Free Reckless Karma (Sinners & Saints #2) by Chelsea Ballinger

many affairs.”
                “Let
me guess,” I smirk. “Husband cheated, so for every mistress you slept with
another one of his colleagues.”
                “Mrs.
Townsend, you are a huge supporter of the campaign against Planned Parenthood
and abortion, aren’t you?” my lawyer adds. “Also you are known for your
distaste for extramarital affairs.”
                “Headlines.
Patrick Townsend, one of the richest men in the world, is a bastard.”
                “You
are the bastard,” Jane hisses.
                I
lean on the table. “But not a rapist. I never touched your daughter. It was all
Scarlett’s doing.”
                “That
girl isn’t that vile.”
                “No,
she is. And you know it. You just think she isn’t stupid. But I suggest you get
Rebecca to recant her statement or this will be leaked all over. Your son and
daughter will hate you, especially Patrick, who wears the Townsend name loud
and proud. People will spit in your face. The white trash girl who sneaked her
way in… only to ruin the legitimacy of an empire.”
                Jane
Townsend’s teary eyes have no affect on me. And to think I was beginning to
lose my edge.
                “You
expect me to let what happened to my daughter go unpunished?”
                “Come
on, Jane. You know the routine. Why weigh both scandals against each other when
you can just kill two birds with one stone? Besides, if everything works out…
maybe you won’t have to buy a dress for that wedding you so desperately do not
want to happen.”
                She
takes the deal. For now. She informs me that she knows people. Basically I
guess death could be in my future if I don’t prove to her that Scarlett was
behind it all. Public persona is the most important thing to these people. That
is one thing I am thankful to have gotten rid of thanks to Scarlett. It makes
people reach their worst. It is the one thing that has made me give up on
people and not see life as a purpose fulfilled world. That belief is still in
me, but it is balancing with the hope I have found to have want through Juliet.
I just don’t know which one will outweigh which.
                “You
are impressive,” I tell Karlie after Jane and her lawyer leave and she enters
the conference room.
                “No,
you are. Taking the lead like that. I recorded the conversation. Just in case
we need it.”
                “Good
call… for now. I may even become impressed by you.”
                She
smiles. It’s a broad and beautiful smile. A genuine one that leads me to
imagine the way my brother had felt when looking at her smile.
                “You
haven’t seen anything yet,” she says, and I’m very much looking forward to
witnessing her game.

 
 
    5

 
    GABRIEL
    “Shit,”
I exhale out falling back on Scarlett’s bed. She falls next to me.
                “Pursuing
Karlie Dale has either built frustration or excitement in you because,” she
bites her lip, staring down at my naked body, “that was new. You should go
after girls like her more.”
                I
chuckle. “I don’t think there are girls like her.”
                “Please,
every state has a Karlie.”
                “None
of them have a Scarlett though.”
                She
smiles and kisses me deeply. Propping her head in her hand, she begins tracing
her black painted fingers on my chest.
                “So
how is the hunt going?”
                “She
is more of a challenge than I thought. I actually have to try with her.”
                “Well,
it shouldn’t have taken you so long. It’s been three months. She watches you
when you’re not looking. Smiles to herself when she catches you being nice to
the