No Good Deed by Allison Brennan Read Free Book Online Page B

food—”
    “He was your pimp.”
    “No way. He didn’t take any money. I got to keep it all. And he bought me everything I wanted. He took care of me. He loves me. Like his little sister. He always said he wanted a sister, and now he has m-m-me.”
    “He used you, Elise.”
    “No. No, no, you got it wrong.” She squeezed out more tears, then wiped her face with the back of her hand. Barb handed her another tissue. Tears always worked with idiots like Barb, but too much and Elise would lose the edge.
    “Elise, Tobias gave you a syringe and told you to kill a man.”
    “No! He said it was drugs, to make him want to fuck me so that we could get pictures and blackmail him. That man wasn’t supposed to die. I didn’t know, I didn’t know and I wish I could go back, I—I—I didn’t know what to do. I was so scared and Tobias—” She stopped.
    “Tobias what?”
    “I didn’t want to make him mad. He was counting on me, and I thought I’d screwed up. And I just want to make him happy, because—”
    “Because?”
    “Nothing.”
    “Elise, tell me the truth.”
    “I—I know what happens to people who don’t make Tobias happy.”
    “What happens to those people?”
    Quietly. “They die.”
    That, at least, was the truth.
    *   *   *
    Before sitting down to talk to Michael, Sean checked the perimeter of the boys’ home, the fences and gates and the alarm system. He’d installed it himself, and it was nearly as elaborate as the security he had installed in his and Lucy’s house. Everything checked.
    He’d tried calling Kane, but as usual was forced to leave a message. Sean didn’t doubt his brother would return the call quickly—Kane had become more than a little obsessed with tracking down Tobias. He’d even made the unprecedented move of calling his old friend Rick Stockton, assistant director of the FBI, for information.
    “Michael,” Sean said, “was there any other reason you called? Did you see or hear something?”
    “No,” the thirteen-year-old boy said. “But Sister Ruth told us what happened, and where Father Mateo went.”
    Sister Ruth was a fifty-year-old nun who’d been brought to St. Catherine’s to help set up the boys’ home. She had extensive experience in the administration of such group homes, and state law required that a licensed adult be on the premises at all times. She ran the house—and the nine boys—like a well-oiled machine. Truth be told, Sean was a little afraid of her.
    “Lucy’s there, too,” Sean said. “None of the kids on the bus was hurt.”
    “That’s what Sister Ruth said.”
    “Call me anytime, day or night. No matter how silly you think it is. You have good instincts, Michael. I trust them.”
    Sister Ruth walked into the kitchen where Sean and Michael were talking. “Mr. Rogan—I’m so sorry. He shouldn’t have bothered you.”
    “I don’t mind,” Sean said. He didn’t. He came by the house several times a week. The house was large, but old and in need of repair. It got hot in Texas, so Sean commissioned a pool. The boys had been through hell and then some; he wanted to give them peace. “I’m going to stay for a while, if that’s okay.”
    She frowned. Sean wasn’t sure that she liked him, or the arrangement he’d made with Father Mateo over the boys’ home. But it was his deal, and he didn’t care if the nun approved or not. Sean would do anything in his power to make sure these boys had a sense of normalcy.
    “Do you think that’s necessary?” she asked.
    “Yes,” Sean said. “These people are ruthless. I don’t think they’ll go after the boys, but I’d rather be cautious. I asked Lucy to look into a protection detail on the house, at least for a few days.”
    “They’ve been through so much,” she said, then seemed to notice that Michael was still in the room. “Michael, would you please help the others with their math homework?”
    “Yes, ma’am,” Michael said. He nodded to Sean. No smiles. The boy still