Page 79 of Family Jewels

I gave Neely Kate an exasperated glare. “We’re not allowed to tell you,” I said. “Client ethics.”

Leah barked a laugh. “Ethics? Neely Kate wouldn’t know ethics if the authors of the damn dictionary showed up and read her the definition.”

Neely Kate stood. I jumped to my own feet, reaching for my wallet—this was going south fast—but in my haste, my pepper spray fell out of my purse and onto the table.

“You’re gonna mace me?” Leah screeched, taking several steps back. Her friends were instantly on their feet and across the room.

“No,” I said, shaking my head frantically as I stuffed it back inside my purse and grabbed my wallet. “I’m just leavin’ money to pay our bill. Then we’re out of here.” I tossed more than enough money to cover the tab and grabbed Neely Kate’s arm. “Come on. Let’s go.”

“That’s right, Neely Kate,” Leah said, planting both hands on her hips. “Run away.”

Neely Kate shot arrows of hate from her eyes but let me drag her toward the door.

“Coward!”

Neely Kate stopped and looked me in the eye.

I shook my head. “Don’t do it.”

“You were always so big and bad when you had your cousin Witt with you,” Leah said. “But did you ever wonder why he stopped havin’ your back?”

Neely Kate whipped around to face her. “That was high school, Leah Dyer. You need to grow up and let it go.”

“Haveyoulet it go?” Leah asked, taking a step closer. “Your cousin sold you out for a blow job.”

Neely Kate stood deathly still. For one split second, I thought she was going to call Leah a liar, but then she marched over to a table, grabbed a pitcher of tea, and dumped it over Leah’s head. “Maybe the sugar will do you some good.”

Leah released a scream loud enough to scare the occupants of the cemetery a quarter mile down the road, then started swinging at my friend.

Without hesitation, I called the one person I knew who could try to salvage this situation.

Chapter 16

“Jed, we need your help,” I said in desperation.

I scrambled out of the way as the two women moved in my direction. Leah had wrapped her arms around Neely Kate, and it looked like she was trying to pull her T-shirt over her head. They had garnered the full attention of the men at the bar.

One of them shouted, “Take ’em off! Show us your tits!”

A waitress rounded the bar holding a pitcher of what looked to be beer. She put her free hand on her hip and groaned, “Notagain.”

Another man slapped some money on the bar. “I’ve got five bucks on the blondie.”

“No way,” his friend said. “That tall girl’s gonna kick her ass.”

“What the hell’s goin’ on?” Jed demanded over the phone.

“Neely Kate’s gettin’ attacked by Raddy Dyer’s sister.”

“Is she hurt?” he asked, his voice surprisingly tense.

“They seem to be in a tug-of-war with their clothes at the moment, but both of them are good and ticked.”

“Sit tight,” he said and hung up.

I hadn’t told him where we were.

But the door burst open seconds later. Jed marched over to the two of them without a word. He slipped an arm around Neely Kate’s waist and pulled her back, but Leah followed, grabbing a handful of her hair.

---