Read Creep for Free Online Page A

seat. He’ll be with you in a moment. He’s just finishing up a call.”
    Ethan walked over to the waiting area but did not sit. The tenth floor was not the highest in the building, but the view of Puget Sound was still incredible, thanks to the floor-to-ceiling windows lining one wall.
    The beautiful blue-green ripples of the Sound glistened brightly under the morning sunshine. He wondered absently if Diana St. Clair had ever swum in those waters. He’d never asked her. If he closed his eyes, he could still picture her beautiful body, toned and tight from years of training. . . .
    A hearty laugh made him turn. Striding down the hallway was a big man, well over six feet tall with a belly that stretched firmly over his belt. He was flanked on both sides by women who had to jog to keep up with him. A cerulean silk tie complemented a custom charcoal suit, and Ferragamo shoes encased what had to be size fourteen feet. His graying temples did nothing to detract from his handsome features anda charming smile. In fact, the man looked much better than Ethan remembered.
    Morris Gardener. In the flesh.
    The women tittered with laughter. Ethan didn’t catch what was said, but clearly Morris was a funny guy because both ladies smacked his thick arm and cackled in amusement before walking away.
    “Tom Young?” An outstretched hand came toward Ethan, sausage fingers swallowing his palm in a vise grip. “Morris Gardener. Glad you could make it on such short notice. Come on in. Beautiful day, isn’t it? Bet you’d rather be out there than in here. God knows these days are few and far between in the Northwest. Perfect day to throw the pigskin around. You like football, Tom? Used to play back in the day until my knees gave out. Two years with the Packers, Longhorns before that. Right this way. My office is just down the hall. You want coffee, water, muffin, anything? Theresa! We need sustenance, please!” The big man’s voice boomed loudly in the hallway and another woman appeared out of nowhere, smiling cheerfully at them as she passed.
    He called, they came. He joked, they laughed. There was no doubting who the big swinging dick was around here. Morris Gardener’s presence seemed to shrink everything around him, including Ethan, who suddenly felt very insignificant.
    He forced himself to stand straighter. This was no time to buckle. He was here to scope out the competition and figure out what, exactly, Morris had that he didn’t.
    If he couldn’t have her, then neither could Morris. He’d rather see Sheila dead.
    All he needed was an excuse.

    There was a small stain on Morris’s tie, likely a remnant of whatever he’d eaten for breakfast. It pleased Ethan.
    The big man was on the phone again. Ethan took the time to look around the large office, noting the abundance of natural light and the thick carpet that matched the creamy walls and ceiling. Against one wall, two football jerseys were framed and hung. Both were number 75—one in rusty orange for the Texas Longhorns, and one in forest green for the Green Bay Packers. On Morris’s huge mahogany desk sat a football encased in Lucite. The furnishings were surprisingly modern, all clean lines, steel, and dark wood, a contrast to the more traditional décor in the public areas of the bank.
    Ethan wondered if Morris had decorated the office himself. The man certainly had great taste in clothes. And he was wearing monogrammed cuff links, for fuck’s sake. A man would only wear monogrammed cuff links if that same man had monogrammed French-cuffed shirts to go with them. Which Morris did. Ethan’s own suit, bought off-the-rack the day before at Macy’s, seemed cheap and bland in comparison.
    He fingered Morris’s business card, noting both the thickness and whiteness of the paper. The lettering was raised and glossy, expensive: MORRIS GARDENER, SENIOR PARTNER, BINDLE BROTHERS. How much did a senior partner at an investment firm make? There was no way to ask without sounding