Beneath Your Beautiful by Adaline Winters

Author:Adaline Winters [Winters, Adaline]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-02-20T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 25

FOX

A moral compass is tested when someone who isn’t playing by the same rules as you tries to decimate your world.

There’s a driving need in me to uncover her secrets. The notion that she is here to hurt or take advantage of my grandmother is shattered into dust. As stated, Cleo Williams isn’t hiding because she did something wrong, she’s hiding from someone who has done her wrong. That person has had such a profound impact on her psyche that she can’t let go to accept the touch of another.

She needs to listen to her body’s response to touch, to relearn what makes her sink into the pleasure of the here and now, not the pain of the past. Which is why I’m scrolling on my laptop as I wait for Larry to call with an update.

Her first gift should be here before lunchtime as I ordered that yesterday. The rest will arrive tomorrow. My eyebrows rise at the plethora of options available. Since when did they make stuff that needed a video instruction to use? Where does that… oh, I see. Yup, one of those. All the options for Cleo. I switch departments and grin at the extra things I’m about to add.

Her shower switches on. That’s my cue. I move into her bedroom and have no shame as I lift the outfit she’s selected for herself off the bed. I turn it over in my hands as an idea forms in my mind, a sly smile spreading across my face. A woman as beautiful as Cleo needs to feel gorgeous inside and out.

My laptop announces Larry’s call just as I select rush delivery from the menu. I quickly close the page and click on accept, and his face fills the screen. He squints at me.

“Where are you?” he asks.

“Pool house.”

“I see. Keeping yourself out of the public eye?”

“Red Lake is only interested in local gossip, not national. It’s both a blessing and a curse.”

“Well, make sure you stay out of both.”

I resist the urge to roll my eyes. “Do you have an update for me?”

“Yes and no.”

“Ever the lawyer’s answer.”

He arches a brow and leans forward. “I can’t locate the mystery woman that is your alibi. But, I had a thought.”

“God forbid.”

His lips twitch. Will wonders never cease? Larry has a sense of humor. “If we can’t prove who you were with, let’s prove who you weren’t with.”

I narrow my eyes. “Why haven’t we done that before?”

“Because to do that means picking around in her life, which you said you didn’t want to do. Something about your moral code.”

“It’s difficult to alter my perspective when I’m employed to protect.”

“She ditched the moral code when she leveled this accusation against you, Fox. It’s time to play dirty to get to the truth. They won’t hesitate to use everything they have if we end up in court, and I know you want to avoid that at all costs. So let me dig where you aren’t willing to go.”

I swipe a hand down my face.

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