The Relatives Read Online Free PDF

them out of the house.”
    Gwen grabbed his arm. “She’ll sue us. Every day she insinuates—”
    Mario turned back to her, and he was angry and anguished. “Better to lose everything we own than to lose each other!”
    Gwen stared at him, at his strong, beloved face, and for the first time in weeks, the brittle shell around her shattered.
    She gave a sob.
    He opened his arms.
    She went into his embrace.
    He rocked her.
    She laughed and cried.
    He suggested sex in the pantry would be a good way to make up.
    She looked around for a way to make it work. “I’m afraid we’ll knock ourselves out with careening canned goods.”
    He kissed her.
    When he pulled back, he said, “We could do it in our bed. That would be new and exciting.”
    “We can’t.”
    He was instantly irritated. “Why not?”
    “Because they can hear us.”
    “What?”
    “The last time we made love, Cecily teased me about it the next day. She said she was surprised you weren’t bruised from my bony hips.”
    Mario flushed hot, burning her through their clothes. “I built this house. Our suite is insulated, soundproofed. Our door is solid. How could she have heard that?”
    “I don’t know, but she did. And then when we stopped … making love, she knew that, too. She has the hearing of a vampire bat.”
    “It’s true. She is a bloodsucker.” He thought for a minute. “We could save ourselves trouble if we simply murdered them.”
    Gwen nodded judiciously. “Good idea. How do you want to do it?”
    “We’ll have to make it look like an accident.” He stroked his chin in mocking consideration. “I know! You can give Cecily lots of green vegetables.”
    “I already am. I grind them up, hide them in the food. She never knows it.”
    “You are very smart.”
    “I got tired of listening to her complain about constipation.”
    He laughed his booming Mario laugh she had not heard for too many weeks.
    “Shhh. She’ll hear us.” But Gwen clung to his shirt and grinned up into his face. “When I run her bath, I could drop in a toaster.”
    “I like that. But if Landon was around, he would somehow figure out a way to blow the circuits and she would escape injury.”
    Gwen snorted. “How about a bomb? We could wire the bed so when she puts her rapidly expanding behind on it, the mattress blows up.”
    “Too complicated. I could wire explosives into her lamp, and when she turns it on, it blasts her out the window.”
    “Too fancy. We could just throw her out the window.”
    “She would land on those mammoth tits and bounce.”
    Gwen giggled.
    “And that girdle she wears would explode and the elastic would put someone’s eye out.”
    Gwen giggled harder. “It’s a shaper, honey. They call them shapers now.”
    Mario waited until Gwen had found a napkin and wiped her damp eyes. Then he said seriously, “Or I could tell Landon to get the hell out.”
    “Why would he do that?”
    “Because after today, he’s afraid of me.”
    “Oh.” Mario seldom lost his temper, but when he did, it was powerful and impressive. Apparently, Landon had finally set it off.
    “I would tell Landon to get out, go bodily pick up Cecily and fling her over my shoulder—”
    “She would be thrilled by that. If she is to be believed, you want her.”
    Now he snorted. “She can’t tell a wandering eye from the evil eye?"
    Gwen should not feel so pleased about Mario’s harsh comments.
    Mario continued, “I’ll use a fireman’s carry on her, and while I’m bringing her down, you will swiftly pack their belongings. I’ll put her in the car. You will dump their suitcases on the driveway. We will come inside, lock the doors, and go upstairs and make love.”
    “We would have to bar the doors and windows.” Gwen’s brief burst of exuberance evaporated. “I don’t doubt that somehow she has managed to make copies of our keys and gain access to our security information.”
    Now Mario was paying close attention. “How is that possible?”
    “I