Free Deborah Brown - Madison Westin 07 - Kidnapped in Paradise by Deborah Brown Page A

’ d love that.”
    I refrained from an eye roll. I needed to remind Fab those shoes probably weren’t legal. I ’ d been to the warehouse twice. It sat behind barbed wire, and you could only get in by invitation, which meant I had to be with Fab to go. The last time the guy looked insulted when I asked if he had any flip flops.
    “Can we go in the game room?” Liam asked.
    “Key's behind the bar,” I said.
    Jake ’ s had a back room that sat empty when the previous owner used it as a junk room. After cleaning it out, my original plan had been to use it for private parties, but there had been zero interest. I'd turned it over to Mother to turn it into a game room. It had been open for a few months, but she still refused to allow anyone to use it, except for her poker cohorts. The bar got a cut, and her friends ran up the liquor bills, so my bottom line was happy.
    Creole blew in the door, his shoulder-length black hair windblown. His blue eyes were drawn to pinpoints, and he looked angry. Why me? I hadn’t kept anything from him lately. I stepped behind Fab as he stomped over.
    He reached around her and grabbed my hand.
    “You stay out of this,” he said to Fab.
    I shrugged at her, not sure what was up.
    He pulled me along the hall to my office, which was the size of a broom closet and never used. All business dealings took place at my table on the deck. He opened the door and kicked it shut, pushing me up against it. Creole clenched the hair at the nape of my neck, and pulled my head back, his mouth slamming down on mine. The kiss deepened until I was faint from the effort, sensation tearing through me. His hands moved up and down my back, caressing and holding me close. He shifted down until he could lift me up, and my legs wrapped around his waist.
    “I’ve missed you,” he whispered.
    “You ’ re rotten,” I said.
    He let out a deep, rumbling laugh.
    “I know. No would dare knock after seeing my entrance.”
    “When the birthday party is over, we ’ re going back to my house. If you ’ re done groping me, we should go back to the party before Mother gets here with the guest of honor.”
    * * *
    Mother called Fab from a few blocks away. We herded the guests out to the deck and closed the doors. I couldn’t wait to see Spoon ’ s face when the balloons attacked. I set the juke box for continuous play so that our guests could dance after they ’ d had a few beers.
    I was fairly certain no one had blabbed and ruined the surprise by telling Spoon. As long as I ’ d known him, he ’ d never celebrated his birthday, and this was probably not his first choice of a way to spend his day. Nothing that Mother did seemed to bother him, so I expected everything to go smoothly. He ’ d been told it was a Westin family get together.
    Creole stood by my side just inside the deck doors as Mother and Spoon walked in.
    “He doesn’t know,” Creole whispered. “Or he ’ d be casing the place, looking around to see who got invited. I don’t want one of these. Promise me.”
    “I have something already planned for your birthday, and it ’ s not a group affair. Although it will require a balloon and a party hat.”
    I walked over to hug Mother.
    “Good luck,” I whispered.
    “He ’ s going to love it,” she whispered back.
    I admired her confidence. Spoon was about to have his acting skills put to the test.
    Spoon opened the door, balloons smacked him in the face, at the same time everyone yelled, “ Surprise! ” He froze, instinctively pushing Mother behind him. He recovered quickly, his body relaxing a beat, but the hard lines in his face remained. He ’ d been surprised alright, and not pleasantly so. He pulled Mother into his arms and gave her a big kiss.
    He looked up at me and I winked, giving him a thumbs-up for the quick recovery on a surprise he clearly didn’t like.
    Kevin wandered in with a different girl than the one from the last party we'd all attended. He certainly had a type: