Page 19 of In Her Sights
“Hmm.” She put all of her skepticism in that one wordless sound as she got to her feet. Her heart was racing, and her feet twitched with the need to rush out of that dingy, depressing office and find her mom. As soon as he’d said flee, the word had clicked in her brain. Of course Jane was going to run. These consequences were bigger than any she’d ever had to face before. If she still had possession of the necklace, that almost guaranteed she’d skip out and relocate somewhere across the country.
“Wait,” he said, reaching across the desk toward her, as if he could hold her in her chair. Pulling back far enough that he couldn’t touch her, Molly eyed his outstretched arm with distaste. Straightening again, he cleared his throat as he withdrew his hand. “We’re not done discussing this yet.”
“Sure we are.” Before he could make another effort to grab her, she took several backward steps toward the door. “Shall I recap? Mom put a home she doesn’t own up as collateral for her bond, and you’re threatening to kick us out, even though she hasn’t forfeited it.”
His lips flapped slightly, as if he were trying to figure out how to spin it.
Instead of waiting for him to say anything else, Molly turned on her heel and headed for the inner office door. She had it open and was stepping through before he spoke again.
“I can be your friend or your enemy,” he called after her. “I promise you won’t like having me for an enemy.”
As Ashton watched her curiously, she strode for the main door. “You need to cut down on all those mobster movies,” she called over her shoulder. “Or at least pick better lines to steal.”
She shoved her way outside, slamming the door closed on Ashton’s laughter…and immediately ran into what felt like a wall.
Chapter 7
Bouncing off the hard chest in front of her, she started tumbling toward the ground, but two huge, mitt-sized hands caught her before she fell. Although she tended to avoid touching him—and had never run headlong into his massive body before—she instantly knew who she’d crashed into. Molly wasn’t at all surprised. The way the last few days had been going, how could it be anyone but John Carmondy who’d witnessed her latest humiliation?
Once she regained her balance, she hesitated, even as the thinking part of her brain screamed at her to pull away. The feel of his fingers pressing into the flesh of her hips made her body temperature shoot up several degrees, but she told herself it was just residual rage from meeting with Barney…and then literally running into her occasionally helpful nemesis.
Gathering what brain cells remained, she finally took a step back. His hands fell from her hips after a short pause, making her wonder if he’d been reluctant to let her go. Immediately, she shook off that whole train of thought. Her brain must’ve been scrambled when her head hit his rock-hard pecs.
The distant sound of an emergency vehicle siren yanked her out of her weird, uncharacteristically moony fit. Barney’s office was one of the few occupied spaces in the ratty strip mall, and the neighborhood was just as run-down and abandoned. She glanced over her shoulder at Barney’s office door and then back at John as suspicion began creeping in.
“Why are you here?” she asked bluntly. Either he was following her or he was coming to see Barney, neither of which were positives. Her mind was in chaos, thanks to the revelations that had just been dumped on her, and she was just one wrong thought away from exploding in a fit of rage or breaking down in uncontrollable tears.
“I stopped by your house, and one of your sisters told me you were here.”
Molly suddenly wished she were an only child. “Which sister?”
“The one that looks the most like you.”
“Felicity,” she growled. It had to be her. She was the one who shared Molly’s dad, and both of them were spitting images of Lono. There would be retribution for siccing Carmondy on her. Right now, though, she needed to put some distance between her and Barney so she didn’t charge in there and choke him until his stupid, smug face turned purple and he handed over the title to their house. A tiny part of her was shocked at the grim satisfaction that mental image gave her, but most of her was all for putting aside her usual anti-violence stance.
Skirting around John, Molly strode across the parking lot. The absence of her car caused a flare of fresh anger, but she pushed it back and turned in the direction of the bus stop. John, being John, quickly caught up and walked alongside her.
“Why’d you track me down?” she asked, although the question lacked its usual heat. Her brain was too busy processing what she’d just found out and trying to come up with a plan so they didn’t get evicted if—when—Jane decided not to show up in court.
“Why were you talking to Barney?” he countered rather than answering her question.
Two could play at that game. “Why is that any of your business?”
“You aren’t going to go after Sonny Zarver, I hope.”
Irritation surged through her at his stern tone. “Again, focus on your own situation, and I’ll do the same.”
“Molly…” He caught her arm, pulling her to a stop. “Sonny’s dangerous. I know the bounty’s big, but you don’t want to get mixed up in his world. Money’s worthless if you’re dead.”
Despite her resolution not to get sucked into conversation with John, she couldn’t keep her response to a mere sideways glance as she tugged away and started walking again. “Why are you pushing this so hard? Are you hoping to bring in Sonny yourself?”
His face tightened, his mouth pulling into a straight line. His long legs easily kept pace with hers. “Of course not. I’m not that stupid.”
That stung. She kept her gaze forward, focusing hard on the bus stop a half block away. “You think I am, though?”
“You’re not stupid.” There was no hesitation in his words. “But after what your mom did, I’m worried you might be getting desperate.”
