Nightshade by Jen Talty

Author:Jen Talty [Talty, Jen]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Jupiter Press
Published: 2019-02-05T06:00:00+00:00

4

The next morning…

Cali slipped from Xavier’s bed, putting on a pair of sweats and a long-sleeve shirt as she padded downstairs to start a pot of coffee and to check her bank account since another paycheck should have come through yesterday. She’d taken almost every penny he’d given her when he’d been on his trip and deposited it, only using what was absolutely necessary for the few fresh food items she’d needed.

She’d also returned two of the dresses and five of them she dropped off at a high-end secondhand store near the city, shocked that she could probably get a thousand dollars for each one. Doing a mental calculation, that meant she had sixty-five thousand and nine months to go. What she really wanted to do was pay off Thompson early, giving her time to relax and enjoy Xavier’s company, and hopefully enough time and space so that he’d never find out what she’d done. She’d walk away and never look back. She told herself it would be easy. He wanted companionship, nothing more, nothing less.

That made her a high-priced hooker.

The sound of footsteps bouncing off the stairs lulled her from the insanity that stirred in her brain. Whatever it took to get her parents out of the grip of the Carluccis would be well worth the shame.

“There you are,” Xavier said as he waltzed into the kitchen wearing nothing but flannel pajama bottoms with snowflakes. His defined muscles flexed as he curled his arm around her middle, giving her a quick, but deep kiss. “Want some eggs or something?”

“If you’re making them,” she said, pushing down the lid to the Keurig. “Over easy with toast and bacon.”

He laughed as he pulled out the eggs from the fridge. “Any other specifications?”

“Pinch of salt and a dash of pepper. And I like my bacon crispy.” She slipped behind the breakfast bar, flipping open her laptop.

“Good, I tend to burn bacon.”

Satisfied with the money in her bank account, she opened one of her study guides on tort law, an area she felt like she knew well but still needed to study.

“What are you doing on that thing?”

She flipped the screen around. “Studying. I suck at taking these kinds of tests, and since I took a couple years off, I need to put that time to good use and make sure I hit it out of the park.”

“I’m sure you’ll do fine.”

She stared at his naked back. “Easy for to say. You don’t have to take the test.”

“Can I ask why criminal law?” he asked as he tossed some bacon on a cookie sheet and slid it in the oven.

“I’m fascinated with the darker side of human nature and motivations of people. Why they will commit one crime, but not another.”

“Do you want to defend the criminals? Or put them away?”

“Good question. I haven’t decided yet.” A year ago, she would have said defend. Everyone has the right to a fair trial. No one should be denied counsel, so she’d even consider being a public defender.

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