Burning Seduction Read Online Free PDF Page B

you tell me about Trent as a kid.”
    “He was a hellion.”
    Her brows rose. “You’re talking about Trent?”
    “Hard to believe, I know.” Harmon leaned back. “Dad demanded we both work hard, whether it was at school or when doing chores about the house. Our father insisted that Mom shouldn’t have to be a slave to the family, even though he wasn’t around a lot. I think his guilt made him be so strict. Could be why Trent rebelled.”
    “I can’t see him doing anything bad.”
    “He did. He might not have harmed any one and was always kind to animals, but he did smoke weed and once spray painted the side of an abortion clinic. He was only fifteen at the time, and claimed it was because one of his friend’s sister had been harmed there.”
    She could understand that. From what her dad had told her about Trent, he always seemed to fight for the underdog. “What did your dad do when he found out?”
    “Sent him to a school for troubled kids. It was kind of like juvenile detention expect that it wouldn’t go on his record.”
    Now that her drink had cooled a bit, Charlotte sipped her coffee and loved the burst of flavor on her tongue. “This is really good.”
    Harmon winked. “It’s a special family blend.”
    She leaned back. “I have to say I’m a bit curious. You seem so different from Trent.”
    “I’m seven years older and had Mom to run interference for me. I was in college when she left Dad, whereas Trent was only eleven. He had to split his time between both parents. It was rough.”
    That could affect a kid big time. She knew all too well. “Given all you’ve been through, you seem so…normal. I would have thought you’d be bitter and combative.” Her idea of prison life had come from the movies.
    “I won’t deny that I was quite angry at first. Everyone I met in jail claimed to be innocent, but I really was framed. Hell, I hadn’t been at the job long enough to be jaded to hand out insider information.”
    She wanted to be sympathetic to his cause, but if his own brother wasn’t singing his innocence, she felt she couldn’t either. “Who do you think framed you?”
    From the slight chin tuck, he hadn’t expected her to ask that question.
    “I worked at Ardton Investments run by Bill Goddard and Frank Hamilton. Jayson Kendall worked with me, but he came to the firm after I did.”
    “Do you think one of them framed you?” She didn’t understand how insider trading even worked.
    “I’ve had three years to think about it, and the answer is yes, but which one of the three is anyone’s guess. I always figured Bill Goddard was out to get me for some unknown reason, but I had no proof.”
    “That had to be beyond frustrating.” The cheer that had surrounded Harmon suddenly disappeared, so she set her half empty cup on the coffee table and stood. “I have a lot of work to do, so I best be going.”
    “You don’t have to leave.”
    She imagined he was lonely, especially after being in jail for three years, but she didn’t feel right being there alone for too long. “I’m opening my shop in a few days and have a lot to prepare.”
    “I understand. I sure did enjoy talking to you. I also appreciated the ride.”
    “Any time.”
    *     *     *
    Trent stepped next to his partner Cade Carter who was in the bedroom with the corpse. “He looks different dead,” Trent said. “Did you know he used to be my brother’s boss?” Fuck, fuck, fuck.
    “I thought the name sounded familiar.”
    “Any idea when he died?” Given his state of rigor, he had to have died more than twelve hours ago. Trent glanced over to the sobbing redhead in the corner who was probably the victim’s wife.
    “We’re waiting for the coroner to give us the time of death.”
    Trent nodded toward the woman. “What did she say?”
    “Mrs. Goddard was at her sister’s last night to help out with the new baby. She came home about an hour ago and found him dead.”
    “Bloody mess.” The body had