Dorian.

His brothers.

Duchanes.

Hermes.

LaPorte.

Her web was getting stickier by the minute. Charley didn�t know how many more twists and turns she could handle tonight, but she couldn�t bail now. Not with so much on the line.

Charley took out her phone, laughing when she saw the latest artistic endeavor from Sasha�a picture of two perfectly round grapefruits topped with cherries, a huge zucchini sliding between them. Thinking of you! she�d texted.

A+, Charley replied now. Sadly, the conference is bereft of photo-worthy fruit. I�ll have to up my game later.

Up your game all you want, Sasha texted back. I�m still the reigning fruit-smut champion. ;-)

I�m soooo not worthy.

Keep practicing! I have faith in your dirty mind! Hey, chat later, k? Heading out for a late dinner with Darcy.

Have fun! Love you.

Love you too, Chuck.

Charley smiled. Sasha sounded so happy, and that made Charley happy, bolstering her for the work ahead. Sasha might be the reigning champion of fruit smut, but Charley was a champion too�of disguises, of lies, of sleuthing, of playing each and every role assigned to her like a god damned queen.

For her sister, Charley could endure anything.

In that moment, she made her decision. She�d take Dorian up on his offer and stay the weekend. Maybe her acceptance would disarm him a bit�distract him from the fact that he�d caught her sticking her nose where it didn�t belong.

Besides, spending the weekend with Dorian Redthorne was a much better option than sitting in traffic, fending off Travis� bad breath and questing hands.

Confidence sufficiently boosted, Charley sent a quick text to Sasha that she wouldn�t be home until Sunday night, then shot off another text to Rudy, who�d miraculously given her some breathing room tonight.

Still having a great time, she said. Can�t wait to tell you about all the sightseeing I�ve been doing!

Thank you for the update, he replied. Looking forward to catching up later.

She bit her lip, knowing this next part wouldn�t go over well, but hoping to spin it in her favor anyway.

Actually, she replied, I�ve decided to stay the weekend. Still so much to explore! Why don�t we touch base Sunday night?

The telltale dots flickered across her screen, and Charley�s insides bubbled. She really hoped he wouldn�t make a big deal out of this, but Rudy didn�t like it when she went off-script, even if it led to better intel. He liked thinking everything was his idea.

"Come on," she grumbled. "Cut me a break."

His text finally popped up, but before she could read it, a shadow fell over her face, and she shoved the phone back into her purse, quickly getting to her feet. JrNovels.com