Suffer II by E.E. Borton Read Free Book Online

starting to lose his little bug to the big world.
    “Those two are adorable,” said Karla, coming out to join her husband. “They both came inside, thanked me, and gave me hugs. You know how I love hugs.”
    “I do,” said Hank, reaching out for her and pulling her down on his lap.
    “Emily didn’t seem too pleased with you when she came inside,” said Karla, raising her brow. “She’s taking her bath now.”
    “Aw, I just gave those boys a little tease,” said Hank.
    “You asked if they tried to kiss her,” said Karla, pinching his arm.
    “You should have seen them,” said Hank, chuckling. “I asked and Dawson didn’t miss a beat. He pointed right at his little brother and gave him up. I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.”
    “They’re nice boys, Hank. They’re very polite and respectful. It wasn’t too long ago Emily was the one trying to make new friends in a new place. It’s hard, you know.”
    “I do, honey. But it’s my job as a father to scare the crap out of every boy that comes around. Fear keeps them honest.”
    “Just don’t push too hard. She may end up resenting you for that.”
    “It’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
    “Good luck with that.”
    “Have I told you how beautiful you are today?” said Hank, tightening his grip around his wife.
    “No, sir, you haven’t.”
    “You are, sweetheart. You are beautiful.”

Chapter 7
Crush
     
    Grey’s theory that the smaller the town the higher the concentration of churches and liquor stores was proven again in Boudreaux. After checking into his hotel, he set the bottle and a glass on the desk. Before opening the first journal, he took a sip and leaned back in his chair.
    In his thirteen-year career with the FBI, Grey had a front-row seat as a witness to the worst things human beings could do to one another. In the blink of an eye, an entire family’s world would be devastated beyond their comprehension. In their time of incredible pain, confusion, and fear, he would show up with a badge and then turn their world inside out.
    It was rare that a person became a victim because of a random act of violence. In most of the cases that he had solved, there was an existing relationship between the perpetrator and the victim. It could be as distant as an internet predator, or as close as a scorned lover, but the relationship was there. Finding the connection meant digging deep into an open wound.
    Taking a longer sip, Grey knew the connection he needed to find would be more difficult with Emily. She was a high-risk victim. Once he started that digging, experience dictated there would be a long list of suspects.
    She could have become a liability or owed money to a dealer or a pimp. She could have been killed by another junkie for the change in her pocket or the drugs in her purse. A client could have gone too far with role-playing or bondage sex. She could be a Jane Doe in the morgue in New Orleans after being found in an alley with a needle sticking out of her arm. They were all plausible explanations based on her lifestyle choices.
    He didn’t believe Emily deserved to die, but she was an adult who made decisions that put her at risk. She wasn’t a young girl abducted from the mall by a pedophile. She wasn’t the target of a delusional stalker. She wasn’t attacked on a jogging trail by a serial killer. She wasn’t tied to a chair and killed in front of her mother. She wasn’t Caleb.
    There were hundreds of cases across the country where the guilty were set free because of a flawed and weak judicial system. Even more were never caught because the cases didn’t draw enough attention in the media. Cases where victims were truly innocent and had nothing to do with the crimes executed against them. Grey understood the connection between Karla and Kate as mothers, but he didn’t understand why Kate chose Emily over so many others that could use their unique set of skills.
    As he sat the empty glass on the desk, he felt his phone