Peril for Your Thoughts (Mind Reader Mystery) Read Free Page B

wasn’t crazy. Oh, no no no. Crazy was treatable, and that would be too easy. What I had was much worse.
    I could read people’s minds.

    “Thanks for giving me a ride home,” I said to Nik.
    Jaz had cornered me in the bathroom, refusing to let me drive home. I’d explained what had happened, and she’d been ready to call 911, but I convinced her it was just the margaritas after a head injury talking. She’d finally capitulated, but only if I agreed to let Nik drive me home. She had plans with Darrin. She swore she wasn’t in on my mother’s scheming; however, she did think Detective Dreamy was exactly what I needed. And I let her know exactly what I thought of that.
    She so owed me!
    “No problem,” Nik said, glancing at me with a frown as I hugged the door, not chancing a random touch. After gaining way too much information from Jaz when she’d held my hand in the restroom—information that I’d yet to recover from—I hadn’t said a word since getting in the car.
    I had always thought if I could just read people’s minds, my life would be so much easier. Not so. Reading people’s minds was scary, giving TMI—too much information—a whole new meaning. I’d heard of dog whisperers, cat whisperers, horse whisperers, and even ghost whisperers. What did that make me … a people whisperer?
    “What was that?” Nik asked.
    “What was what?”
    “I thought you said something.”
    Oh, God, had I? I couldn’t be sure. It was all so confusing. “No, yes, maybe … I don’t know, did I?”
    “Kalli, it’s okay. Really.” He took a deep breath and glanced at me with a smile. “I think we got off on the wrong foot. Hi, I’m Nik Stevens.”
    “Kalli Ballas,” I responded, still a bit wary.
    “Did I tell you I’m half Greek? I hear you’re Greek by association. That’s Greek enough for both our families, apparently.” We laughed, and his voice lowered an octave to a husky soft tone. “Look, our mamas have made us a bit crazy. You’re not alone, okay? Not to mention, you took one hell of a spill from what I hear. Are you sure you don’t want me to take you to the hospital?”
    “I’m sure.” I smiled at him and meant it this time. The stranger I’d met outside the restaurant was back, and once again, I relaxed. “Thank you for not making me feel like a freak. I’ve had enough of that in my life.”
    “Nobody’s perfect,” he said quietly. “Believe it or not, we all have our quirks.” He shot me a wink.
    Oh, boy. Not good . Nikos the argumentative, sarcastic, smug Greek I could deal with, but Nik the sweet, sympathetic, gorgeous nice guy was way too dangerous to be around. Time to change the subject. “So, tell me, is Darrin a decent guy? I mean, you didn’t find anything bad on his profile, did you?”
    Nikos and Nik disappeared as Detective Stevens took over, sending me a sharp look. “How did you know I checked out his profile?”
    Crap . He hadn’t said that out loud. I’d read his mind. I would have to pay closer attention to what information I revealed in the future. “You’re a cop, and knowing Jaz, I assumed she asked you to check him out before she agreed to the date. I don’t know. Something about him seems off. I just want to make sure she’ll be okay alone with him.”
    He relaxed a bit, but his features were still guarded and unreadable. “You assumed right. Jaz did ask me to check out his dating page. Nothing too invasive, just look it over. Far as I can tell, he seems okay. Other than lying about what he does for a living. He’s a car salesman, not an international businessman. He’s harmless, just a total player.”
    “Exactly how Jaz likes them. She likes to meet them, love them, and leave them. Why do you think she had to move on to men from out of town?”
    “Interesting. That would explain why she’s not the most popular person in town with the ladies, yet the men seem to love her.”
    “Exactly. Except some of them don’t know how to let go. That’s