High Tide Read Online Free PDF

me all about it.” With that he put his arm around Fiona’s shoulders and firmly turned her away from the entrance and just as firmly held her arm in a way to prevent her using the telephone. “Now, honey, why I asked for you is somethin’ we gotta talk about. But not yet. First we need to have some fun.”
    Throughout this exchange, Ace had been glaring at Fiona with so much hostility that, had the circumstances been different, she might have been afraid of him. But right now her mind was too full of plans to be afraid of anything. She stepped away from Roy as she realized she
had
to get out of this situation. Even Garrett would understand if she left after what she’d been through. All she’d have to do is mention “lawsuit” to Garrett and he’d forgive anything.
    â€œI think we need to get this lady some different clothes, don’t you, Roy?” Ace said in a voice that dripped with kind consideration. But the steel grip he put on Fiona’s upper arm was anything but kind.
    â€œI’m not staying here,” she hissed at him, then turned back to smile at Roy. She’d better not anger the man who owned
Raphael,
not when Garrett wanted the franchise rights so much. She’d just explain to Roy that they’d have totake their little trip at another time—preferably after this man Ace was rotting in the ground.
    â€œI have clothes for her,” Ace said loudly to Roy; then into Fiona’s ear, he said, “You either come with me or we spend this afternoon with lawyers talking about how you’re going to pay for the property you destroyed.”
    Jeremy wouldn’t like that, she thought, then tears came to her eyes as the man’s hands bit harder into her flesh. “I, ah, think I should wear something different,” she mumbled to Roy, then tried to keep up with the stride of the maniac parkman.
    Once they were out of sight of Roy—out of sight of civilization, she thought as the plants closed about them—she halted and jerked her arm out of his grip.
    â€œThere are laws against this,” she hissed at him so Roy wouldn’t hear.
    Ace closed the one step that separated them and put his nose to hers. “There are laws against destruction of property, too. My lawyer said I was a fool for not suing you. Do you have any idea how much that alligator cost me?”
    â€œTrade price or retail?”
    Obviously, the man had
no
sense of humor. At the look of rage on his face, she stepped backward.
    With the muscles in his jaw working frantically, Ace grabbed her wrist and half dragged her down what could have been called a path. As it was only about six inches wide, the plants scraped her arms, and she was sure they were snagging her hose. She’d been walking on sand for so long that it was beginning to feel normal to have grit between her toes.
    â€œWhere are you taking me?” she demanded, but he just kept pulling her along, saying nothing.
    Finally they came to a clearing in the “jungle,” and there was a tiny house, the front of it fitted with screens from the roof to halfway to the ground. Ace threw open a screen door, pulled her through the long narrow room, then opened another door and shoved her down onto a bed.
    For a moment Fiona felt real fear. If she were to scream, no one would hear her, and she was utterly alone with a raving madman.
    â€œDon’t flatter yourself,” Ace said with a sneer. “You’re not my type. I like women to be
women,”
he said, then disappeared into a closet.
    Fiona recovered instantly. Nothing like having your femininity attacked to dispel fear. “And what the hell is
that
supposed to mean?” she asked as she came off the bed.
    â€œHere,” he said as he tossed a pair of jeans and a white cotton shirt on the bed. “Put those on.”
    She looked down at the two garments. “Your clothes? You want me to wear
your
clothes?” Her tone