Faceless (Sinister Secrets Book 2), Candle Sutton [dar e dil novel online reading txt] 📗

The admission didn’t feel as satisfying as Mitch had thought it would. “Why? I’m in. I’ve turned my back. Why would you go after her?”

“I didn’t.” Tio’s sharp tone lashed the space between them. “She came after me. Followed me right here. You should be thanking me for not getting rid of her.”

She was alive.

Mitch’s breath rushed out of him. His head felt light.

“Where is she?”

“Safe. Upstairs. In the room you once occupied.”

“I want to talk to her.” What he was going to say, he didn’t know. But at least now she couldn’t order him to leave, couldn’t walk away.

Never had he considered making her a captive audience, but this might not be all bad.

When they pulled out for good, they could leave her here, then phone in a tip when they’d cleared the area.

She lived. They got away. Everyone won.

“Guess it can’t hurt anything.” Tio nodded at the security guy who’d brought him here. “Take him up. Watch out for her though. I wouldn’t put it past her to try to fight her way out.”

Yeah, he wouldn’t either. She had her mother’s spunk.

The man jerked his head and started down the hallway.

He wasn’t sure how he should feel. Part of him was thrilled to have the chance to finally talk to her. Another part of him wanted to run away like the coward he was.

Forcing his feet to move, he followed.

He’d see this through. If they were leaving tonight, this might be his last chance to talk to her.

₪   ₪   ₪

Kevyn jerked as she heard a noise at the door.

It was now or never.

Lurching to her feet, she limped toward the door with as much speed as her swollen foot would allow.

The door opened and she barreled toward the man in the doorway.

Her shoulder slammed into his ribs, knocking him backward. A grunt slid from his lips as they tumbled to the floor.

Fisting her hand, she drew back.

Fingers wrapped around her wrist and pulled her back.

Of course, there would be two of them. Well, she’d take them both.

She had no choice.

She whipped around, using her body weight to generate force.

A glimpse of Mitch’s face filled her vision a second before her fist collided with his jaw.

He fell back.

While she hadn’t intended to strike her own father, she wasn’t sorry. Clearly, he was a part of this whole thing.

That her own blood could be involved in an organ trafficking ring made her sick.

He wasn’t a threat. Not really.

She whirled back to the other man, who was pushing himself up from the floor. Lashing out with her good foot, she aimed a kick at his jaw.

He easily caught her foot and flipped her off balance.

The hard floor stole her breath as she slammed against it.

Before she could recover, he gripped her arm, jerked her to her feet, and propelled her through the doorway.

She stumbled into the room, unable to stop the momentum from his push. She hit the sofa and caught herself on its arm.

The door slammed behind her.

She’d failed. Who knew if she’d get another chance.

Next time, they’d probably come in with gunfire.

A throat cleared behind her.

A gasp rose in her chest, but she swallowed it back.

Spinning around, she found Mitch standing there, rubbing his jaw.

“You got a mean left hook.” He shifted his weight. “Or maybe it was a right hook. Happened so fast I couldn’t tell.”

As the adrenaline faded, her foot screamed in agony. She hobbled to the sofa and collapsed on it, propping her foot on a pillow she’d placed on the coffee table.

Mitch approached slowly, as if she were a wild animal on the verge of attacking.

Then again, had his experiences with her led him to believe anything less?

“What happened to your foot?” He eased down onto a cushion at the far end of the sofa.

“You can thank your friend downstairs for that. He stabbed my foot.”

Mitch’s face lightened and he averted his eyes. “I’m sorry.”

She sighed. “You weren’t holding the knife.”

“I brought you into this.”

While she didn’t really want to give him an out, setting things straight would give her some indication of the level of Mitch’s involvement. “We’re tracking an organ trafficking ring. We would have been here with or without you.”

No indication of surprise.

He was a part of it. It didn’t come as a shock, but it still cut. “How could you do this? Kill innocent people for their organs?”

Vehement head-shaking answered her. “I’m not involved in that. I’m paid to do some record keeping. That’s it.”

“You help them keep things running! You may not be holding the knife or abducting the victims, but you’re as much a part of it as they are.” Her breathing quickened and her heart strummed against her ribs. “I can’t believe you’d do such a thing.”

“It’s not that bad. For every person who dies, several others live.”

She couldn’t keep her jaw from dropping. He seriously believed that lie? “You’re stealing life from that one person. Who are you to decide who gets to live?”

“Like I said, I keep the books. That’s it.”

She shook her head. “How can you live with yourself?”

“It’s not really that bad. I mean, I had reservations at first. Smuggling never hurt anyone–”

“Wait. Smuggling?” How many laws had her father broken?

He snapped his mouth shut and stared at her.

Clearly, he hadn’t intended to reveal that detail. Or maybe he thought she already knew.

“We provide a service.”

Seriously? He thought that made it all okay? “An illegal one. People die in smuggling operations. All the time. Don’t delude yourself into thinking you’re not hurting anyone.”

He rubbed his knees. “Yeah, well. We all have to make