Free A Killer's Agenda by Anita M. Whiting

practice on Sunday but it’s a really big game next weekend. I can’t miss it
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    A Killer's Agenda
    or the coach’ll have my head. Alex told me to tell you coffee’s on in the kitchen if you want some. Gotta go.”
    He reached behind Brad and grabbed a helmet sitting on the
    foyer table, then grimaced at the rain. “Lousy morning to practice in.” He glanced back at Brad. “Yeah, yeah, I know. I’m young. I can take it.” He began to whistle as he slammed the door behind him.
    Brad found himself grinning as he saw him pull a hood over his head and jump into a car that pulled to the curb minutes later.
    For some reason, he found himself wondering how his father
    would have reacted to the last ten minutes. Yeah, right . No child of Andrew Norton’s would have been as spontaneous, as sure of
    themselves. It was then it struck him like a lightning bolt. Hell! He was becoming his father without even realizing it. He liked order, predictability. That was the reason Alex Leahy mesmerized him.
    She was impetuous, mysterious, and contradictory. Everything he wasn’t and yet he was drawn to her like a moth to a flame. Like a forbidden fruit that he desperately wanted to savor.
    The sound of the vacuum cleaner interrupted his thoughts.
    Instead of climbing the stairs, however, he wandered into the kitchen, helping himself to the coffee Alan had mentioned. He liked this room, liked the way it made him feel with its warm oak
    cabinets and table. A pang of memory shot through him. Besides Maggie’s cozy domain, the kitchen had often been his favorite place at his aunt’s as well. She had given him her unbiased and
    complete love when he had so desperately needed it. There had been long talks around the kitchen table, dinner conversation that skillfully guided a lost teenager out of his shell. The sting of unexpected tears surprised him. Guess it would be a long time
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    Anita Whiting
    before the pain disappeared entirely. His memory of her deserved as much.
    He took a deep, steady breath, inhaling the fragrance of the coffee. As he took another sip, the noise upstairs stopped. No point in reliving the past. His job now was to find this creep and make him pay.
    Moments later, Alex appeared, her curls tamed in a casual
    pony tail. She wore scruffy jeans and a Panthers tee shirt that was about two sizes too big for her. The pull was there again the minute he set eyes on her. Not one of the women he had dated would have been caught dead in the outfit she was wearing, at least not in front of him. Her lack of artifice was immensely appealing, not to mention the fact that those scruffy jeans hugged her curves admirably.
    “Morning, Brad. Thanks again for coming over.” She sighed,
    lips curving as she helped herself to a cup of coffee. “I’m almost done. My idea of a clean room and my siblings' differ markedly, but I promise I won’t keep you long.” She tucked one leg underneath her as she curled into a kitchen chair, taking a sip of coffee with obvious enjoyment. “I gather Alan and Alicia have already
    welcomed you? I heard your car drive in before my sister left.”
    “Welcomed is a mild way of putting it,” he responded wryly.
    She laughed. “I know exactly what you mean. Alicia doesn’t
    just live life, she embraces it. Things are never dull when she’s around.”
    He leaned back in his chair, wrapping his big hands around
    the mug of coffee. “Do any of you ever stop for a breather?”
    “Sure. If we have to. This is minor. Just imagine my mother
    and father and my twin brothers here as well.”
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    A Killer's Agenda
    “I’d rather not.”
    “Chicken,” she teased, setting her cup down. “Have you
    contacted the attorney in Charlotte?”
    “Last night. He’s agreed to meet with us Monday afternoon if that works for you.”
    “It does only because I purposely kept my schedule light due to my parents being away. As a matter of fact, I’ve got a few weeks relatively free.”
    “Good. Then