All Chapters of LIES OF HOPE: Chapter 51 - Chapter 60

I stepped from the buzz of street noise into the throb of music and jangle of voices raised to be heard over the jukebox. A single muted television above the bar cast a blue glow that tinged a darkened corner a hazy gray. I could see a man sitting in the niche; the lone occupant of a table near the now defunct payphone. He was lanky with a long, patrician nose and receding hairline. He wore a well-cut suit and expensive loafers.“Feeling a little melodramatic?” I asked as I slid onto the chair opposite him.“Not in the slightest,” he answered, that mellifluous voice contrasting with the cacophony surrounding us. “I simply wanted our chat to take place on neutral ground, away from our respective comfort zones. I trust this isn’t a place you spend a great deal of time?”“No,” I said. The bars I tended to frequent were even worse than this one, but he didn’t need to know that.

What?” he asked, confused by the quick change in tone and subject.“My head is too muddled right now to deal with more than one thing at a time,” I answered. “So, let’s get to work on solving my father’s murder. All cards on the table.”“Fine,” he said, heaving a sigh and sinking back into the hard hospital chair. “So talk.”“Uh-uh. I’ve already shared a couple of things. Now it’s your turn.”“I don’t think . . .”“All cards on the table,” I repeated. “I give you my word nothing will appear in print without your permission.”He raised one of his expressive brows.“Do you want a blood oath, or what?”A smile lit his beautiful face. “I don’t think we need to do anything that drastic. Besides, I hate the sight

I snuggled my backside against warm, hard male and sighed in contentment. I couldn’t remember ever feeling so sated, both physically and emotionally. Emotion had never been a part of my love life. It was nice. I was surprised to discover I liked it. I wanted more. I didn’t know much about Jason, really. I knew he was handsome, smart, exasperating, and very sexy. I knew he was a hero from Louisiana who had a young daughter. I didn’t know his favorite food or what his mama called him. I wanted to know those things, which shocked me. Did I also want him to know all of my secrets? It shocked me even more to realize I did. After so many years of avoiding intimacy like a root canal, I now found myself craving it.What did I most want to know about this complicated man? His little girl. The answer came easily. I wanted to know about the most important thing in his life. A sharp stab of guilt pierced my heart. How could I want to make this little girl i

I was nervous, anxious to have the whole thing over and done with. I wanted to look my father’s killer in the eye. And I was ready to cut Jason Anders out of my life once and for all. After tonight, we could go our separate ways.I’m not sure why I was so angry, he had just proven to me what I had known all along. You can’t trust anyone but yourself. But I had trusted him. I had let down my walls enough to give him a peek inside. I had thought he was the one who would have my back. My mistake had been disastrous and humiliating, but I had learned my lesson.I stuffed my hurt deep down and looked at my watch, a scratched Timex that I had been meaning to replace for over a year, but had never gotten around to doing. It was only one o’clock. The day was crawling along at a maddening pace.I heard the thunk of my front door, accompanied by the clomp of heavy, booted feet. My back stiffened. Jason had returned, car

Jason felt his skin crawl, looking at this horrid creature with stringy blond hair and Jessie’s hazel eyes.“So, if you wanted to hang on to Welling, why did you do it? Why the faked death? Why come back and kill so many people?”Gloria gave an inelegant grunt. “Adam was going down hard and I wasn’t going to go down with him. Who was going to associate with the wife of someone like him? I had to reinvent myself. I got a new face, a new name, courtesy of a few Swiss bank accounts he knew nothing about. Voila! A whole new me.”“But you didn’t change everything, did you?” Jason asked, his eyes raking over her golden pantsuit. Your signature color suits you. Bet you didn’t know you left a little of it behind with the governor’s body.”“The ME declared you legally dead,” I said. “He had proof that you died in that fire.”