Excerpts

Kimora rushed through the doors of the American Liberty Bail Bonds office, her eyes wide as she searched for her cousin. She wasn't used to being up at this hour. Mornings were for the nine-to-fivers who slaved happily away in a five-by-seven cubicle--or something like that. She'd never been to her cousin's little business and she was less than impressed with the cramped, noisy office sloppily decorated for Christmas. "Where's Stephen?" she asked no one in particular. "He hasn't made it in yet," a stout older Korean woman, manning the ringing phone lines, answered without so much as glancing in her direction. Kimora walked toward her. "Do you know when he'll be back? This is an emergency. My friend is in jail." The woman looked up. Her gaze dragged over Kimora's short red skirt, exposed midriff and overflowing breasts. "You don't say?" "Hey?" Kimora snapped. "What's your name? My cousin owns this place and I'll--" "It's a little early for a catfight," Stephen said from behind her. She pivoted with an instant smile and her arms stretched wide. "Stevie!" Stephen's brows leaped when recognition settled in his eyes. "I'll be a monkey's uncle. Little Kimmy." He took her into his embrace, squeezed too hard and too long. "Well…you're not so little anymore, huh?" Cousin or no, Stephen ravished Kimora's hourglass figure with his gaze and he even had the nerve to lick his lips. "You could say that." Another lick. "So what brings you here?" "Says her friend's in jail," the Korean woman droned. Kimora squashed her irritation. "Roberta Russell. Her last name used to be Washington. You probably remember her from high school." "Birdie?" "That's her." Kimora crossed her arms. Genuine surprise colored Stephen's face. "Come on back to my office." He moved around her to lead the way. "Maura, hold my calls." "Uh-huh." Kimora watched the woman's judgmental eyes rake over her again and she couldn't help but flip the woman off before she followed Stephen. "Nice place you got here," she praised, hiding her sarcasm. Stephen opened and held his office door. "It pays the bills." She glanced up as she crossed the threshold and spotted the mistletoe. Stephen's gaze followed hers, and then he smiled back down at her. "It's not going to happen," she warned. There were stillsomethings she wouldn't do. "No, no." His face darkened with embarrassment. "Of course not. I would never--" "Neither would I." She smiled and waltzed farther into the room. "Please…take a seat," he offered. Kimora hesitated. The place looked as if a tornado had ripped through it, and she questioned whether she should trust her weight in one of the chairs. "Don't worry. It's sturdy," he said as if reading her mind. He took his place behind the desk. "So Birdie is in jail. What on earth did she do?" "Punched out one of her sister's front teeth after she caught her in bed with her ex-husband." Stephen whistled and leaned back in his chair. "You're kiddin' me." "I wouldn't be here if I was." Kimora's smile tightened. "Can you help?" Roberta sighed and leaned against the holding cell's iron bars. Her muddled and blurry thoughts were stuck on instant replay of last night's fight with her ex-husband--and her soon to be demised sister. Though she'd clearly been the winner of the short fight, victory now left a bitter and foul taste in her mouth. "I can't believe I fell for that man's bull again." She dropped her head and cradled it. She and Kenneth had recently inked their divorce papers. The final straw that led to their breakup was because he had been sleeping with their next-door neighbor. She--and everyone in her cul-de-sac--found out about the affair when Mr. Winslet had chased Kenneth out of the Winslets' residence in his birthday suit. As fate would have it, she and the other stay-at-home moms had been returning home from PTA meetings that Kenneth had claimed to be too busy to attend. There was nothing like public humiliation. But there she'd been, just last week, falling for his lies about wanting to return home to be a better husband and father. He'd cried real tears while proclaiming he could never love another woman…and all the while he'd been banging her little sister, Jackie. "When will I ever learn?" "Roberta Russell!" a woman guard shouted. "Merry Christmas! You just made bail." "Oh, thank God," Roberta murmured, standing. She needed to get home to her babies. It took a few minutes to complete processing, but by the time she stepped out of the precinct she was ravenous for the taste of freedom. "Birdie!" Kimora raced over and wrapped her arms around her. "I came as fast as I could." Roberta peeled herself out of Kimora's arms and knuckled a tear away before it could be seen. "Thanks for havin' my back, girl. I owe you one." Assistant District Attorney Courtney Brown read the text message from Kimora and shook her head in relief. The cryptic messages she'd received all morning from Kimora still didn't tell her why Birdie was in jail.At least she's out now. One of the many reasons Courtney didn't race to her girl's aid was that she was due in court. Her whole team was just itching for the jury to find Wyclef Onwu guilty for the rape and murder of eleven-year-old Tina Else. Originally she'd anticipated a slam-dunk case. However, Mr. Slime had hired another Mr. Slime, and from out of nowhere the State's case had fallen apart at the seams. Still, Courtney remained convinced they had the right man--he was just slippery, that's all. Wendy Cox, Courtney's legal assistant, poked her head into the office. "The jury is still out." Courtney gritted her teeth but gave Wendy a quick nod. Three days of deliberation was not a good sign. District Attorney Patrick Holloway burst into Courtney's office without knocking. "Three days of deliberation is not a good sign." Her eyes snapped up and irritation showed on her face. "I know." She hated how he always said the very thing that was on her mind. "If we lose this one, the mayor will have my head." "So you've told me." She crossed her arms. "Just as you've told me you'll drag me down with you if we lose." She stood from her chair and straightened out her jacket. "Threatening me every hour on the hour doesn't have me shaking in my shoes, so you can stop." Red flames flared up Patrick's neck, and his own irritation polished his blue eyes to arctic daggers. "You're skating on thin ice with me." "Ditto." One punch. That's all she wanted--that's all she needed. Three years she had been working with this pompous son of a bitch, and for three years he'd been riding her last nerve. Patrick shook his head as he turned back for the door. "I should have gotten rid of you years ago." "I'm the best damn attorney you got, and you know it," she barked at his back. He stopped and faced her again, but whatever he was going to say apparently crashed against the hard, grim line of his clamped teeth. Courtney and Patrick were staring each other down in an intense stalemate when Wendy rushed back into the office without knocking to blurt the latest news. "They're in." Courtney's heart plummeted to her stomach. She thrust up her chin and flashed Patrick a thin smile. "Let's go see what we're going to get for Christmas--a conviction or a new job." Excerpted from Holiday Fantasy: Finding the Right Key 'Round Midnight Blind Faith by Adrianne Byrd, Donna Hill, Kayla Perrin All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.