Carter, Beth D. - Lawless Hearts (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour) by Unknown Page A

would she, look the other way?
    Even as the questions arose, Scharlie already knew her answers.
    She loved them. Loved Cassidy with his moodiness, art of evasion, and edgy movement, just as she loved Garrett’s sweet and passionate nature. Both men were as opposite as two people can be, and yet each complemented and completed what the other lacked. She loved them so much she had redefined her own level of morals.
    And with that resolution, Scharlie knew she could not turn them in.
    She opened her eyes, squared her shoulders, and made peace with her decision.
    She left the hotel by way of the staff entrance, much to the shock of the employees. They mumbled about how she shouldn’t be there, and Scharlie turned her scarred face away as she waved at them, disappearing immediately into the dark night. She made her way cautiously through the alley and around the side of the hotel, stopping to survey the still-busy Main Street. She noticed that the atmosphere was different than before, as if the fall of night had pulled a curtain on the civilized to expose the carousing of something primitive. Music poured from various saloons lining the street. Scantily clad women paraded up and down balconies, shouting at men below. She would be noticed if she left the darkness of the alley to find her way to the sheriff’s office, and currently there were three men she had to avoid at all costs.
    So she slid back into the shadows, back to the employee entrance of the hotel, and stepped up to a bellhop drinking something as he rested against the back of the building.
    “Excuse me,” she said, keeping her scarred side turned away. “Could you point out the direction of the sheriff’s office?”
    He gave her a suspicious look. “Off of Main , north, turn right onto Third. Can’t miss it.”
    “Obliged,” she muttered before hightailing it out of there.
    She kept to the shadows, moving quickly. Anytime someone came lurching by, usually a drunk, she ducked back into the darkness and waited for the person to shuffle by. There was no way to cross Main without moving into the light, but luckily the foot traffic had thinned out enough near Third to cross without too many whistles thrown her way. Scharlie couldn’t believe how wild Willow City was once the sun went down and wondered if all cities were like this.
    As she moved down Third, using the sidewalks but hugging the shadows, she spotted the sheriff’s office and wasted no time in rushing across the street toward it.
    A man stepped in front of her, blocking her way to her destination. Scharlie halted, eyeing the man who seemed focused on her. She moved to one side, and he did the same, mimicking her motions to halt her way. Scharlie’s heart thumped painfully in her chest because she had a deep suspicion that the man in front of her was Breaux Cox. And if he was Cox, how long had he been watching her? Trailing her?
    And what did he want with her?
    All thought of the safety of the sheriff’s office fled. Scharlie turned and started running down the middle of the street until some small measure of sanity returned and she realized that she had to find cover. She dashed between two buildings, which led to an alley that smelled of rotten food and stale beer. Scharlie ran to each building, checking the back doors until one opened. Without another thought, she ran inside and slammed the door behind her.
    She stood in a kitchen that was deserted, but the food piled around in various stages of being cooked hinted that it wouldn’t be empty for long. When she heard voices coming from the door, Scharlie turned and hurried upstairs.
    The stairway was dark enough for her to stumble as she quickly ran up the steps. The door opened to a hallway dimly lit with candle sconces placed next to every door. There were five doors on the right and four on the other, where the staircase ended. Red ribbons were hung on three of the doors.
    A noise at the bottom jolted Scharlie to hurry forward, easing open a