A Little Bit Naughty Read Online Free PDF

other end of the line.
    Mason’s forehead creased with his frown. Why was Kiera getting phone calls on his landline?
    “Kiera stepped out for a minute,” he said. “Can I take a message?”
    “Would she be available on her cellular phone? She suggested I call this number first because the cellular service where she’s staying isn’t ideal, but if she isn’t there maybe her cell service is better wherever she is right now?”
    “Who’s calling?” Mason asked. “And what exactly do you want with Kiera?”
    “I’m sorry, sir, but I’m not at liberty to discuss that. I will try Kiera at the other number she provided. Thank you,” the woman said before hanging up.
    Mason immediately searched through the Caller ID.
    “Hammond Guaranty and Loan?”
    Why in the heck would Kiera need to speak to someone at a loan office? She’d paid off the mortgages on both her condo and the building that housed her catering business; Mason had seen to it. And, to his knowledge, she still had a healthy sum left over from her portion of what had been paid to them through their father’s life insurance policy. She shouldn’t need a loan. And even if she did, why would she borrow from a finance company instead of coming to him?
    Just as he was about to call her cell phone, he heard a car pulling into his driveway. Mason opened the front door and was met with a cardboard box, which Jada shoved into his hands.
    “Here,” she said.
    He set the box on the floor next to the apothecary chest. “Where’s Kiera?”
    “Getting the rest of her stuff out of my car.”
    Mason moved past Jada and walked over to the car. He lifted the armful of clothing from Kiera’s arms and asked, “Why is there a loan office calling you?”
    Kiera froze. “When did they call?”
    “Just before you pulled up,” he said. “Why do you—” Mason started, but Kiera was gone, turning and walking swiftly toward the curb, her cell phone to her ear.
    Jada walked up alongside him and gestured with her chin. “Any idea what’s going on with her?” she asked.
    “You don’t know?” Mason returned. He figured if anyone knew what Kiera was up to, it would be Jada or their other friend, Callie Webber. Those three were thicker than gravy.
    She shook her head. “She’s been acting weird all day. I figure she’ll tell me when she’s ready.”
    “I’m not waiting until she’s ready,” Mason said, tossing the clothes back into the open trunk.
    Jada grabbed his forearm. “Just what do you think you’re going to accomplish? God, Mason, you never change. When will you get it through that head of yours that Kiera is not some helpless child always in need of rescuing? Stop being a pain in her ass.”
    Mason’s jaw clenched. He stepped up to her, and in a deceptively calm voice, said, “What goes on between my sister and me is not your concern. Stay out of it.”
    Jada folded her arms across her chest and jutted her chin in the air. “It is my concern when I have to hear about it from her. Kiera can take care of herself. She doesn’t need you butting into her business.”
    He huffed out a laugh. “This probably won’t come as a surprise to you, Jada, but you’re the last person I’ll take advice from regarding my sister.”
    Mason gathered the clothes from the Nissan’s truck and started up the driveway. He was pretty sure he heard the word asshole muttered as he made his way back inside the house.
     

 
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Three
     
    Jada walked up to the glass doors of the beautifully landscaped club house on the grounds of Oak Grove Country Club in neighboring Covington, but she didn’t open them. Not yet. She needed to collect herself; get her mind in interview mode. She adjusted her jacket, plucked a piece of lint from its collar, and pulled in a deep breath before grabbing hold of the door handle and pulling it open.
    She was greeted by a receptionist with a friendly smile who instructed her to take a seat in one of the lobby’s vacant