Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 144571 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 723(@200wpm)___ 578(@250wpm)___ 482(@300wpm)
“Yes, the family that wasn’t even in the room when someone who wasn’t a member of the family killed your dad. You know Levi Green killed him, right?”
“Oh, see, that’s where you think the only people responsible for a tragedy are the direct actors. Such an American viewpoint. It tends to keep you from thinking of yourselves as, to use your word, villains. There’s more to any act. There are forces behind it, things that shaped and moved pieces into place. Who is more important? The pawn who unknowingly does the king’s work? Or the king himself.”
She would get no information from arguing with a delusional individual. She gently let her hands move from bar to bar until she found a corner. “You were telling me how you found Lena Crazy Eyes.”
Another chuckle. “See, when you talk like that, I find you amusing. So different from most women of my acquaintance.” She heard him shifting. He was probably watching her through night vision goggles. The creep. “Like I said, my grandfather watched your family closely. He was rather weak, though. He wanted a way to hurt your father financially, but he never found it. I knew there were better ways to have revenge on a man like him. I was only eighteen when I started seriously looking for allies. I found Lena when she requested several Freedom of Information Act documents. She was looking for her father. He was connected to yours, so I had people tracking anyone who asked about him.”
The cage was a square, and to her left there was the smell of…loam. Earth. Were they underground? “And she thought ‘hey, I’ll screw up my whole life to help this dude I’ve never met before?’”
“She hated anyone connected with her father’s death. She couldn’t actually find out what happened, but she knew her father was on a classified mission and that Ian Taggart was somehow involved. I might have fudged a little there. You see, my father had managed to get the reports on Taggart’s missions. It’s surprising what millions of dollars will make an employee do. I didn’t tell her that Lena’s father was being hunted by the Agency for his treason. I let her believe it was Taggart who caused him to go underground and abandon her mother. From what I can tell, Nelson was a bastard who likely wouldn’t have cared even if he knew he had a child. But I find giving a person what they want helps make them far easier to manipulate.”
“So you find Lena, convince her to use her powers for evil, and manipulate your way to get around all the Agency guardrails?”
“That’s easier than you think, though I will admit I had a lot to work with when it comes to her. Despite her delusions about her father, she’s quite smart when it comes to her job. She’s a gifted therapist and a truly excellent profiler.”
All right. So she was in a roughly eight by ten cell. The door was in front of her, and she’d felt a box that was likely the lock. Probably some high-tech biometric system. The room outside felt bigger since she was almost certain Huisman was at least twelve feet away from her. Maybe a basement. Perhaps that loamy smell was actually mold. “Well, I was one of her clients, so I’ll have to disagree.”
“Do you? I thought she handled you perfectly.”
She should have known. “She recorded the sessions?”
“Yes. It’s why I waited so long. I’ve known for a while I would take you back. But when Lena managed to get herself assigned to profile Zachary Reed and assess your team, I knew I would wait. I’ve listened to those sessions several times now. They’re fascinating.”
He was giving her some serious ick. “Great. I’m thrilled you managed to violate me on another level.”
“I haven’t, you know. Your body was safe the whole time. I wouldn’t do such a thing to you.”
“No, you wouldn’t. You would want me awake.”
“Exactly,” he practically purred. “I want you to be with me every minute of the way, so you can be assured no one touched you this time.”
“You’re just a peach.” She hated him. She’d thought she hated people before, but this one…this one truly threatened to turn her into what Lena thought she was.
Her eyes were starting to adjust. It wasn’t completely dark. There was something humming in the room, and it had a few buttons or switches that were lit.
“I am fascinated by how the experience—or non-experience—affected the rest of your life. I wonder if it hadn’t happened, would you be so fierce? Lena thinks so. Lena believes you were born a predator. She believes the only reason you don’t kill with abandon is the family around you.”
Lena was an idiot. She wasn’t a predator. She was a protector. When she managed to ignore the voices in her head, she knew exactly who she was. She was a woman who cared enough to kick some ass, willing to risk not being liked to help the people around her. Though she could give the man some reassurance. “I promise I’ll have total abandon when I kill you.”