Stripped Bare Read Online Free PDF

trying to keep a lid on. Your son is lying in there in a hospital bed, after having been beaten, with a head injury that may affect him when he wakes up. I’m not happy with the story you told me. I’m not going to be party to anything you want to tell the world. You and Roy are on your own.”
    Walter’s face was puce, his jaw set and his dark eyes narrowed. “Matthew, I pay your bloody salary and keep you in that bloody silly car you like so much and that house you have. Of course you’ll do what I want.”
    “No, I bloody won’t.” Matthew’s voice grew heated but he knew he needed to keep his temper in check in the hospital. He was also aware just how precarious his job situation was becoming in defying Walter this way. He felt sick, but he had his principles, and there was no bloody way he was giving them up on this issue. “You don’t need me. I’m sure you have enough people in your legal team to help you cover this up. What I’m saying is that I won’t be one of them.”
    Fists clenched, Matthew saw Shane looking at him with a glimmer of respect on his face. Walter took a slight step toward Matthew and the lawyer saw Shane do the same, almost putting himself in between him and the approaching man.
    It seemed he had a protector. Matthew felt warmth at the thought.
    “I don’t need a bloody lawyer that won’t do what I tell them to, Matthew. Have you considered that option, you stupid man? And tell this cocky little sod to get out of my way. Christ, it’s like a bloody plague. You’re everywhere.” Walter’s voice was a snarl. Matthew’s hands unclenched even as he realised with a pang that he was now probably going to be jobless.
    “What do you mean by that, Walter? Could you be talking about homosexuals ?” Matthew’s voice was tight as he emphasized the word. “I always knew you were a homophobic bastard but I’d never appreciated just how much until tonight. You really have a bug up your arse about us, don’t you?”
    Roy growled and moved across the room like a panther. “Rather apt choice of words, Matthew. We’re not the ones who have things up our arses.”
    Matthew went still at Roy’s contemptuous tone, his slow temper rising. Shane stepped forward, his face white as he squared up to Roy.
    “You’re a fucking nasty piece of work, aren’t you?” the blond man spat at Roy. Roy smiled.
    “I’d be careful if I were you, little cocksucker,” Roy drawled to Shane. “One wrong move and I’ll break your fucking arm.” He waved a languid hand. Matthew could see the streaks of blood across his knuckles and took a deep breath. It looked like Roy might have done Walter’s dirty work for him.
    But this was going nowhere fast.
    Matthew suspected Roy didn’t make idle threats. “Roy, there’ll be no need for that. Shane is a friend of David’s and he was worried about him, so he called the house. That’s all. I think we should all take a step back and look at things.”
    He was about to give up the best job he’d ever had. God only knew what he’d do next.
    “Walter, I’m sorry. You’ve given me no choice. I quit. Find yourself another lawyer. I cannot continue working for you. To be honest, I don’t know why you’ve put up with me for so long.” He heard the bitterness in his voice and the lump in his throat.
    The dislike on Walter’s face tore right through to Matthew’s heart. He might not have liked Walter all that much, but he’d thought they’d had a better relationship that what was now unfolding.
    “You bloody well know why, Matthew. Your father made sure of that.”.
    Matthew was puzzled about Walter’s words. “What are you talking about? What should I know? How was my father involved in this?”
    Walter shook his head and sneered, but oddly his eyes gleamed with a sudden relief. Roy chuckled, his predatory gaze on Shane, who was standing looking ready to pounce like a cat on an unsuspecting bird–the bird being Roy. The dislike between the two men was