Cast the Cards Read Online Free PDF Page A

partner though, right?”
    “Yeah.
Are we gonna keep bullshitting?”
    “Jesus,
Savannah.”  He pushed air out through his teeth. So much for polite
conversation. The cold tone put a halt to the massive swelling of his cock. Wah Wah Wah played in his head.
    “It
was a simple question.”  She shrugged.
    “It
was a copout.” Refusing to let her put her wall back up as though she hadn’t
been shaken to her core twenty minutes earlier, he called her out.
    “Why?”
The haughty look she issued rankled. He wanted to wipe the expression off her
face. Peel back the persona she wore like a shield and retrieve the Vannah he
knew still existed, held hostage inside her, like Rapunzel in her tower.
    “Because
you’re acting like we just met.” Narrowing his eyes, he leaned forward.
    “No.”
She shook her head. “But we’re not besties either. We don’t know each other
anymore.”
    “You
really believe that?”  The dismissive words wounded. Sure, over the years
they’d changed, but stranger , seemed a pretty harsh label for two people
who’d known each other since they were in diapers.
    “You
don’t?” She arched an eyebrow. “You said yourself I’d changed.”
    “I
can’t work with you like this.” I don’t like this new Savannah one bit.
    She
rolled her eyes. “I don’t even know what you’re talking about.”
    “This
is personal. I can’t pretend otherwise. How can you?” he whispered.
    The
walls she hid behind collapsed. The dark abyss of pain visible in her deep
brown orbs was a revelation.
    “I
have to. Emotions make you sloppy and vulnerable. If I get lost in my own head
on this one, I’ll be of no use to anyone. I’ve waited far too long to do that.
Don’t think for a moment this isn’t ripping me to shreds on the inside. You
have your way of dealing, and I have mine. I’m not saying it’s right, but it
gets me by.”
    “Vannah,
that’s no way to live.” Gentler now that he understood, he softened his voice.
    “Well,
if we crack this, maybe I won’t have to.”  She cleared her throat.” Enough with
the heart-to-heart. Tell me what you know.”
    He
tossed back his shot, breathed through the trail of fire left in the whiskey’s
wake, and began. “Not much more than you. Clark showed up this morning like he
never left. I thought I was still drunk from the night before, at first. Then I
sobered, and he remained. Once he moved something and I touched him, I couldn’t
deny it. He mentioned you were in danger. I knew I was going to do what he said
regardless, whether I was going stark-raving mad or not.” She opened her mouth
to speak and he shook his head. “If the position was reversed and I needed help,
would you come?”
    “Yeah,
I would. You can’t be best friends with someone for twenty-one years and forget
them in ten. At least I can’t.”
    “Exactly.”
He grabbed a beer from the bucket, popped the top, and slid it across to her
before he opened his own.
    “What
did Clark say?” The anxiety in her tone wasn’t lost on him.
    “Not
much. He said the kidnappers were back and there was a lot we didn’t know. I
guess it’ll be coming to light soon.” Trailing a finger through the
condensation on the bottle, he watched the water separate to avoid the
inquiring gaze looking for answers he couldn’t provide.
    “Did
he say how or when?” Impatience sharpened her words. 
    He
lifted the brown bottle, took a long draw, and shook his head. “He said they’d
come to us.”
    “Oh
my God, they want to finish what they started.”  Her eyes widened. He could see
the wheels in her head spin.
    “How
can you know that?” he asked, unable to follow the path she’d taken to get
there.
    “I’m
taking an educated guess.  It’s the only reason they’d have for coming back now—to
tie loose ends. Perhaps this will allow them to complete their ritual.”
    “Ritual?” How could she get all of this from a letter and a tarot card?
    “Serial
killers have a variety of