4 Shot Off The Presses Read Online Free PDF

inches of her. Her long brown hair was wild – and I doubted it was from the wind – and her brown eyes were on fire with rage.
    “I hate men!”
    I glanced across the table at Eliot. His jaw had clenched at the sound of Lexie’s voice, but he was studying the meal on his plate instead of acknowledging her presence. That was probably a good thing, although I doubted it would last.
    “What now?”
    “Devontae says that I’m high maintenance,” Lexie slid into the chair beside me and grabbed a piece of green pepper off my plate.
    Eliot snorted. “And that’s news?”
    Lexie ignored him. “I am not high-maintenance.” I took a bite of my fajita to delay answering her. That didn’t dissuade her, though. “Am I high-maintenance?”
    “No,” I said hurriedly.
    “Yes,” Eliot said at the same time.
    Lexie narrowed her eyes as she regarded Eliot. Despite the fact that he had saved her – several times – over the past few months, their relationship was getting more and more tempestuous.
    “What does that mean?”
    “It means that you’re the most high-maintenance person I’ve ever met,” Eliot answered honestly.
    Lexie pursed her lips angrily. “That’s not true.” She turned to me expectantly. “Tell him that’s not true.”
    I swallowed hard. “I promised I wouldn’t lie to him,” I said carefully. “I’m really trying to keep my promise.” And I wasn’t going to break it on something that held absolutely no benefit to me.
    “What’s that supposed to mean?” Lexie screeched.
    “Oh, come on,” I sighed. “You know you’re high-maintenance. You get off on it.”
    “That’s the meanest thing you’ve ever said to me,” Lexie pouted.
    “I once told you that we adopted you from a band of gypsies,” I protested. “You cried for three straight weeks.”
    “I forgot about that,” Lexie mused. “You’ve always been mean to me. I was five and I believed everything you told me. For the next two years I waited to grow fangs because you told me all gypsies eventually grew fangs.”
    Eliot looked incensed. “Mean? Didn’t she just give you a bunch of money to start a yoga studio?” I guess he was just ignoring the gypsy thing. Despite the uncomfortable situation, it warmed my heart that he was standing up for me.
    Lexie looked properly chagrined. “Yes, she did,” Lexie agreed. “She’s also a partner in that business. So, when it makes a lot of money, she’s going to make a great profit.”
    “And, if it fails, she’ll lose all that money,” Eliot shot back.
    I pinched the bridge of my nose to ward off the headache that was suddenly threatening to ruin the rest of the night. “Can we not fight?”
    Lexie and Eliot both pretended they didn’t hear me.
    “It’s not going to fail.”
    “You don’t know that,” Eliot scoffed. “You know absolutely nothing about running a business.”
    “That’s why I partnered with Avery,” Lexie shot back.
    “Avery doesn’t know anything about running a business either,” Eliot replied. He shot an apologetic look in my direction. “No offense.”
    I couldn’t really take offense since he was right.
    “I guess that’s why she’s sleeping with you,” Lexie said angrily. “You run a pawnshop, so you know everything about running a business.”
    “I run a private detective business, too,” Eliot reminded her.
    “Well, I guess all the pillow talk is about supply and demand then,” Lexie was practically seething.
    Eliot regarded Lexie coldly. “Good point,” he said finally, getting to his feet. “And, with that, let’s go to bed.”
    Eliot held his hand out to me. I took it, even though the gesture caused Lexie to frown.
    “What about this mess?”
    “You’re living here rent-free,” Eliot said. “Earn your keep.”

Five
    In general, I’m not a morning person. When I wake up next to a warm mass of muscles and tousled brown hair, though, I’ve been known to make exceptions. I blew out a sigh and snuggled into Eliot for a