To Trust a Stranger Read Online Free PDF Page A

couple and an extravagantly dressed woman, walking separately, heading for their cars. It said a lot for the standards of the area that they didn't even give her in her sexy pj's and Amazonia in all her jaw-dropping glory a second glance. Not that it mattered. The only thing that mattered was getting her car back and getting home before Sid. The problem was, how was she supposed to do that? “Damn Sid anyway,” she muttered aloud. This entire disaster was every bit his fault.
    “ Miz Carlson?” Amazonia asked then, on a faintly disbelieving note. Julie's eyes widened and shot to his face. Her previous conviction to the contrary, the night had suddenly gotten much, much worse. Whoever or whatever this-this person was, he knew her name. Julie's heart began to slam against her breastbone. She met his gaze wide-eyed. A denial trembled on her lips, but she realized almost at once that it would only make her look foolish, and the situation even more questionable. There was no hope of concealing anything now. Might as well just punch in the final I and get it over with.
    “Y-Yes “ There was the tiniest pause as the heavily made-up eyes narrowed and the bright red lips thinned.
    “Well, now,” he said as his gaze ran over her once more, with an entirely different expression.
    “If that just don't absolutely beat all.” Julie wasn't sure what he meant by that, but she was sure she didn't like the sound of it.
    “Hey, Deb- bie ,” a slurred voice interrupted. Julie glanced around. The couple-an overweight, obviously drunken man in a rumpled suit and a beautiful blonde in an elegant black cocktail dress who clung possessively to his arm-came up behind them and paused, the woman obviously supporting the man, who was a little unsteady on his feet. The scent of booze emanating from the man was unpleasantly strong. Wrinkling her nose in instinctive protest, Julie realized that the greeting, uttered by the man, had been addressed to Amazonia . Debbie? Julie shot him a glance. The name seemed far too ordinary for such an extraordinary individual.
    “You still got the address? It's gonna be a hell of a good time.” The man's gaze shifted from Debbie to Julie, and moved over her in a way that creeped her out. “Your pretty friend here's welcome, too.”
    “Oh, Clint, you know I wouldn't miss it for the world.” Debbie smiled and spoke in a mincing falsetto that in no way resembled the growling masculine tone he'd used with her. “You and Lana go on ahead, sugar. I'll be along shortly.” “Remember, we've got lots of blow. All you need to bring is maybe your little friend, and we'll party all night. There's plenty of fun to be had by all.” Clint gave Julie a leering smile. Julie recoiled. As Lana pulled Clint away, she glanced back over her shoulder at Julie.
    “You stay away, bitch,” she mouthed. Then, waggling her fingers at Debbie, she added aloud, “See you later, sweet cheeks.” Sweet cheeks? Debbie? It hit Julie with the force of a blow: Lana was a man. She gaped after the pair as they resumed their unsteady journey toward the far end of the parking lot. The beautiful, shapely blonde swaying so sexily in four-inch heels was a man. “She thinks I'm a man!” Julie exclaimed as revelation struck. She caught Debbie's eye just then, and discovered that he was grinning.
    “Close your mouth, Miz Carlson, you'll catch flies,” he chided in his masculine voice, and gently tapped her slack jaw with a forefinger. Her teeth clamped together with an audible click. “You should feel flattered. You made Lana jealous. You notice she's not jealous of me.“ For a moment Julie felt something like Alice after she fell down the rabbit hole. This was definitely a parallel universe. Then she remembered the mess she was in, and everything else was wiped from her mind.
    “My car,” she groaned, and started to punch in the final I before hesitating once more. “You gonna call the police or not? I got places to go and things to do