Free B00CZBQ63C EBOK by Karen Barnett

best-looking men in town were both off limits. She felt like a kitten being teased with a piece of string. She pulled out a pocket mirror and checked her reflection, cheeks blotchy and pink.
    Mr. Brown’s no better than that Big Jerry.
    A figure in the park across the street caught Laurie’s eye. Johnny strode toward the waterfront, his hands jammed into his trouser pockets, shoulders hunched.
    She jammed the mirror into her pocket and hurried after him, catching Johnny as he arrived at the dock. “Going fishing?”
    Dark circles surrounded his eyes, dull in the late afternoon shadows. “I wish I had time.”
    Laurie pushed up the sleeves on her sweater. “So, where are you heading? Are you going out on a”—she glanced around the deserted dock—“a run?”
    Lines scored Johnny’s forehead. “When did you turn into such a snoop?”
    His words jabbed at her. “I’m the little sister. It’s my job. Remember?” She followed him along the dock to where his longboat bobbed in the water.
    He gripped the rope, perching on the edge of the dock. “I’m not a kid anymore, Laurie. I’m entitled to a little privacy.”
    She crossed her arms. “I’m not a kid, either. And yet you keep treating me like one—like I can’t handle the truth.”
    He tossed the rope onto the boat and stepped in. “Sometimes you can’t. That ain’t my fault.”
    Heat crawled up Laurie’s back. “I’m tougher than you give me credit for.”
    He used the oar to push away from the edge. “And sometimes you’re too tough.” The splash of the oars increased as the boat drifted away, Johnny pulling harder strokes as he entered open water.
    The breeze plastered her skirt back against her legs. She turned and walked back up the length of the dock. A burly figure stepped out from one of the larger boats. “Well, if it ain’t sweet lil’ Laurie.” Big Jerry blocked her path, solid as the dock’s wooden pilings.
    Laurie’s throat tightened. “What do you want?”
    “You and your brother exchanging information again?” He crossed his arms across his wide chest before leaning over to spit into the waves.
    “He didn’t tell me anything.”
    “Course not. He never says nothing to you, does he? But somehow you seem to keep turning up, like a bad penny.” He took a step toward her, his shadow crossing her path. “I saw you talking to that G-man. You looked mighty cozy in there, sipping sodas like lovers.” The man’s lip curled.
    “We’re not—”
    “Oh, no. You’re an unsullied little flower, aren’t you?” A booming laugh burst from his chest. “I know how you girls work. You’ve probably got a flask hidden in your garter.” He reached for her leg.
    Laurie knocked his hand away. “Get away from me.”
    A second laugh followed the first. “You’re the motherless daughter of a drunkard. Your brother is embracing his destiny. What makes you think you’re any better?”
    Laurie reddened as she tried to push past him, the reek of the mill heavy on his clothes.
    He grabbed her arm, lowering his voice to a hoarse whisper. “Listen here, kitten. Your brother is going to be the first to go to jail if that fed gets wind of what’s going down here. You need to think about where your loyalty lies.”
    She wrenched her arm free, but he still blocked her path.
    “You keep making pretty with that Brown fellow. Watch him. But you keep your mouth shut—got it?”
    “Why should I?”
    His dark eyes glinted. “Cause I’d hate to see your brother fall off the boat one of these nights. Halfway to foreign shores, if you know what I mean.”
    Her stomach sank to her knees.
    “Do we understand each other?” He placed a dirty finger under her chin.
    Laurie spoke through clenched teeth. “Perfectly.”

Chapter 9

    L aurie stormed down the spit, kicking rocks as she walked.
    Fetch my bottle. Mind your own business. Keep your mouth shut. Listen in on the bootleggers. Spy on the G-man.
    She grabbed a handful of rocks and flung them out