Hot Mess (An Iron Tornadoes MC Romance Book 5) by Olivia Rigal Read Free Book Online Page B

her eyes is kind of cute. She didn't expect me to get it, but I do. That's my thing. I don't read minds, I feel. Yeah, that's what I do, and most days, empathy is a curse.
    "I'm so mad at her." She's almost screaming in frustration.
    "And you have every right to be. She did lie to you."
    "But she thought she was doing the right thing."
    "She probably did, but it doesn't change the fact she lied to you for years."
    "So I should be mad at her?"
    I smile and take her hands in mine again. "I didn't say that." She gives me a puzzled look and sighs. "We're not talking cold hard logic here; we're talking about feelings."
    "And?" she says.
    "And feelings are just feelings. They're not right or wrong. Feelings bubble or simmer inside no matter what you think. The logical part of you gets it. When you think about it, you understand that your mother thought the best thing she could do for you, and maybe for her as well, was to take you away and make you believe your dad was dead.
    “And you know what, if your grandmother doesn't blame her for doing it, chances are your mother was right." Kristal tilts her head. "But understanding what she did doesn't make it hurt less. You're in pain 'cause your trust was betrayed and that's painful. Especially since your mother passed suddenly, without giving you a chance to talk it out with her. So there you are, mad at your mom and even more mad at yourself for being mad at a dead woman who can't fight back and justify her actions."
    "Yep, that's about it."
    Her shoulder drops as if she's abdicated.
    "Of course, now I made it even worse by telling you your father lied to you as well."
    She chuckles sadly. "Yeah, he did that too."
    "Will you help me figure out why?" I ask softly.
    "Why would I do that?" She's sincerely wondering and I can't blame her. If I were in her shoes, I would seriously consider packing up and leaving without a backward glance.
    "I could you give you a whole bunch of reasons, but as far as you're concerned, there's only one relevant one."
    She raises a questioning eyebrow. "Yeah?"
    "Those people, the one who made you carry the drugs," she opens her mouth to protest but I don't give her a chance to do so, "they'll be looking for you 'cause you lost them a bloody fortune and they can't let that go."
    Kristal attempts to pull her hands away, but I don't let her. I need the physical connection to get my message across.
    "You're in danger, Kristal, and there's no way I can protect you from them if you don't help me." Her entire body stiffens as if attempting to prevent the idea from entering her mind.
    "Listen to him, Kristal. He's telling you the truth." Ice's voice startles both of us as it resonates in the patio. He's standing by the door, a mug of coffee in hand. "You're in trouble, little girl, deep trouble and unless you help figure out who the source of that crap is, you're the one who's gonna take the fall."
    "But my father ..." she leaves her sentence unfinished.
    "What about your father?" I ask.
    Ice spells it out for her, demonstrating that he's been listening to our conversation for a while.
    "As far as I can tell, there are only two possibilities. Worst case scenario, he took advantage of your innocence to make you do his dirty work." My brother raises his hand to indicate he's not done. "That's one possibility. The other is that he's in a bad spot and that, possibly under duress, he sold you out to save his own skin."
    We give her a few seconds to digest the information. Both possibilities are bleak, but she's not stupid, so why would we try to sugarcoat the truth. She needs to understand what a mess she's in.
    "Why would you want to help me?"
    That's a reasonable question.
    "’Cause I want to find the source of that product and you're our best lead in this case." That's the first reason that comes to my mind. "Also 'cause I think you got tricked into delivering those packages without realizing what their contents were." She nods slowly.
    "You're forgetting the most