The Blackmailed Bride Read Free Page B

date rape drugs, she had never dreamt of taking any of these measures… But then she had never dated a stranger; her boyfriends such as they were had always been friends of friends or work colleagues.
    â€˜What really gets me, is that he didn’t even try and touchme… It was Dad’s money he was interested in all along, not me!’
    â€˜Well thank God for that!’
    â€˜I just feel such a fool. I was wondering how I was going to let him down lightly; I thought he was potty about me. God, Katie!’ she wailed. ‘What am I going to do…?’
    Placing a comforting arm around the younger girl’s shaking shoulders, Kate hugged her tight. She crossed her fingers. ‘Don’t worry, Suse, it’ll be all right.’ I hope!
    â€˜Then you’ll lend me the money to pay him off…?’ Susie lifted her tear stained face eagerly.
    â€˜We’re not giving him a penny,’ Kate responded, her tone outraged at the idea of giving into a blackmailer. ‘I’ll get the photos and the negatives.’
    â€˜But how?’
    â€˜That,’ admitted Kate frankly, ‘I haven’t worked out yet.’
    â€˜Listen, Kate, I don’t think this is such a good idea. I mean, Luis isn’t going to hand them over, is he? And once or twice I’ve seen him talking with some shifty-looking types. Actually, I think he could be quite mean himself…’ She gave a shamefaced little grin. ‘I suppose, if I’m honest, that was half the attraction…the danger thing,’ she sniffed. ‘You know what I mean…’ She looked at her elder sister who pushed her specs up the bridge of her nose. ‘I don’t suppose you do. I know you think I’m a selfish little cow but even I might lose an hour or two’s sleep if you got hurt because of me.’
    Kate pulled a tissue from the pocket of her shorts and dabbed her sister’s pink nose. ‘Don’t fret. I’ve no intention of getting hurt, Suse.’
    Â 
    Kate had waited an hour in the darkness watching the staff bungalow until she was satisfied there was nobody home. The wait had taken its toll, by the time she tentatively tried the door she felt physically sick with nerves and her heartwas pounding so loud, its frantic, echoey thud cut out all other sounds. She couldn’t recall ever feeling this scared, not even the first time she’d made her court appearance as a newly qualified barrister.
    She could hardly believe her luck when the door opened at the first try. Relieved she wouldn’t have to put her admittedly hazy knowledge of lock picking—second hand, naturally—to the test, Kate slid the credit card she’d brought for the purpose into the back pocket of her dark jeans and adjusted the dark hood on her head so that it covered all her pale hair.
    Shining her torch around the darkened room, she picked her way stealthily through the discarded garments littering the carpet. Her skin crawled and she stifled a scream as her foot got entangled in a shirt. This whole enterprise was making her feel grubby. After this is over I’ll need a stiff drink and a bath, not necessarily in that order she thought as she carefully balanced the torch on top of the chest of drawers.
    Her hands were shaking so much, it took her two goes to slide the top drawer open. Concentrate, Kate she told herself, taking a deep fortifying breath. It’s my lucky day she decided as her fingers closed around an envelope—the shape of which felt very promising…
    Her newly fortified wits fled gibbering in panic as the room was suddenly flooded with strong light from a powerful flashlight that dwarfed her own feeble beam. Before she even had a chance to turn around, a pair of strong arms snaked around her, pinning one arm to her chest as, arched backwards by the tight embrace, her feet were lifted off the ground.
    Her rudimentary Spanish could not cope with the staccato