Read Dangerous Bond (Jamie Bond Mysteries Book 4) for Free Online Page B

Associates. We're your best friends. Comrades. Sisters."
    Caleigh nodded furiously.
    I had to lay a hand on her shoulder to get her to slow down. She sipped her drink and eventually stopped.
    Sam looked away, toward the dance floor. I expected her to clam up and change the subject. But instead, she took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I totally think of you guys and Maya as my sisters too."
    "Yay!" Caleigh said, causing a man on the other side of Sam to turn and glance at us.
    "Okay, fine," Sam said. "I really hate doing this, but this seems as good a time as any." The skin between her brows puckered and lined.
    I held a swig of drink in my mouth, anticipating whatever she was about to say.
    "I was wondering if I could get an advance on my paycheck this week." She said it so low I almost didn't hear it over the music.
    I swallowed hard. That was it? She'd been worried all day because she didn't want to ask? "Yes, of course. Is everything okay though? This isn't for something like an emergency or anything, right? You and Julio are fine?"
    She smiled, and I realized it was the first one I'd seen from her all day. "Yes, we're good. Julio Senior, however, hasn't paid child support this month."
    I had no idea about their arrangement, but I assumed that money was essential for a single mother. It was essential for this single gal with a shoe fetish too, but I knew feeding a child never compared to the latest Jimmy Choo.
    "Do you want me to find him and shatter his kneecaps?" Caleigh asked.
    I held back a chuckle. Caleigh was all mint julep and bubblegum-colored lip gloss until you got between her and her money. She was far from a gold digger or materialistic. She came from a family of laborers and hard workers. So when someone tried to interfere with her livelihood, she became a grizzly. This applied to interfering with her friends' livelihoods too. Plus, Auntie Caleigh adored Julio as much as I did.
    "No. He'll need both of his kneecaps to keep working and sending me child support," Sam reminded her with a half smile.
    I waved over the bartender and pointed to our near-empty glasses for another round.
    Sam knocked back the last of hers. "It's not like Julio to do this. He's never missed a payment, and I'm actually a little worried about him."
    My PI radar switched on and began beeping and flashing in neon pink. Pink was so much prettier than red. "Why?"
    "I've called him a few times, and the calls keep going to voice mail."
    "Is that unusual?" Caleigh asked.
    "Kinda. I mean, he has his own life. Whatever that is. But he always gets back to me right away. He's been trying to be a good father lately. He's been there for Julio every weekend without fail."
    The bartender set three new drinks down.
    I tossed a few bills onto the bar and traded my empty glass for a full one. Caleigh and Sam reached for their new ones too.
    Sam took a long sip and then shrugged, as if everything was truly fine. "It's probably not a big deal. He's probably off chasing a new skirt. Hopefully he'll come through next month."
    It didn't sound very reassuring to me, but Sam seemed lighter.
    My cell rang. I glanced at the caller ID. Maya.
    I slipped off my stool and walked closer to the front door to get farther from the speakers. "Maya?"
    "Hey, Boss. I thought you'd want to know that I got Elaine's cell records. She's meeting up with a friend named Suze in twenty minutes, and it looks like she's planning for a hot night out."

CHAPTER FOUR
     
    Sam dropped Caleigh and I off at the agency, where I promptly hopped into my car and sped just slightly over the speed limit to the Van Nuys address Maya had texted me. When I got there, Maya was parked in the lot of a dive bar called The Happy Hour.
    I pulled up behind Maya's Jetta and put my Roadster in park. After locking my car, I slid into her passenger seat. "You didn't need to follow her here, but I appreciate it. Thank you."
    Maya shrugged. "I didn't have plans tonight. Brandon is working late."
    Brandon