Cross My Heart Read Free

still set Hunter’s nerves on edge. “What’s the old bastard after now, that he needs Molly’s help?” he asked Anna Marie.
    She pursed her lips. “Tsk, tsk. You know I can’t be passing along privileged information.”
    Hunter laughed at the mock offense in the older woman’s voice. He and Anna Marie shared a love of information any way they had to get it. “Have any court papers been officially filed by Mr. Dumont?” he asked.
    Anna Marie grinned. “Well, no.”
    â€œThen what’s privileged about a little courtroom gossip?” Hunter had a sudden, urgent need to know more about what Dumont would need a lawyer for at this point in his life, why he would involve Molly and who the bastard was using now.
    â€œGood point. You are as fast thinking on your feet as they say. Are you sure you’re too young for me?” she asked, playfully nudging him in the arm.
    â€œI think you’re too young for me. I’m afraid your energy would wear me out,” he said, laughing. Though he didn’t know her exact age, he’d bet she was in her midsixties and though she didn’t keep up with the trends, she was spry in spirit.
    She smacked the counter and chuckled.
    â€œCome on, now spill what you know.” He could see from the light in her eyes, she was dying to share her secrets.
    â€œWell since you asked so nicely…I heard Molly talking on the phone earlier. Marc Dumont’s getting ready to claim his niece’s trust fund as his own.”
    â€œWhat?” Hunter asked, certain he’d heard wrong.
    â€œSince it’s been nearly ten years, he plans to go to court and have her declared legally dead. You know, seeing as how no body was ever found after her car went into Dead Man’s Drift,” Anna Marie said, mentioning the unofficial name the townspeople had given to the cliff and water below after Lillian Dumont’s death.
    Nausea washed over him at the thought. Not a day went by when Hunter didn’t think of Lilly, that fateful night and his role in her disappearance. He’d always missed her, her laughter, her friendship. It helped that Hunter hadn’t heard Dumont’s name in years. The man was a subject Hunter tried to avoid and until today, it’d been easy. Dumont had remained under Hunter’s radar for years, secluded in Lilly’s old home and not causing any trouble. Now in the span of five minutes, Hunter discovered the man was going to marry Molly’s mother and attempt to legally bury his niece so he get could his hands on the millions still held in trust for her.
    His timing couldn’t be worse. Just when Molly seemed to be softening toward the idea of dating Hunter, Dumont once again became an obstacle.
    The bastard hadn’t changed. He’d merely been in hiding, waiting for a time when the three friends believed their pasts were behind them, to resurface. The man had changed their lives once before. Hunter had a hunch none of them would survive this confrontation unscathed, either.
    Â 
    T YLER B ENSON WASN’T a morning person. He’d rather work the late shift at Night Owl’s than clock in on a nine-to-five day job. It helped that Ty rented the apartment above the bar from his friend Rufus, who also owned the establishment and appreciated Ty helping him out now and then. When he wasn’t tending bar as a favor to his friend, Ty ran a P.I. business out of his apartment, as well as the bar and a small office across from the courthouse. The locals found Ty wherever he happened to be and he appreciated the flexibility and spontaneity of his life. Most of all he liked knowing he earned his own way at no one else’s expense.
    He made a decent enough living that he could pick and choose the cases he wanted to work, passing the easier ones on to Derek, a guy who’d gotten his P.I. license but was new to town and needed Ty’s name to bolster his business