The Devil To Pay Read Online Free PDF Page B

put his career in jeopardy.
    You don’t understand how conservative his firm is! Oh, he probably wouldn’t be fired or anything, but his superiors
    would almost surely lose interest in paving his way to the top. They would decide that basically he wasn’t really their
    kind! Most of them came out of prestigious schools and were very careful to steer clear of campus political
    movements. They wouldn’t understand!“
    “You sound very concerned about your brother’s welfare,“ Julian observed mildly.
    “I am! He’s my brother!“
    “Your older brother or your younger brother?“
    “My younger brother. He’s twenty-nine, two years younger than me.“
    “Which is why he apparently let you talk him into this wild scheme to trap Leighton. He may be a fast-rising
    corporate man, but he’s still a younger brother, with a younger brother’s mentality, I suppose.“
    “What’s that supposed to mean?“ she demanded furiously.
    “Only that he’s accustomed to being bossed around by his older sister,“ Julian chuckled.
    “You know nothing about my family or my relationship to my brother!“
    Julian shook his head. “I know that, crazy as your plan undoubtedly is, you seem to mean well by it. You’re
    determined to protect Keith, aren’t you?“
    “Well, of course, I am! He’s my brother!“ She stared at him, baffled that he should even make such an obvious
    statement.
    Julian smiled. “Okay, I’ll help you.“
    “You’ll what?“
    “Keep your voice down. Do you want everyone in town to know what you’re doing?“ he cautioned briefly.
    Emelina tried to recover from her shock and force her mind to think in a rational fashion. Julian Colter’s help was
    the very last thing she wanted. Help from a mysterious Syndicate boss would carry a very high price tag, indeed!
    “Thanks, but no thanks, Mr. Colter,“ she told him heatedly. “I prefer to handle this on my own.“
    “This kind of surveillance works better with two people.“
    She blinked. “It does?“
    “Oh, definitely. Besides, my cottage is much closer to Leighton’s house than yours is. It will be easier and less
    obvious if I handle part of the job of watching it.“
    For the life of her she couldn’t read his expression. Emelina sat very still, running his logic through her head. He
    had a point, she told herself in consternation. And there was no doubt Julian Colter probably knew a great deal more
    about this sort of thing than she did. Then she shook her head, clearing away the deceptive reasoning. She must
    remember exactly who this man was and how very dangerous he could be. “Thank you, Julian,“ she said very formally,
    “but I don’t want your help.“
    “Not even for your brother’s sake?“ he murmured.
    She flinched. “It’s just that I don’t think it will be necessary to have outside assistance on this project. I’m
    perfectly capable of handling it by myself.“
    “Forgive me for saying this, Emmy,“ he drawled, “but I have the impression that while your plan has the merit of
    having been born of a vivid imagination, it might be lacking in one or two practical aspects. You don’t really have any
    experience in this sort of thing, do you?“
    “Well, no, but I don’t see why it should be so difficult!“
    “Look at the mess you got into last night. What if I had been Leighton?“
    That shook her a little. “You weren’t, so I don’t see that it matters!“ she managed staunchly.
    He gave her a wry glance. “You’re afraid to let me help, aren’t you?“
    “Frankly, yes.“
    “Why?“
    Emelina clenched her teeth, striving for a polite response to the outrageous question. He must be very well aware
    of why she didn’t want his help! “This is a personal matter and I don’t want to involve strangers,“ she finally
    mumbled, not quite meeting his eyes.
    “You’ve already involved me by telling me the whole story,“ he pointed out.
    “For which I could kick myself,“ she groaned morosely.
    He gave