Asking for Trouble Read Online Free PDF Page A

their families can’t afford? Experimental treatments their insurance won’t cover? Thousands and those are just the ones I’ve heard about. I get calls and emails every day asking when the center is going to open, begging me to put their patients on our admissions list. I know every name, every disease. I’ve got pictures of each of them up here.” She tapped the side of her head. “So, yes. They are my kids. Just as they were my mother’s.”
    â€œIt takes a strong person to build what you and your mother have.”
    Person, not woman. Because he didn’t hesitate in the non-distinction, Morgan’s tone softened. “We lost my little brother, Colin, when he was eight to a rare form of leukemia. The foundation, the center, they’re in his memory. My mother was determined to save as many children as possible.” Morgan blinked as if the lights were too bright. “She—we—didn’t want another family to have to go through the loss we did. She dedicated her life to the cause. Now that she’s gone, the mantle passed to me.”
    â€œI didn’t realize the crusade was that personal.” Gage’s voice rang with sympathy, and regret, as if he felt he should have known.
    â€œMy mother was the face of the foundation, but Colin is the heart. Don’t you dare feel sorry for us.” Her order earned a soft smile from Gage in return. “He was a gift we had for eight years. He changed my life. Gave me, gave my entire family, a purpose. I get the feeling you understand that, given your reaction to my myth comment earlier.” Morgan took a deep breath, and stepped into the fire. “The Nemesis case. It’s personal for you.”
    â€œIt is.” The coolness in his voice made her regret the comment, but she needed to know what she was up against. She still had a few hours to spend with the man and he’d asked about her work. She couldn’t very well ignore the opportunity to reciprocate.
    â€œThe initial investigator was my training officer years ago.” Gage swallowed the last of his drink. “Malloy got caught in the media and political cross fire, wasn’t able to get anywhere with the victims. Drove him to an early grave.”
    Morgan’s heart skidded to a halt. “You don’t mean he committed suicide?”
    Gage’s gaze shifted to his empty glass. “If you mean did he eat his gun, no.” Morgan forced out a breath before the guilt could settle.
    â€œBut the media bubble was impossible to thrive under,” Gage said. “The stress, the pressure to close the case, the lack of assistance from anyone involved. It was a toxic combination when you add in a stubborn refusal to listen to his doctor and take a step back.”
    â€œBut you blame Nemesis.”
    â€œTake Nemesis out of the equation and Brady Malloy might still be alive.” Gage gestured with his empty glass as if toasting his friend. “Solving his last case seems the appropriate tribute.”
    Morgan bit the inside of her cheek.
    If she’d had any doubts about Gage before, they’d evaporated. Gage Juliano saw the world in black and white, right and wrong. He’d never understand Morgan’s world was a million shades of grey.

Chapter Three
    â€œBust. Dealer wins again.”
    Gage threw his cards onto the table, surrendering the last of his chips as Morgan scooped them toward her, then did the same with the other players at her table. Maybe she’d mesmerized him into forgetting how to play blackjack.
    Or maybe he was just preoccupied. He’d come to the fund-raiser tonight hoping to find a way into the Tremayne stronghold. He’d expected to loathe every minute of the evening. He didn’t expect to find his escort intoxicating and intriguing, not to mention distracting, let alone enjoyable. He couldn’t imagine the dedication needed to run a charity of this magnitude, or to hold