“You’ve heard about the thefts?” he asked.
“No. Nobody tells me anything.” Mom shared just enough information to allow me to do my job. “Was it only the tickets delivered to his clients?”
Leo nodded. “Just his. And he didn’t do it.”
“He’s your father.” I tugged my sleeves over my hands. The thin sheen of sweat had turned icy. “Would you really admit it if he had stolen the tickets?”
The glow in Leo’s eyes flared with his intensity. “Yes. My father isn’t an angel. But he’s not a thief. He’s been framed.”
God, he was beautiful. I know it was partly that whole genie animal magnetism thing, but he was more than eye candy. He was like soul candy. Just sitting there with him made me feel good. Focus, Jen. Focus.
“Why would anybody frame him?”
“I don’t know. The people who claimed the winnings, the ones with the cloned tickets, all had ties to my father's past. None of them remember claiming the money, and none of them have the money now.”
“How in the world do you think I can help?” I braced myself because he could only be here for one thing—access to my mother’s office.
“I need to know who’s framing my father. I need to find out who had access to the information about those deliveries.”
“I don’t have that information.”
“No.” He closed his eyes for a moment before opening them. “But your mother does. You could slip into her office and tap into those files.”
I stared at him like he was nuts. My mother would see that as the worst sort of betrayal. “You think I’ll do that for a complete stranger? Just because you’re an older, sexy guy?”
A hint of color rose in his cheeks at my inadvertent compliment.
“I don’t even go for the bad boy type.” I’d had a minor crush on Derek, but he just wanted to be a bad boy. Leo was the real deal, from the wrong side of the tracks. Forbidden. And smokin’ hot.
“All I’m asking is that you think about it. Don’t bust me to Ian. Let me hang around and do the Armpit Hostages thing until you’re ready to help.”
“And if I’m never ready?”
He glanced down at his hands. “At least I tried.”
He wouldn’t just let it drop. We both knew it.
“Think about it, Jen. If someone is dirty, your mother could be the next one he targets. Or you. Wouldn’t it be better to know what’s going on?” He paused for a moment to let that sink in. “At least ask your mother who has access. What could that hurt?”
“I don’t know.” I was curious about who was monitoring me. I could probably find a way to ask.
“What are you doing after school tomorrow?” Leo asked.
“Why?” Now, I was starting to shiver from the cold.
“I want to show you something.”
“I’ll think about it,” I said. I may as well let him plead his case. I’d already agreed to let him hang around, and that alone could get me in huge trouble.
“Thanks,” Leo said. Then he stood, and squeezed his large form through the hatch.
I watched him walk to the front of the house and then slipped down the ladder.
I’d never kept anything important from my mother. Helping Leo would be a really bad idea. So why was I thinking about doing it anyway?
About the Author
Juli Alexander lives in the Southeastern U.S. with too many dogs, her teenage son, and most of his friends. She is the author of Valentine’s Day Sucks (a novella), Stirring Up Trouble, The Karma Beat, and My Life as the Ugly Stepsister. Visit her at julialexanderauthor.com or on twitter @juli_alexander. Her next release, Investigating the Hottie, finaled in RWA’s Golden Heart and will be out by March 2013. You can also find her free short story, “Camp Cauldron” in the YA anthology, Eternal Spring.
Contents
Title page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Pointe of No Return by Amanda Brice
The Karma Beat by Juli Alexander
About the Author
Trouble's Brewing (Stirring Up Trouble) Page 24
