Read Scandal Exposed (The Lust List: Kaidan Stone #4) for Free Online Page A

brewing in the skies, and a few fat drops of rain plop onto my windshield. It fits my mood perfectly. The warehouses to either side of me are riddled with graffiti and broken windows and appear to be totally abandoned. And there’s not another person in sight. I don’t want to do this, but I have to.
    I take a deep breath and check the rearview mirrors again to be sure the paps haven’t followed. I took the car out last night and had to do a whole lot of maneuvering to get them off my trail. But now I’m clean. I tap my steering wheel nervously and glance over at the briefcase of money sitting in my passenger seat. Kaidan’s money. My phone beeps, and I startle in my seat. It’s a message from Rowan.

    “Back out. I can go instead of you.”

    My hand’s shaking as I type back.

    “They were very clear that it had to be me. They don’t want to see you again.”

    “Be safe. We’re close by. I can see you from here.”

    I take a deep breath and dart a look around again. Wherever he is, I can’t see him. I’m not alone. But still. So much could go wrong before they could get to me. They aren’t that close, because if they were, Luis might detect them. And I was told to come alone.
    We’re only gonna have one chance to pull this off.
    A black SUV pulls up a few yards away on the other side of the street, and I try to put on my game face.
    Luis’s beefy henchman Carlos gets out of the car, and instead of the rush of fear I expect, all I feel is red anger. These fuckers have made my life a living hell and forced me to make choices I never wanted to have to make. It ends today.
    I grab the briefcase, get out of the car, and resolutely stride toward Carlos. I wore my usual clothes for this: high heels, jeans, and a tank top. Not the best get-up for this mission, but I don’t want them getting even a whiff that this is going to go any different than they expect it to.
    Beefy’s wearing dark glasses, so I can’t see his eyes. “Get in.”
    A little flicker of fear courses through me. I can’t let them take me away from here. “No. You said we’d meet in a building here. I’m not getting in that car.”
    “Get in or no deal.”
    “Then the deal’s off.” I hold my chin up, hoping my bluff works, but my heart is pounding so hard I can hear it.
    Carlos gives me a stiff nod.
    “And I also want to see the diamond,” I add.
    Carlos taps the window, and it rolls down revealing Luis in the passenger seat. He says something to him. Luis looks tense as he flashes me the diamond. My heart beats even faster. Then Luis rolls the window back up.
    If he hadn’t brought the diamond, this plan would be dead in the water.
    “Follow me.” Carlos says. “Luis will meet us inside.”
    Carlos crosses the street back to where my car is and uses a key to unlock the door to the empty warehouse. I follow him down a corridor and into an enormous, empty room. There’s trash along the walls and an old tattered mattress in one corner. But otherwise, the place is deserted.
    We wait a couple of minutes, me clutching my briefcase, Carlos staring at me, hands crossed in front of him. My pulse is a rush in my ears as the seconds tick by.
    After what seems like forever, Luis and another one of his thugs enter the room.
    He takes off his glasses and gives me a smarmy smile. “I’m glad we finally get to do business. I was starting to worry about you.”
    I stare him down. “Maybe you should worry about yourself.”
    He cracks a real smile at my brazenness. “The money.”
    “The diamond.”
    Luis pulls out the diamond, and I hand over the briefcase as he drops the necklace into my palm.
    My future, in the palm of my hand. Any time now, Row. It’s all I can do not to look back at the entrance to see if my rescuers are coming.
    The other thug steps closer to me, and Carlos holds open the briefcase so Luis can count the money.
    The full amount I owe is in there, including the interest he charged me.
    Luis closes the briefcase,