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  I shot back a quick reply, letting her know I’d be waiting in the bar.

  I could use a drink.

  The rest of the afternoon had been filled with numerous calls, both ingoing and outgoing. I’d talked to the district attorney in Elzy Cunningham’s city, letting her know what was going on, explaining some of the data I had via the telephone conversation that she said she wanted the hard copy. There was far, far more in the hard copy, so I knew she’d be all over the case once the material was in front of her.

  On the off-chance she was reluctant to pursue, I did have a few other avenues, but hopefully, it wouldn’t come to that. This was about as open-and-shut a case as it came in my line of work.

  When I wasn’t making calls to the DA or following up to make sure the data had been received via email, I’d been fielding calls from Elzy’s office, first from his administrative assistant, then from him.

  Did I have time to come in for a quick visit?

  A telephone conference, then?

  What could we expect next?

  Had I talked to the DA?

  Did Elzy need a lawyer?

  I was used to the questions.

  I’d been doing this long enough to know what to expect, but just because I was used to them didn’t make the tediousness of it any easier to put up with.

  I’d just slid onto a stool at the bar when my phone chimed again. Thinking it might be Ravenna, I pulled it out, a smile on my face. But it was Joelle’s name that popped up on the screen.

  For some reason, seeing her name caused a somewhat sick feeling to spread through me. In a few minutes, I’d be having dinner with a woman who wanted to hunt her father down.

  He’s your father too.

  I shoved the thought aside because, in reality, I hadn’t thought of Gabriel as my father in years.

  But Suria and Joelle didn’t have the years to serve as a disconnect.

  Somewhat reluctantly, I swiped my thumb across the screen to bring the message up.

  There was a silly little smiley face, followed by:

  Haven’t seen you in a couple of days. Maybe we can do brunch again or something? Miss you!

  The sight of that silly little smiley face caused yet another knot to form in my gut, but I ignored it long enough to send back a quick response.

  Sounds good. See you soon.

  Closing the messaging app, I dropped the phone on the surface of the bar and rubbed my hands up and down my face.

  What were my sisters going to think about this?

  Maybe I didn’t have any loyalty to Marks, but what if they did? I knew they didn’t want to be with him, but there was a difference between wanting to live with somebody and not wanting to see somebody thrown in jail.

  And could this come back and bite them on the ass?

  Suria, especially.

  She was well over the age of eighteen, an adult in the eyes of the law and then some. What if things were discovered that caused problems for her?

  Swearing under my breath, I rubbed at my eyes and wondered if I had any idea what I’d gotten into when I told Ravenna I’d help her. I wanted to help her, wanted to see Marks shut down for all the wrongs he’d done in life.

  But I didn’t want to do it at the cost of my sisters.

  We’d just found each other.

  The End

  Deceit and Desire continues in HEAT, coming June 15. CLICK HERE to join my newsletter and get an email reminder on release day.

  About the Author

  Cassie Wild

  Cassie Wild loves romance. Ever since she was eight years old, she’s been reading every romance novel she could get her hands on, always dreaming of writing her own romance novels. In her spare time, she enjoys watching superhero movies, playing video games, reading tons of books all while cooking her favorite Italian meals.

  First, I would like to thank all my readers. Without you, my books would not exist. A big Thank You goes out to all the Facebook fans, street team, beta readers, and advanced reviewers. You are a HUGE part of the success of the series.

  Also, a big Thank You goes out to my editor Lynette. You make my ideas and words look so good.