Page 28 of Desire
Chapter Nine
Kylie snapped her fingers. “Woo-hoo, earth to Holly. Where are you?”
I refocused on her face. “Sorry.” I rubbed my temples. “I’m just so tired. It’s been a long day.”
The truth was, I couldn’t get my correspondence with the mystery woman or Jasper offmy mind. On top of that, I was thinking about Bryn.
“So…” Kylie rubbed her hands together. “What did you find in Chattanooga?”
I raised my eyebrows, remembering Kylie always had an agenda. She was hell-bent on destroying the Christmases, which meant our interests were not aligned.
I shrugged. “No one lived at the address.”
She twisted her mouth grimly. “Is that so?I saw a skinny guy with an oversized coat go inside.”
I held a bite of my bolognese in front of my lips, pausing thoughtfully. I’d believed Nel when she said no one lived there. However, I was very accustomed to her type of personality. She was ashamed of drugs since her daughter had once been a slave to them. I’d appeared out of place to her. There was no way she was going to let me knowillegal activity went on in that house.
“It could be a trap house,” I said then explained my encounter with Nel.
Kylie’s eyes gleamed with excitement. “Now you’re talking. So, what next?”
I hadn’t said anything about Alexia and the mystery woman. I knew Kylie well enough to know she would stay on my ass until I told her something that would satisfy her curiosity.
“Nothing’snext, Kylie. Another lead would have to fall into my lap. But nothing came up that was it.”
“Bullshit,” she said.
“I don’t know what you want me to say or do.”
She shook her head continuously. “This is not the kind of reporter you are, Holls. You don’t want to know more because you have feelings for Jasper Christmas. Admit it.”
If only that were true. I actuallywantedto know more because I had feelings for Jasper Christmas. Normally, I would work profusely to change Kylie’s mind about her assumptions. To throw her off my trail, I had to exhibit a different kind of behavior.
“What about Bryn Christmas? I’ve been out of the loop for a few days. Do you know if the authorities are close to finding her?”
Kylie looked at me with wide eyes. I couldsee her thinking behind them. Changing the subject and bringing up Bryn to remind Kylie that she was someone I had always been concerned about appeared to be working.
“Nothing yet.” Her tone was sympathetic.
It was time to reveal a secret to her. I checked over both shoulders then leaned across the table. “Did I ever tell you that she was supposed to marry Carlton Valentine?” I whispered.
At first, she frowned as if she didn’t recognize the name. Then her eyes grew wide. “Oh,theCarlton Valentine? Arthur Valentine’s son?”
I sat back and nodded.
“But she was…” Kylie turned her head slightly. “Jasper is…”
I smiled smugly, knowing I had helped her put the pieces together.
“The Valentines are trying to regain the political power they lost in the nineties?”
“It seems so.”
“Fuck, Holls, then that’s why Bryn hired you. I racked my brain, trying to figure out a logical reason why. She wanted you to destroy her family.”
My nod confirmed that I believed her theory.
“Well, we’re very close to doing just that.” She lowered her eyebrows. “That’s if you don’t sell us out.”
