Read Twisted Innocence (Moonlighters Series Book 3) for Free Online Page B

Juliet had just given her. “If you could get these off my desk, I’d appreciate it. Routine employment background searches for our biggest corporate account.”
    “Seems doable. I can probably knock these out tonight, then you can bill them tomorrow.”
    “You can talk to Juliet about compensation.”
    He shook his head. “I don’t want any. I’ve got a job. I just want to help my brother.”
    Lily started to cry, and Holly jumped up and got her out of the car seat. She needed to nurse, but she wouldn’t do it in front of Max.
    As if on cue, he got to his feet. “Guess I’ll go get started on these at home so you can do your mom thing.”
    She smiled, felt a blush on her cheeks. “Yeah, thanks.”
    He stepped to the door, looked out at her taxi. “Still gonna be driving a cab after the mugging?”
    “Some,” she said, “but I sure would like it if I could transition to full-time with Michael. I like this gig a whole lot better. Especially today.”
    “If business is as good as he says, that might work.” He motioned to her face. “Might want to put some ice on that eye.” He opened the door.
    “Hey, Max?”
    He turned back.
    “Thanks for helping me on that Creed Kershaw thing. I really appreciate it. And I appreciate the secrecy.”
    He nodded. “No problem.”
    “I just want you to know I’m not really like that.”
    “Like what?”
    “I’m not the kind of girl who just goes home with a random guy. I don’t know what got into me that night. Too much alcohol, probably, but it was a rare thing.” She looked down at Lily. “I just want you to know that.”
    “I’m not judging you,” he said. “Everybody makes mistakes. You’re no different.”
    He strode out to his car, got in. Holly stood looking throughthe window. No different? That was the last thing she wanted to hear.
    She went to the bathroom mirror, bouncing her baby. Her face looked ridiculous. Her right eye had swollen shut, and the stitches across her eyebrow were Frankensteinish. The purple and black gash on her fat lip was lovely. She studied her hair again, longing for her pink tips. They made her different, didn’t they? At the very least, they would distract from her face.
    Sighing, she decided to stick with her plan to stay a blonde for now. She could always change her mind later.

CHAPTER 10
    M ax talked to the cops who’d taken Holly’s complaint and learned they had no leads on the two who’d mugged her. Holly’s abusers had gotten away with it.
    He knocked out the cases that Holly had given him in less than an hour, e-mailed her the results, then got to work on Creed Kershaw. The first thing he found was Kershaw’s picture on his driver’s license. He studied it for a moment, trying to think like Holly. What had she seen in this guy the night she met him that made her go home with him? She probably saw him as good looking. He was six feet tall, had dark brown hair and blue eyes that girls probably found dreamy, and he teetered on the edge between clean-cut and thug. One part jock with one part bad boy. Enough for Holly to be snowed.
    Max pulled up Kershaw’s rap sheet and looked it over. A possession charge and a probation violation.
    The charges were from three years ago. Kershaw had been fairly clean since, except for a few driving violations.
    There hadn’t been a warrant issued for his arrest for this recent murder. They must just want to question him. The dead guy—Emilio Juarez—was a drug dealer who had lived in Southport but was known on the streets of Panama City too. He’d been known in the drug community as Loco, an interesting distinction, considering so many in the drug culture were crazy.
    Max did a quick search on Loco and found the report the first responders had filed after discovering his body. He’d been murdered execution style—shot in the back of the head—and his body had been left in a parking lot behind a shopping center.
    Max picked up the phone and called Holly.
    “You got