Holocaust (The Deadwood Hunter Series Book 3) by Rachel M Raithby Read Free Book Online Page A

heard the click and scuff of the door opening and closing.
    Sitting up, Lexia looked at the three people staring at her. “I’m quite certain I said no medics, Marcus.”
    “Couldn’t just let you bleed to death,” Marcus answered with a sly smile.
    Marcus was right, yet she’d declined a medic because she’d known it would end with lives being threatened. When it came to her safety, Derrick acted nothing but irrational. “And honestly, Derrick, were you really going to kill the poor man?”
    “If it kept you safe, yes.” Derrick crossed his arms in front of his chest, clearly ready to argue his point.
    Lexia laid back, deciding she didn’t have the energy to argue. It was so much easier when I had Doc on tap. Just thinking of him brought many painful memories to the surface of her mind. Eyes closed, Lexia sucked in a shaky breath and blew it out, forcing the feelings with it.
    “Are you all right? Does the wound hurt?” Belinda asked. Lexia heard the soft pad of her feet. Opening her eyes, she looked into the soft gold of Belinda’s.
    “No, the wound doesn’t hurt.”
    Belinda frowned, clearly confused why Lexia had tears in her eyes. “What’s the matter then?” she asked.
    “I can’t stay,” Lexia answered softly, already feeling herself slip away as the weight of her emotions crushed her.
    “You’ve not got much of a choice, Lex, at least for now. You’ve the opportunity now to find out things no one else knows. You may find the key to shutting this whole operation down.” Derrick stepped closer, his eyes containing the emotion he normally hid.
    They think they have you back, Lexia. Fools.
    Go away, Maura.
    Why? You want me really. After all, I am your defense against the emotions you cannot contain.
    “No, Derrick, you misunderstand. I can’t stay here.” She placed a finger on her head. “It hurts too much. I can’t live with the things I’ve done, the people I’ve lost. I can’t stay here.” Lexia closed her eyes.
    “Lexia!” Derrick growled. She could hear the anger and the fear in his tone.
    Slipping back into the depths of her mind where she felt no pain, no loss, no guilt, Maura took control, both willing and pleased.
    Maura opened her eyes, revealing the cold, gold depths. “It’s just little old me now, Derrick, and oh, aren’t we going to have fun playing with my mother.” Her twisted smile was wrong and so much like the woman’s she called Mother.
    “Maura,” Derrick hissed, his hands clenching.
    “Not pleased to see me?” Maura asked, her voice sickly sweet. “I thought you needed me to play with Mother?”
    “This isn’t a game, Maura. Lives are at stake.” Derrick looked torn between whether to hit her or shake her.
    Maura stood from the bed and strolled leisurely around her room weaving between Derrick, Marcus and Belinda. She took far too much pleasure in winding them up. “Life is a game, Derrick, but I’ll behave,” she paused, her next words only for Derrick, “for now.”
    Staring at the three of them, Maura suddenly wondered why she kept them around, the answer just as baffling as the question… Because they’re friends.
    I don’t need friends.
    Everyone needs friends, Maura.
    “Go away then. I need to heal,” Maura said, waving her hands at them. “Shoo.”

Chapter 8

     
    Maura marched through the compound with a feeling swirling through her veins that she’d never felt before.
    Dread.
    Her fingers flexed, cracking with each bend. Rigid with tension, it wasn’t a feeling she liked.
    For three days, she’d managed to avoid them: Derrick, Belinda and Marcus. Her mother was still in the medical center; well, that was what she’d heard from the whispers always circling through the compound. So far, she’d done as Derrick had asked. She’d not picked a single fight. She’d followed every rule.
    Why she was playing along, why she even cared what happened to them, Maura couldn’t comprehend. You are poisoning my mind with your silly