Thicker Than Water Read Online Free PDF Page B

it.”
    â€œWe won’t release his name until we get the okay,” Julie Jones offered. “Just so long as you give us the okay before you tell anyone else.”
    â€œUh—both of us, that is. Not just her,” Sean put in, sensing that Jones was trying to scoop him, as usual. He had to admit, though, he was a little relieved that she was finally acting like the professional he reluctantly knew her to be. He tugged a card from a pocket. “My beeper number is on that.”
    Jax took it and nodded. “As if I don’t have ten of these?”
    â€œYeah, but you never call.” He gave her his most charming smile.
    She returned a wink. “I’m way more than you could handle, MacKenzie.” Then she rolled her eyes. “Fine, fine, you two get the scoop. But only if you get out of here right now and let my people do their job.”
    â€œDeal.” Sean turned to head to the elevator, surprised when the normally aggressive Julie Jones turned around and followed him. Something was up with her. He wanted to know what.
    He got into the elevator; she got in beside him. The doors slid closed. She sighed audibly, and he swore her body sagged.
    â€œDo you have another set of keys?” he asked.
    â€œNot on me.”
    â€œSo then…you need a ride home?”
    â€œI can get a cab.”
    He shrugged. “I could drive you.”
    She narrowed her eyes on him. “Why?”
    â€œWhy not?”
    Frowning as if she trusted him about as far as she could throw him—a sentiment he understood well, since he felt the same way about her—she finally shrugged. “What the hell. Okay, fine. Drive me home.”

CHAPTER TWO
    S ean walked Julie Jones out of the hotel to his Porsche Carerra GT, which he figured would have impressed the socks off most women. With her, though, he wasn’t expecting a hell of a lot.
    She looked at the shiny black car, then at him. “Midlife crisis?”
    Ignoring her, he depressed the button on his electronic key ring. The door locks popped open, the headlights came on, and the engine started. He opened her door for her.
    â€œAm I supposed to take off my shoes or just sprinkle myself with holy water first?”
    â€œJust get in, would you?”
    She did. He closed the door and went around to his side. She was making with the sarcasm, yes, but not in her usual way. It was almost automatic. Almost as if she were speakingwith her mouth while her mind was somewhere else. The zings were hardly worthy of her and nowhere near up to her usual standards. She’d been zinging him for so long, she could probably do it in a coma.
    He shifted into gear and pulled the car away from the curb. “So what was with the little crime-scene-trampling demonstration back there?” he asked.
    She blinked at him. “I don’t know what you mean.”
    â€œWhat, do you think I’m as gullible as those cops are? I know you, Jones. You’re a pro. You knew better than to walk in there like that.”
    Her eyes were huge and dark, and she blinked them now, using them to their full potential as proof of innocence. “I was just so stunned at seeing a New York State Senator’s brother like that.”
    â€œBullshit.” He shifted, told himself to keep his eyes on the road. It wasn’t easy, because she was wearing a skirt, and her legs were a longtime weakness of his. She had this skin…It was the first thing he’d noticed about her. Her skin. Smooth, almost luminous, bronze satin. The color didn’t fade, even in the winter months. He had often wondered about her ethnic background, but how did you ask someone a question like that in the age of political correctness?
    â€œTurn here,” she said. “Take 92.”
    â€œHuh? Oh!” He got his mind back on his driving and took the turn she indicated. “I forgot you live all the way out in Cazenovia.”
    â€œCaz is only twenty minutes away