Unleashed. Lori Borrill

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СКАЧАТЬ remembered specifically having them drawn up, signing them in her lawyer’s office and having them couriered to the county jail. She remembered that day as if it was yesterday. She’d signed them. They’d been notarized. Wade had signed them, too.

      Hadn’t he?

      “Things got a little hectic back then, what with Old Lady Hawley up and dying like that,” he drawled.

      She squeezed her eyes shut. No, no, no. This was Wade playing games with her. He signed those papers. She knew it as well as she knew her own name. “The lawyer called and said you’d signed,” she contended, though a tremble in her voice watered down the affirmation.

      “You sure about that? Are you sure you aren’t thinking about the call you got from that lawyer telling you old Granna Hawley left you all her money?”

      Her eyes shot open and she glared at him through the window.

      “Half of which is mine, you realize.”

      Shaking her head, Jessie thought about the time, through a fever of distress and ire. The lawyer did call. She’d gotten the package in the mail. She was sure of it.

      Wasn’t she?

      A slow swell of bile rose up her throat. She’d signed those papers the day before Granna Hawley died. Sure, she’d been devastated by the loss. Gran was the only person Jessie could ever count on. And then there’d been the funeral arrangements and the impending feud between her father’s side of the family and her mother’s—the former insisting the latter had no business anywhere near the cemetery. It had been a mess, with Jessica slammed right in the center.

      But in the middle of it, she knew Wade had signed those divorce papers. The lawyers told her so. The package came in the mail.

      She was sure that it had…

      The bile hit the back of her mouth and she nearly choked. All these doubts, this was Wade and his games. He’d gotten out of jail and come here just to screw with her. He was only feeding his own sick sense of humor, hoping to get her back for dumping him the moment she’d learned the truth about him.

      “We’re divorced,” she said again, this time with more velocity than the last.

      “My lawyer says you got almost a hundred thousand dollars from the old woman after taxes. Plus half of that ten thousand you just borrowed.”

      Her mouth fell open.

      “Yeah, as your husband I know all about your finances.”

      “Then you know I don’t have any of that money anymore.”

      “No. And you don’t have the five hundred dollars you’d stashed in that black velvet box, either.” He patted his back pocket. “Consider it your first installment.”

       He’d been in her apartment?

      And if he’d rummaged through the place, how much had he found? She had Granna’s jewelry and Grandpa Hawley’s watch.

      Georgia had a diamond ring that belonged to her mother. She cherished that thing. Had Wade found that, too?

      She nearly doubled over. If her friend lost anything thanks to that snake, she’d never forgive herself.

      “I’m disappointed, Sugar Beane. I came all this way looking for my wife and my money only to find you broke and in bed with another man. Now, what do you think a husband should do about that?”

      Clutching the phone so hard she thought it might snap, she repeated through clenched teeth. “You’re not my husband.”

      “Oh, yes, I am. And as your husband, you owe me somewheres in the neighborhood of fifty thousand dollars.” He pushed off the fender of the Honda and stood straight, the smile drained from his face and his eyes black as sin. “Get me the money, Sugar Beane, and you can have your divorce.”

      “I already have my divorce, and even if I don’t, I don’t have that kind of money. It’s gone. Sunk into my business.”

      “Yeah, your momma told me all about that movie star who’s gonna make you famous. I’m looking forward to sharing half your wealth.” Then flashing a grin she could see all the way from the street, he added, “Now, why don’t you come down and share a little of that sweet ass, too? Or am I not as worthy as your fuck buddy?”

      She snapped the phone shut then turned it off, not willing to hear anymore.

      Wade was wrong. They were divorced. And the moment she got home, she’d find those papers and prove that she had nothing to worry about.

      Scattering about the dark space, she went in search of her things. Rick was still sprawled like a stone tablet across his bed, the slow rise of his back the only indication he was still breathing.

      Moments ago, she’d been on top of the world, this sexy, chiseled cop sending her to all kinds of heavenly places and leaving her feeling like a queen. And with one phone call, her past had come crashing back, storming through the gates of her new life like an angry mob intent on raping and pillaging everything she’d created.

      Clenched fists at her sides, she vowed not to let it happen. She wasn’t sweet, little Sugar Beane anymore, dumb and ignorant and ready to roll over for every con artist who crossed her path. Her tryst with Rick underscored that. Here in California she was an independent, grown woman capable of taking on the world, and no car-stealing felon of an ex-husband was going to topple her now.

      For a second, she considered waking up Rick and sending him downstairs to throw Wade back behind bars where he belonged, but she quickly extinguished the thought. It was time she stopped believing anyone would come to her rescue. In her twenty-seven years, Granna Hawley was the only person she’d ever been able to lean on, who’d stood up for her and defended her when she needed someone in her corner. That made one person among a half-dozen family members who should have helped but only disappointed—Wade Griggs being the last in a long line of them.

      How she could think a practical stranger would come to her aid only proved she hadn’t yet wised up, so instead of waking him, she quickly threw on her clothes, grabbed her purse and took off out the back alley. She ran up the street, only stopping to call a cab after she was blocks away from Wade and his threats.

      She needed to take care of this herself. And as soon as she got home and found the papers she knew were there, she’d succeed in sending Wade Griggs right back to the swill he came from. Doing so would be a message to everyone that Jessica Beane couldn’t be screwed with ever again.

      Chapter Three

      A SHARP BLADE of sunlight slipped between the drapes in Rick’s bedroom and stretched across his face, drawing him from deep sleep into a groggy morning haze.

      He blinked his eyes open and winced. He wasn’t accustomed to being woken by sunlight, his unsteady dreams usually pulling him from bed long before dawn. But last night there were no dreams, just an intoxicating blend of soft woman and hard sleep.

      Angling his head away from the deadly light ray, he tried opening his eyes again, curious to know exactly how late he’d slept. The red digital numbers on his clock said seven forty-five. A record. At least, one he hadn’t СКАЧАТЬ