisoner in the United States is given a square meal their first night in jail and she was in need of one. It was very amusing as she clearly expected me to comply with her wishes. She, too, handed me a damp twenty-dollar bill.”
“Mademoiselle Olivier had her chance to eat earlier,” Luc declared in a cold tone, but Max noticed his cousin’s lips
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