Nine Lives Read Online Free PDF Page A

nodded nervously, as she chewed on her bottom lip.
    Cat grabbed Marsha’s wrist, her fingers curling into the flesh.
    â€œMimi…it’s me. We don’t lie to each other. Ever. Remember?”
    â€œI’m pregnant.”
    Cat reeled backwards as if she’d been slapped.
    â€œOh man. Does he know?”
    â€œYes.”
    â€œDon’t tell me. Let me guess. He’s pissed, right?”
    â€œHe wants me to get rid of it.”
    â€œWhat did you tell him?” Cat asked.
    Marsha rolled her eyes. “What do you think? You know how we grew up. I told him no.”
    â€œAnd that made him mad?”
    Marsha tried to smile, but it didn’t quite work.
    â€œThat’s an understatement. He thinks I’m trying to work some kind of scam. I tried to assure him that I didn’t want anything from him except my job, which I already had, but he doesn’t believe me. And…he’s been making threats.”
    Now Cat was really on alert. “What kind of threats?”
    â€œThe kind that leave you six feet under,” Marsha said, then pressed her fingers against her lips, as if she couldn’t believe those words had come out of her mouth.
    â€œThat does it,” Cat said, and would have gotten up, but Marsha stopped her.
    â€œYou can’t get involved in this,” Marsha said. “You don’t know what he’s like. Please. As a favor to me. Stay out of it.”
    Cat’s face was flushed with anger as she tried to make Marsha see sense.
    â€œBut, Mimi, you—”
    Marsha’s expression darkened. Even though there were still tears in her eyes, her chin jutted stubbornly.
    â€œI’m telling you…stay out of it!”
    Cat straightened, staring at her friend in disbelief.
    Marsha persisted, unwilling to quit until Cat had given her promise.
    â€œI’m waiting,” Marsha said.
    Finally Cat could do nothing but agree.
    â€œAll right,” she said reluctantly. “But I’m telling you, if he so much as puts a bruise on your body, he’s mine.”
    Marsha hesitated for a moment, then nodded.
    â€œDeal.”
    â€œDeal,” Cat echoed, then grabbed her margarita and downed it like medicine. “Crap,” she muttered, as she sat the empty glass back on the table.
    Marsha laughed through her pain, and for a moment Cat laughed with her.
    But later, as their food came and they ate, talking about everything except the problem at hand, Cat felt a sense of impending doom. She didn’t know what was going to happen, but none of it could be good.
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    The next morning dawned cold, gray and wet, adding a wind chill factor to the miserable day. Cat hadn’t slept well, and what sleep she’d had, had been filled with nightmares about Marsha. She winced as her bare feet hit the cold floor, and stepped into slippers as she went about her morning routine. As she moved through the hall, she turned up the thermostat. She strode into the kitchen and turned on the coffee maker, waiting impatiently for the first cup of coffee to brew.
    She downed the caffeine, hoping it would settle her rumbling stomach, and checked her machine for messages. There were none. In a way, she was glad. Her bank account was healthy enough to get her through a dry spell. Christmas was only a couple of weeks away, and she had yet to go shopping for gifts. That was what she needed to do, and it wouldn’t take long. A good bottle of whiskey for Art and a gift for Mimi. After that, she might drop by the gym. It had been more than a week since she’d had time to work out, and after the conversation she’d had with Mimi about Mark Presley, she felt the need to set something on fire. It might as well be her muscles.
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    Wilson was on his way to the gym when he began to hear sirens. He pulled over to the side of the street just in time to let a trio of police cars go racing past. The thought that someone was in trouble crossed his mind,