Sweet Talk Read Online Free PDF

asked, “Where exactly are we going?”
    “Inside.”
    She stopped. “Oh, I don’t think . . .”
    He took her hand again and pulled her along toward the restaurant doors. She gave up on protesting. She could have argued, but she didn’t think anything she said would matter. Agent Kincaid looked like the kind of man who was used to getting his way. The air of authority about him was a bit daunting, and she had the feeling he wasn’t going to let her go anywhere until he was finished with her.
    He was being awfully familiar with her, holding her hand. Was he making sure she wouldn’t bolt? The onlookers who were beginning to return to their tables parted to let them pass.
    Five minutes later she was sitting alone at a table in a private dining room, waiting for Agent Kincaid to come back. A waiter had brought her a glass of ice water. She reached into her purse and retrieved her inhaler. All the commotion on the terrace had made her a little short-winded. She had been treated with some powerful drugs when she was a child, and one of the side effects was a touch of asthma. She never went anywhere without her inhaler.
    She decided to call her boss, Royal Thurman, to let him know she was going to be late. He wouldn’t really care, she knew, but it was the courteous thing to do. His phone went to voice mail, and she had just finished leaving a message when another call came in. She didn’t recognize the number, but as soon as she heard the loathsome voice, she thought she knew who it was. Carl Simmons, her father’s attorney, was on the line threatening her again.
    “You were told to stop interfering,” he said in a muffled whisper. “This is your last warning.”
    “Who is this?” she demanded, knowing full well Carl wouldn’t tell her. Still, there was always the hope his temper would get the better of him, and he’d let it slip.
    “You’re forcing us to silence you. Do you want to get hurt?”
    “You can threaten me all you want. I’m not going to stop.”
    Olivia didn’t wait for a response. She ended the call and placed her phone on the table just as Agent Kincaid walked into the room. He had a small plastic bag with him.
    Her hands were shaking. The phone call had gotten to her, but she didn’t want the agent to notice, so she put her hands in her lap. He pulled out a chair, sat down facing her, and handed her the bag of ice. Then he asked her to tell him what led up to Jorguson’s attack.
    She held the bag against the left side of her jaw while she talked. Twice during her explanation she put the bag down, and each time, he picked it up and put it back in her hand.
    “Did you happen to hear any of Jorguson’s threats, Agent Kincaid?” she asked.
    “Call me Grayson,” he said. “And, no, I didn’t hear the threats. Tell me.”
    She repeated what Jorguson had shouted and added, “He was furious and out of control. ‘One phone call and you’re a dead woman.’ He actually shouted that. He didn’t seem to care who was listening. You and the other agents were planning to catch him today, weren’t you? I’m guessing I was in the wrong place at the wrong time, and somehow that really botched up your plan.”
    “It wasn’t the right plan to begin with,” Grayson admitted.
    She could hear the irritation in his voice and surmised that the fault for the fiasco lay at the feet of Agent Poole, though Grayson wasn’t going to say it.
    “What happens to Jorguson now?” she asked.
    “We’re taking him in. We’re not through talking to him.”
    “I’m sure his lawyers are already on their way.”
    “It doesn’t matter how many lawyers he has circling him. Jorguson isn’t going anywhere until I’m finished with him. Can you recall what he said to you?”
    She repeated everything she remembered of the conversation and added, “You might want to ask him who his friend at the SEC is. I doubt he’ll tell you, but it’s worth a shot. I’m not even sure he was telling the truth. He’s a