Page 3 of Blackmailing the Bad Girl

“Just chance,” Harry replied. “We have a new guy working security. An ex-copper. He was going through the old files and recognized her.”

He looked down at the photo still clutched in his hand. Yeah, she was memorable. Her face was a perfect oval, her skin flawless, her mouth small and full. He’d kissed those lips, and all the time she’d been lying to him. That night, they would have made love if they hadn’t been interrupted. Right there on the desk in his CFO’s office, where he’d come upon her up to no good, though he hadn’t known it at the time. Even now, he could remember the feel of her traitorous body pressed against him.

The next day, she was gone.

He’d thought something had happened. Something to make her run. Instead, she’d been on a job, and he’d no doubt been one of many men she’d duped with her wide-eyed looks of innocence.

“So, shall I hand over the file to the police?” Harry asked.

Nik shot his assistant a sharp look. Harry sounded way too amused. Was he so fucking predictable? Part of him wanted to say yes. Give it to the cops. Just to see the look on Harry’s face. Besides, she deserved to pay for what she had done.

He should. Really, he should. But somehow, he couldn’t do it. “No.”

Harry’s lips twitched. Yeah, he was so funny.

Nik picked up the typed sheet below the picture and scanned it quickly. She’d been twenty-three at the time of her arrest. No mention of any other crimes. But that didn’t mean they didn’t exist. Nik hardly believed he’d been her first. And the fact was, he couldn’t just let her go on her merry way, no doubt changing her name again and duping some other poor bastard. “How much time does she have left?”

“She’s two years into a four-year sentence. But she’s out on parole next week.”

“Does someone want to tell me what’s going on?” his father asked.

“No.”

“So, what do you want me to do?” Harry asked.

“Nothing.”

“Come on. She’s clearly a habitual criminal. She’ll just go back and do it again. People like her never change.”

Again, Harry’s voice held a hint of challenge, almost as if he were trying to goad him. All the same, he was probably right. Christ, maybe this was what he’d needed. He’d been drifting since then. Before then really, since the breakup of his marriage. Time to get his life on track and accept once and for all that he knew exactly what women want—money. He hadn’t been able to eradicate Sarah, or ratherSummer, from his mind. This was his chance to see her as she really was—a double-dealing, money-hungry thief.

Whom he’d never been able to get out of his head.

Because while Sarah Daniels had been a lie, he would swear that one thing had been real between them. Desire. And that night, she’d wanted him as much as he’d wanted her. There had been an edge of desperation in the almost frantic way she had kissed him, held him…urged him on. Well, this time she could have him. He’d make sure there would be no interruptions.

He sat back in his seat and stared out the window at the blue sky—the exact color of Summer’s eyes. She’d be out next week. And he’d be waiting for her. It was time for a little payback. Time to make her see the error of her ways and ensure that she didn’t fall back into bad habits. It was his duty. And finally, time to get the inconvenient attraction out of his system and move on.

Would she be pleased to see him?

Somehow, he doubted it.

…

“To freedom.” Regan raised her plastic beaker.

“To staying on the straight and narrow,” Darcy added.

“To putting the past behind us.” Summer tapped her beaker against the other two, and they all downed their tap water with as much enthusiasm as if they’d been drinking vintage champagne.

Summer put her beaker on the small table and hugged Darcy, who was closest. Pulling away, she sniffed. “I’m going to miss you so much.”

“Hey, I’m getting out in a few days,” Darcy said. “You won’t have a chance to miss me.”

Regan stepped forward for her hug, wrapping her arms around Summer. “And I’ll be out in two weeks,” she said. “It will go so fast. For you, anyway. You have a lot to keep you busy.”

It was true. She had a whole new life to set up. She was putting the old one behind her, moving on. For the first time in years, she felt optimistic about the future.

Summer glanced around at the small cell that had been her home for the last two years. Her first night inside, she’d been so terrified, and lonely, and just plain freaked out. Regan and Darcy had both seemed cool and distant. Never in a million years would Summer have thought she’d end up becoming friends with them. She’d been a loner as a teenager; somehow, she’d never learned how to make friends. And her lifestyle after that had hardly encouraged close relationships. All she had was Danny, her partner in crime. And really, Danny was more family than friend—they’d known each other since they’d been in the same foster home when Summer was fourteen. She’d missed him but had made him promise not to visit while she was inside. The absolute last thing she wanted was anyone connecting the two of them and maybe linking Danny to her crimes.

---