Ultimate Concealer, A Toni Diamond Mystery: A Toni Diamond Mystery (Toni Diamond Mysteries) Read Online Free PDF Page B

in a business venture. When the deal closes, the first thing I’m going to do is buy you your own convertible.”
    “That’s okay. You don’t have to.”
    “I’m your father. I want to. A smart girl like you, who works so hard at school, should have a reward.”
    “Thanks.”
    “Thanks what?”
    “Thanks, Dad.”
    “That’s better. You keep on calling me Dad. We’ve got a lot of time to catch up on.”
    He turned and gave her his heart-melting grin.
    Tiffany had never been to Vegas before. Well, truth was, she’d never been much of anywhere. A couple of lame school trips, a road trip to Florida with her mom and a truly humiliating pilgrimage to Dollywood in Tennessee for her grandmother’s birthday one year, that was about it. So, she was excited to see what all the fuss was about. Most of the musicians who’d played Vegas were legendary. Elvis, Sammy Davis Jr. and even Celine Dion. She knew her father wasn’t a legend, obviously, but she was ready to see him perform. Even try to get past her distaste for country music.
    She hadn’t loved the tracks he’d sent her, but she suspected her dad was the kind of performer who was meant to sing live.
    Slowly, he backed the Corvette out of its parking space and began to move forward. Then something hit the car with a crunching sound of metal on metal and she was thrown back against her seat. Her father’s smile turned to an expression of shock and rage. “What the hell?”
    A black Cadillac had hit them. As Dwayne jumped out of the driver’s side door and strode over to the other vehicle, a red-faced guy got out. Dwayne stopped when he saw the guy. “What the hell, Grant? You could have killed me. And my daughter.”
    Grant didn’t seem too concerned. “You got something of mine and I want it back. Next time I won’t play around.”
    “I don’t know what that crazy wife of yours has been saying, but you know I would never—”
    Two really big guys got out of the car, front and driver’s side. She didn’t like the look of them. They were like extras out of a thug movie. She grabbed her bag, scrabbling for her cell phone to call 9-1-1. In a panic her fingers grasped and searched, scraping over ancient pieces of gum and loose change, before she remembered she’d left her cell phone back at home.
    “Help,” she screamed, already pushing open the car door, thinking to run into the restaurant. Even as she moved, the door to the restaurant opened and Marlene came out, followed by the owner.
    In the slow motion horror of a dream she saw that scene from a bad thug movie get played out in front of her. The two guys stalked forward.
    “Come on, guys,” Dwayne said. Then, “Grant!” before thug one grabbed his arms and thug two slugged him in the gut.
    As he doubled over and his legs buckled, he cried out, “Not the face. Please. I gotta perform tonight.”

Chapter Four
    “There is nothing safe about sex. There never will be.”
    — Norman Mailer
    Luke showed up at Toni’s that night with a pizza and a bottle of red wine. There were times in a woman’s life, Toni mused, when a man with a pizza box under his arm was a very welcome sight. Especially when the man was Luke Marciano.
    He’d obviously stopped off at home to change, and when he pulled her in for a kiss, she could tell he’d showered. His hair was still a little damp and she could smell his shower gel.
    “How are you holding up?” he asked.
    “I’m okay. As much as I would like to slowly strangle Dwayne right now with one of his prized bolo ties, he is her father. He’s not going to let anything happen to her.”
    Luke’s mouth twisted in a hastily suppressed grin. “Seriously? Bolo ties?”
    She patted his shoulder. “Don’t worry, I have better taste in men now.”
    “Obviously.”
    He followed her into her the kitchen and while she served pizza onto her pretty pale green plates, he opened and poured the wine.
    They settled on the couch in the den. Not even the cloud of