Page 48 of Dirty Rotten Cheating Husband

I couldn’t interpret the expression in her eyes, and there was a brief moment of silence punctuated by the enthusiastic slurps of Harvey eating.

“I don’t know about talking to journalists, my dear,” he said reflectively. “It might bring undue attention to your poor aged father.”

Clementine’s eyes suddenly lit up with laughter.

“What are you up to now, Dad?” she asked. “You just got released from prison.”

“I’m not going to allow you to involve Clementine in any of your schemes,” I put in, and they both glared at me.

“What right do you have to object?” Harvey snorted, his mustache bristling. “And I wouldn’t say involved,” he added. “Not ‘involved,’ per se.”

“Anything Clementine is involved with, I will be too,” I said firmly.

“You may regret that, Agent Bentley,” Clementine said, those gorgeous pink lips twisting up in an intoxicating smile.

“Never,” I said.

“There’s merely the matter of my $50 million dollars,” Harvey said, coughing delicately.

“Yours?” I barked.

“You didn’t think I’d do jail time out of the goodness of my heart do you?” he asked indignantly. “What kind of a fool do you take me for? No, I promised Rocky Mariano that I would keep my mouth shut in exchange for $50 million when I got out. But that rat fink hasn’t been answering my calls.”

“So you see how inviting a reporter over here might draw attention to your dear old Pops that might not be so complimentary.”

Clementine bubbled over with laughter. “All right, Dad. I have other ways of getting what I want, after all.”

Well, that definitely made me nervous.

“What are your other plans now that you’re out?” she asked as I fought my heart palpitations at the idea of Clementine wanting to get involved with any of these schemes.

“Your uncle Sebastian has a little job on his yacht he would like some help with, and apparently he needs my expertise.”

Uncle Sebastian? I fought down my panic at the idea of more felonious relatives I would have to protect Clementine from.

“He has a yacht now? Did he steal that yacht?” she asked eagerly.

“I don’t believe there are any current disputes on ownership of the yacht,” Harvey clarified, and they began to go back and forth about yachts and boats of the past, and which ones had been the result of some creative card-playing.

I was profoundly disturbed by the entire conversation, but there was one thing I was determined on, more than ever. Where Clementine went, I would go. She was my girl, my love, and mine to protect.

I just had to make her see it.

CHAPTER 19

Clementine

The next morning I walked out to the kitchen to find Grayson cooking breakfast and Dad devouring a big plate of steak and eggs.

“He may be a dirty rat, but he can cook,” Dad said. “Thought I was going to get one over him by asking for a kosher breakfast, but this big brute said he was already planning on it.”

I couldn’t help smiling.

“Better than prison breakfast?”

“Oh yes,” Dad said, shuddering dramatically. “However, I had my ways of getting better food. Which reminds me. If you see any women outside . . . I’m not here.”

“Oh God. Why?”

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