Read Teased to Death (Misty Newman 1) for Free Online

pulled into Donna's driveway.
    He started to respond, but the long, pregnant hesitation was all I needed to hear.
    "I'm going to walk home." I pushed the door open and slammed it violently.
    "Wait, Misty," Donna called. "Let me drive you home. Of course you didn't do it. Jax is just trying to do his job."
    "He's doing a great job of it. No bias whatsoever—it's like I'm a stranger." I wished immediately I could take back my short words, but I was drunk and tired and crabby and angsty and stressed and a bazillion other things, and Jax's pause had been the final straw.
    "Mist…" Donna stopped walking. "Please don't go. Don't run away again. You just got back."
    I turned around and slowed to a stop. "I'm sorry, Donna. I really appreciate everything you've done for me—coming with me tonight, offering to help. I'm going to figure this out. I'm not gonna run away."
    She smiled. "Good. I'm here if you need."
    I gave her a smile. "I'm going to walk home though. I need some air."
    "No problem. Call if you need."
    "I will." I gave her a quick wave but I didn't tell her two important details. The first, I didn't have a phone. My cell had been shut off courtesy of overdue payments after my money disappeared into the studio.
    The second problem was that I couldn't promise not to run away. I'd been running most of my adult life, and it was the easiest solution. It'd helped me avoid plenty of problems thus far. I was invested in Little Lake only because of my studio. And my family. But if the studio didn't work out…how on earth could I afford to stay in Little Lake?
    I kicked the dirt on the side of the road as I walked. I only had a mile or so to go, and it was a pleasant fall night. The evening had been gorgeous and cool, the leaves changing into beautiful golden shades and pumpkin orange colors. The scent of mulled wine and Honeycrisp apples floated lazily across the fields from the giant orchard on the outskirts of town. The middle of the night turned crisp and chilly, but there was something invigorating about the fresh fall temperatures. If things were different, I could see myself settling down in Little Lake.
    Except things weren't different, and the sad realization that very few people would miss me if I left hit me hard in the gut. I took a seat on the curb and let a few gigantic tears creep from the corners of my eyes.
    Donna would miss me, and my nine-year-old sister. The latter was a large reason I'd come back to my grandmother's house in the first place. It was hard to take her to movies and help with homework from three thousand miles away.
    The rest of my family was a bit preoccupied and wouldn't exactly notice my absence: Mom was in the middle of whirlwind marriage number six, Dad ignored the fact that I danced for a living, which left us very little to talk about, and the rest of my sisters were scattered throughout the state, busy with their own families.
    And Jax—I'd be getting rid of a pain in his ass if I left town. I'd be doing him a favor by running away for the second time.
    Speaking of the Little Lake Devil, Nathan's car cruised to a stop in front of me. I quickly wiped my eyes and stood up, brushing my hands on my pants.
    "Go away," I said as Jax rolled the window down.
    "No."
    "Yes."
    "No."
    "Don't be a pain in my rear end," I said.
    "Don't be a pain in my rear end."
    "Why did you drive by?"
    "Donna mentioned a crazed, drunken Mrs. Jenkins showed you her knife."
    "So?"
    "I don't want my main suspect dead."
    "How romantic." I crossed my arms.
    "Get in."
    "No!"
    "What if I told you that you're not the only suspect?"
    I took a step forward. "What?"
    Jax sighed. "You're our main suspect, but there're others. I shouldn't be telling you this. But if you didn't do it like you say, then you have to be careful because there's a killer out there."
    I leaned on the window, biting my lip. "Shouldn't you be scared of me then, if you're so convinced I'm the killer?"
    "Honey, I've never had a problem pinning you