Stolen Chances by Elisabeth Naughton Read Free Book Online Page B

monstrous desk of his, in that palatial mansion overlooking the Pacific. “Evan—”
    “Too busy to tell me you were planning a trip to Mexico?”
    Maren’s eyes popped open, and dread turned to bone-chilling fear. “H-how did you know I was in Mexico?”
    “Maren, darling. I know everything .”
    The way he drew out the last word made her stomach roll. She leaned against the back of the door. “What do you want?”
    “I want what everyone wants—your father, Lisa Maxwell, Thad Leighton, even that hustler Drummer. I want La Malinche .”
    Her legs buckled, and she sank to the floor. Dammit, he knew where she was. She should have expected the call, but she’d thought if she could get out of here fast enough…
    She swallowed hard. “I…I don’t have it. That’s not why I’m here.”
    “Don’t lie to me, Maren.”
    “Evan, I’m not lying. I wouldn’t lie to you. I—”
    “If I can’t have the statue, I’ll have you. As I’ve had you. As I plan to go on having you until I get bored and decide to move on to a younger, more agreeable version of you.” Maren covered her mouth with her hand as another burst of fear whipped through her. “However, I might be willing to make you a deal.”
    Her blood beat like cannon fire in her ears, but the offer she heard lingering in his voice kept her from exploding. “What kind of deal?”
    “The kind where I walk away and leave you and that beautiful daughter of yours alone. All alone. The only thing you have to do is bring me La Malinche .”
    This was what he’d been waiting for, Maren realized. All these years, he’d been counting on her father to go after that damn relic again. And he’d targeted her as a way to get it.
    The sickness churned and swirled inside her belly. But with it…a thread of hope. “What guarantee do I have that you’ll live up to your end of the bargain?”
    “None. Except my word. You know my word is sound, Maren. I follow through with all my promises.”
    Her gut twisted again. And the memory of his hands on her body, of the things he’d made her do, rushed through her mind. She closed her eyes tight to block the memories. Yes, she knew better than anyone how he followed through.
    “Maren?”
    Could she do it? Betray her father, Lisa…Thad? Though they’d never been able to prove it, they all knew the treasure hunters who’d killed Colin in that cenote had been hired by Evan Declan. Nine years ago, he’d been as obsessed with finding La Malinche as was her father, but for different reasons. And he’d been willing to kill for it.
    For a split second, Maren thought about telling Thad the truth, but then pushed the thought aside. He’d hate her if she told him the truth, and it wouldn’t keep her daughter any safer. No one was safe from Evan when he set his sights on them. She couldn’t walk away now. Every person she cared about would disown her if she went through with this, but Evan was finally offering her a way out.
    Hands shaking against the phone, she drew in one deep breath for courage, then closed her eyes. “Okay.”
    “Okay?” The surprise in Evan’s voice told her even he hadn’t expected her to capitulate quite so quickly.
    “Yes. Okay. I’ll do it. In exchange for you never seeing, speaking to, or contacting me or Isabel again, I’ll bring you what you want.”
    “ La Malinche .”
    A sharp, angry ache filled Maren’s chest, like a hammer chipping away at the embers of her heart. “Yes. When we find it.”
    “Say it.”
    The hammer came down hard, and the pain from the blow made it difficult to breathe, let alone speak. “I’ll bring you La Malinche .”
    “Good girl, Maren.” Evan’s gloating smile twined through his words. “I always knew I could count on you to do the right thing. You’ll see. When this is over, we’ll both have exactly what we want most.”

C HAPTER F OUR
    A restless night’s sleep did little to settle Maren’s nerves.
    After lying awake most of the night, staring at