Whisper Read Free Page B

your business,” he quipped.
     
    “Oh so it’s Whisper.” The resentment rolled off the woman. “You remember her name from the other night. Guess a flash of a thong would get any man hot and bothered.” She raised a defiant chin to him. If this woman didn’t have such a bad attitude, she could be a perfect beauty. As it was, with each word from her lips, she turned him off. He was not the type of man who was into bitches, and a bitter woman had no appeal to him. The limited interaction he’d had with Sheila told him all he needed to know about her. “How about you play with me?” she offered.
     
    Alec resisted rolling his eyes. “No.” He leaned closer to her upturned face and narrowed his gaze. “Are you so desperate?”
     
    Her mouth dropped open, and she raised a hand to smack him, but he caught it and shoved it away. “Asshole!”
     
    He gave a slight bow as if to acknowledge the insult but allow it to roll off his back. Now he wanted to get at Whisper all the more. He knew Sheila was the wrong reason, but so be it. “If you’ll excuse me.”
     
    Alec pushed past Sheila with the intention of never thinking of her again.
     
     

Chapter Three
     
     
     
    Whisper was determined more than ever to lose weight. After she’d walked in on Alec and Sheila in the laundry room looking like they were about to kiss, she figured she had to do something about her weight. Hell, about her whole wardrobe and outlook. She’d been comfortable in frumpy tops and baggy pants for too long. If she didn’t like the way she looked, then, damn it, she needed to get the extra weight off. That started with taking up jogging again. She’d done it for a while last year and dropped fifteen pounds, but then her knee started bothering her, and instead of taking it easy until it was better, she’d dumped exercise altogether. That wasn’t happening this time.
     
    She had intended to go while it was still daylight after work, but her boss had kept her later than usual. She was getting tired of all the overtime since overtime pay had been frozen for the foreseeable future. The man spouted nonsense about doing what was good for the company and them all being one big family, but she didn’t see his ass suffering any losses.
     
    By the time she got off work, the sun was fast going down, but there were plenty of people in the park doing the same thing she was, so she wasn’t worried about it. As long as she stayed on the lighted paths, things would be fine, and she wouldn’t be out there long.
     
    On a bench, she re-tied her sneakers, adjusted her shorts, which now that she thought about it might not have been the best choice, and then started a slow walk that became a slow jog. Soon she was lost in her head, enjoying the evening breeze of late spring. Tonight she hadn’t wanted to wear her headphones. Music blaring in her ears would take away from her peace rather than add to it. On another day, she might feel differently.
     
    At a split in the trail, she took the right without thinking. Only when she’d jogged a good twenty minutes did she remember this one took her deeper into the wooded area. She was still in the city, but fewer joggers took this way at night. The lighting was strong, but she didn’t want to take a chance. I am n ot getting my fifteen minutes of TV fame because I’m in a body bag.
     
    She stopped jogging and took her pulse, then turned around. A man standing in the path brought a small scream to her lips. He was stark naked. Whisper stumbled backward with a hand up to her mouth. Her heart hammered in her throat, and she thought she would pee her panties. While she backed up and the man watched her with curious narrowed eyes saying nothing, another man moved from the trees. He was clothed, and his focus was on the naked man.
     
    “Damn it, Max, put your clothes on. I told you it was a little too early to come out here.” The second man tossed the first a duffle bag. A few moments passed before