Free Resurrecting Charlie's Girl by Debra Kayn Page A

have to
excuse the frank talk, I'm afraid." Garrett tipped his head in apology.
    Charlise
waved a hand at him, shrugging off the need to apologize. "Please, go on.
It's okay."
    "I
have no doubt that Blatwell will find the safe house. The only thing we don't
know is when." Garrett rubbed his chin.
    Tom
flipped the paper over and the muscle in his jaw bulged. The expression on his
face made Charlise lean away from him. Whatever he read shocked him. Oh God.
    The
paper in his hand shook. She wished the file didn't exist.
    What
she'd lived through embarrassed and humiliated her. To have Tom read the police
bio on her killed what little self-esteem she had. On paper, she probably
appeared insane. Jared always painted her as the jealous wife and unstable
woman. The police never believed her, only Jared's side of the story made an
impression.
    Tom
needed to understand that whatever he read came from the fact she didn't have a
choice in what Jared said or did to her. She'd lived a prisoner's life and had
done the best she could under the circumstances.
    "Tom?"
Joe's voice sounded too loud in the room.
    Tom
lifted his head and he stared at Charlise. His jaw slack, he rubbed a hand over
his whiskered chin.
    God,
she wanted to die of embarrassment. Just say it. Tell me how screwed up I
really am.
    She
leaned forward and carefully peeled the paper out of his white knuckled grip.
    The
moment she pried the paper away from him, he blinked. A slow smile replaced the
puzzled expression, and he laughed.
    My
life isn't funny! Charlise crumbled the paper in her
fist. Nothing noted in the paperwork should make him laugh like that. Whatever
the officers claimed she did was a lie.
    Humor
and laughter kept coming from Tom. Every time he tried to speak, he filled the
kitchen with more laughter. Charlise tapped her foot on the floor and threw the
paper onto the table. Fine. If he wanted to make an ass of himself, he could,
but if he thought laughing at her was funny, he'd better think again.
    "Oh,
stop it." She slapped his arm. "Really,Tom."
    Tom
braced himself on his knee and attempted to hold in the laughter, but the sight
of his shoulders convulsing under the pressure gave him away. She decided to
wait until he settled down.
    "I
think he's lost it." Pete smiled. "Can I have his office back at
HQ?"
    "He's
a dumbass," Charlise muttered.
    "That
he is, Charlise, but I think I know what his problem is." Garrett winked
at Pete.
    "Oh,
do tell, boss." Joe scooted forward on his chair. "This should be
interesting. Not often to we get to have something to hold over Tom."
    "Oh
God, stop…I should have known." Tom sucked in air, the chuckles subsided,
but his eyes danced with delight when he smiled over at her.
    "Known
what? That you're crazy? Yep, you are." Charlise glared at him and pursed
her lips.
    "Look."
Tom picked up the crumpled paper and smoothed it out on the table. He thumped
it with his knuckle.
    She
glanced down. Okay. A picture of her. Not the best one she'd seen, but
whatever. He'd have to give her more than that if he wanted her to understand
what was so freaking hilarious to him. "What about it?"
    His
dimple caved in deeper than ever before. "This picture explains so
much."
    "So
much what?" She snorted. "Spit it out. What's wrong with my
picture?"
    "You're
a redhead. Under all that black hair dye, you Charlise are an absolutely
beautiful redhead." He twisted around in his chair, hands out in
supplication with a huge grin on his face.
    Charlise
gaped at him, then gazed around the table. The other guys wore a similar grin. "You're
all crazy…"
    Garrett
cleared his throat and pushed out of his chair. "Tom has a—he waved his
hand in the air—thing for red heads."
    A
thing, huh? Charlise quirked an eyebrow at him and tried to stop her lips from
twitching. "Are you serious?"
    "Jesus,
I should have known that temper came from somewhere. How was I to know?"
Tom leaned over to squint at her face. "Not a damn freckle in sight."
    "So
sue me." Charlise