Four Letters (The Lust List: Devon Stone #3) Read Online Free PDF Page B

Hayley.”
    He just shakes his head, and I can’t help but feel like I said the wrong thing again. I say bye and hurry back to Maddie.
    Goodbye Stone mansion.
    We get in her car, and I feel instantly liberated sitting in the passenger seat of a ten-year-old Toyota with non-tinted windows. Back to normal.
    We weave our way down the long driveway, passing the carefully pruned hedges and tall green trees. But as we near the gate, it looks like leaving won’t be so easy.
    “What’s going on?” Maddie asks.
    The iron gates are closed, and Roger, the gate guard, is talking to one of the Stone’s security detail. The guy’s dressed in a black suit, sunglasses, and one of his hands holds firmly to the cuffed wrists of a woman they have in custody.
    The woman is clearly distraught, yelling at the men, and it takes me no time at all to recognize her.
    Her pixie cut dark hair. A cropped black tank top. Smokey eyeshadow.
    It’s Lex.
    “ Holy shit. It’s Devon’s sister.”
    “Then why is she being arrested?” Maddie stops in front of the closed gate.
    “Good question.” I reach over and tap the horn to get Roger’s attention. He looks over but holds up an index finger, telling me to wait.
    I get out of the car and get as close as I can.
    “Roger, what’s wrong?”
    “Olivia?” Lex says, looking instantly relieved to see someone she knows. But this is the same girl who wouldn’t give us the time of day in Oregon. I’m not sure what she’s hoping I’ll do here.
    Roger walks over. “Mr. Stone informed me there’s a woman following you all. We have reason to believe she—”
    “And I already told you I’m fucking family, you asshole.” Lex yanks against her restraints again. This time, the security guy opens the backseat of his SUV and pushes her inside.
    Roger sighs. “Once she’s away from the area, I’ll open the gate for you two.”
    “She’s telling the truth,” I say. By now Maddie’s at my side, intrigued by the sudden drama.
    “According to her, she’s the sister of—”
    “Half-sister. They share the same mother. Devon and I just found out. I think he told Kaidan, too. And I’m sure Calvin knows Melody Hastings had another kid.”
    “Damn. I haven’t heard that name in years,” Roger says. “But I still can’t let her in.”
    “But you can’t arrest her either. Just let me talk to her.” Not sure what I’ll say, but she must be here for a reason.
    Roger hesitates but then signals to the other guy to let Lex out. He brings her over to the gate.
    “What are you doing here?” I ask. She looks like a wreck, like she hasn’t showered in a week.
    “It’s all gone, Olivia.” She starts to sob. “All my money. My apartment. I got evicted. I’m broke.”
    “So you came down here because?”
    “Because it’s all fucking your fault.” She kicks the gate, and the guard yanks her away from it putting more space between us.
    “How is it our fault?”
    “Your people found out about me. They contacted the lawyer in charge of the will. They’d assumed mom was alive all this time accepting her payout, but when they found out she died, the money stopped.”
    Should I feel bad about this? I mean, we didn’t intentionally do anything to hurt her. She could just as easily get a job to support herself—but even I know that’s sometimes easier said than done.
    “I’m sorry, I guess. But what do you want from us?”
    “You have it all. A cozy, stupid mansion. All the money in the world. Power to go with it.”
    Does she know who she’s talking to? “Lex, you have no idea—”
    “Oh, fuck off, Princess,” she yells. “What the hell do I do? I get kicked out. I have nothing left. Nothing. I hitched a ride down here just to kick your ass.”
    “And you know I can tell these guys right here to take you in, right? What the hell is wrong with you?”
    Roger speaks up. “We suspect she’s under the influence of an illegal substance. Likely, cocaine.”
    Well, great. Just what I want to