Crave (The MacKenzie Family #11) by Liliana Hart Read Free Book Online

hell don’t want to be the sacrificial lamb to Robert’s matchmaking attempts.”
    “This time I don’t think matchmaking is at the forefront of Lockwood’s agenda. Someone trashed Evangeline’s townhome last night.”
    Cal took a long drink of water and tried to get his racing heart under control. “Was she hurt?”
    “Fortunately, she worked late and missed her train. She ended up staying overnight at Robert’s home. She had clothes there, so she went to work like any normal day, and then pulled up at her house a little before six o’clock this evening.”
    Cal calculated the time difference. “That’s barely two hours ago. You work fast.”
    “You don’t fuck with Robert Lockwood’s daughter. He’s out for blood. Evangeline had a bad feeling the minute she opened her garage door. She told the responding officers something just felt off, so she decided to park street side instead of pulling in where she might get trapped before calling the police.”
    “She’s got good instincts. Robert raised her to be cautious.”
    “With good reason. Her place wasn’t just trashed. It was gutted. Everything was destroyed. Shoes, clothes, pictures, dishes—”
    Cal didn’t move a muscle. His skin went cold as ice and his grip on the arm of the chair was so tight he was surprised it didn’t snap off in his hand. He had to check the urge to make sure she was safe for his own peace of mind. Emotional reactions never solved any problems.
    He’d learned to separate the emotion from the logical side. He’d been accused on more than one occasion of being as much of a machine as the computers he worked on, but in his mind it was the only way to survive the atrocities he’d seen over the twenty years he’d spent in the bowels of covert ops.
    “And none of the neighbors heard or saw anything? She’s got houses on both sides and neighbors across the street. It’s a safe neighborhood.” Cal finally reached for the file Declan had pushed toward him. There was no turning back now. Despite his vow to stay out of her life, he knew it wasn’t a vow he had any intention of keeping. She was going to be pissed. But her safety came first.
    “None of the door-to-doors came up with unusual cars or strangers in the area. The police have virtually nothing to go on. Despite the damage that was done to her house, it was a very well executed plan. She’d be dead if she hadn’t missed her train.”
    Cal’s head snapped up at that bit of information. “What are you leaving out?”
    Dec’s mouth tightened and his eyes went stone cold. “When the police entered the residence there was blood everywhere. The neighbor’s cat was slaughtered and a message left on the wall in blood. Whoever murdered Senator Biddle knows Evangeline can identify him. The media posted the artist’s drawing along with her name as the eyewitness. No one knows who leaked the information.”
    “Of course not. Assholes.” Cal’s blood boiled. He’d never had much use for the media, but deliberately risking someone’s life for the sake of a story wouldn’t be tolerated. If Declan didn’t find out where the source came from then he sure as hell would.
    “What did the message say?”
    “You’re next. There were no prints, fibers, or hairs left on scene. As soon as Robert was notified, local PD was pulled out and the FBI was brought in. Their crime scene people were thorough. Take a look at the computer rendering of Senator Biddle’s shooter.”
    Cal flipped through the file until he saw the sketch. “Son of a bitch. That’s Victor Taber. That scar on his forehead is unmistakable.” He looked at the image a little closer just to be sure, but it was Taber. Eyes, black and soulless, stared back at him and a jagged scar in the shape of a sickle was just over his left eye. Fuck .
    Cal closed the file and stood up, already heading for the door. Time was of the essence. He wasn’t sure he’d ever experienced such heart-pounding fear as he had when he