Page 56 of Dirty Rotten Cheating Husband

“I’m sure he’s done even more things you could charge him with. And he’s probably planning some crazy scheme right now.”

“I’ve already put him in jail once. I resolutely decline to do it again,” Grayson said. Then he held out a hand to me.

“Let’s go, sweetheart. We’ve got a dress rehearsal to get to.”

CHAPTER 22

Clementine

The dress rehearsal had gone much better than expected. Mr. Perkins and Mr. McDougal were even getting along. Dennis had not attempted to set anything on fire in weeks, and he even came up to me and asked if he could be in the next show.

“I’m sure you can,” I said, fighting my shock.

“Grayson said you could write a much better play, though,” he said. “Maybe one with some murders in it this time? Or maybe some swords or katanas? Like what about some ninjas trying to take down a swamp monster?”

“I’ve never written a play before,” I choked out. “Agent Bentley has. . .a flattering view of my abilities. But I’ll see what I can do.”

I was feeling very verklempt when I came home, but as soon as I arrived Dad hustled me into the laundry room, his eyes glowing with a wicked gleam I recognized very well.

“I’ve found out how to get my 50 million dollars back!”

“And?” I asked with foreboding.

“That bastard Rocky Mariano has it, of course! And I could get it back easily. Once I figure out where he has it. According to my informants he’s got a private island somewhere nearby. After that, it’s a simple matter of boating over and breaking open the safe.”

“But his private island could be anywhere,” I objected.

“That’s where I’ll need your help, my dear child. I need to tail him. I’ve bribed his secretary to tell me his usual working hours, but even she doesn’t know where he lives. Suspicious bastard! All I need you to do is wait at one end of the street, while I wait at the other. Then we’ll drive along behind him and figure out where he goes after work.”

“All right,” I said.

There was a disgruntled noise on the other side of the door, and in another moment, Grayson had burst through it. There was a frown on his face.

“Get out,” Dad said immediately.

“No,” Grayson said. “Anything involving Clementine is my business, too!”

“It is not,” I cried.

“You are going to put a damper on the whole proceedings,” Dad complained. “Your vibes are all off.”

“Clementine will not be tailing any of your associates by herself,” Grayson ground out. “I will accompany her or she will not be going at all.”

“I’d like to see you try to stop me,” I said indignantly, but Dad waved my objections aside. “I supposed it wouldn’t be a bad idea to have a man of his size around.”

“This is very illegal,” I reminded Grayson as we walked out to my SUV. “You better leave if you don’t want to be involved.”

“How mad would you be if I threw you over my shoulder and locked you in your bedroom?” he countered.

“Very,” I replied coldly. “I would probably set all your little security systems on fire. Dennis gave me some tips.”

“All right,” he said. “Then let’s go.”

Tailing Rocky Mariano after work was no problem. The problem was that he drove out of the city and stopped at a tiny strip club outside of town, out in the middle of nowhere and set up against a thick forest. Our car was hidden under some branches in one direction, with Dad in some bum friend’s car parked at a sketchy 24-7 deli in the other direction.

It was not a very comfortable prospect to spend the next several hours in a car with Grayson.

I could not stop looking at how his powerful thighs strained at his navy slacks. Even worse, I couldn’t stop remembering how it had felt to have sex with him.

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