The Temptation by Cheyenne McCray Read Free Book Online

Bachmann.
    “Do you think another agency is after him and they don’t want us to interfere with their investigation?” I asked Nick as he hit the bag.
    He growled as he hit the bag again. “I believe there’s more to the story than Oxford is telling us. Maybe more than she knows.”
    I nodded. “I think you’re right.”
     

Chapter 7
    Gone
     
    Anger still caused me to shake and I didn’t want to stay at RED, so I headed home early after notifying my team. The news had not gone over well with anyone. I wasn’t the only one who despised Bachmann and everything he stood for.
    Had the order to back off from the operation come from Eckstrom before his death? If not, from whom? Carter?
    I had to work off some steam—if that was possible considering the circumstances.
    When I reached the yellow trip, I saw that my sister’s car was parked along the street. My sister rarely stopped by, so I wondered what was up.
    After I parked my Jeep, I jogged up the stairs to the second floor and found Rori sitting beside my door. Her face was tearstained and fear shot through my chest like an arrow.
    “What’s wrong?” Panic made me pull her up too fast when I held out my hand to help her to her feet. She teetered but I took her by her shoulders and balanced her. “Is it Mama? Is she all right?”
    “Mama’s fine.” Rori sniffled. “Everyone is fine.”
    Relief flooded me. “Then what’s wrong?”
    Rori shrugged. “Can we go inside?”
    “Oh. Right.” I dug the keys out of my pocket, careful not to move my shirt aside so that Rori wouldn’t see my Glock.
    I unlocked the door and held it open and she walked to the couch and plopped down on it while I closed the door behind us. She looked as pretty and feminine as always in slim navy shorts and a fuchsia pink blouse with gold sandals and pink toenail polish.
    Rori had a gymnast’s build and used to compete when she was young and petite, before she’d had a growth spurt. She wore makeup and had long acrylic nails with a French manicure, both of which I avoided wearing unless I needed to when undercover. Her mascara was a little smudged which wasn’t like her at all.
    “So tell me what happened.” I went to the couch and sat on the edge of the seat feeling like I needed to run. My younger sister rarely—if ever—confided in me. I wasn’t the easiest person to talk to considering I shut off my own feelings deep inside.
    “I’m sorry, Lex.” Rori sniffled and looked down at her hands. “I didn’t know who to talk to about this. I’m embarrassed and hurt, and I don’t know what to do.”
    I scooted closer to her and put my hand on her shoulder. “There’s nothing to be sorry about. Just tell me what’s wrong.”
    She dragged her gaze up and her green eyes met mine. “My boyfriend forced me to do things last night that I didn’t want to do.”
    My scalp prickled. My first reaction was to find him and kill him. I tried to keep calm. “He raped you?”
    “I don’t know if you can call it rape.” Her eyes glistened with tears. “We’ve had sex before and it was, well, normal.”
    I frowned. I’d faced too many cases where women were molested and to think that my sister had been assaulted this way made me want to tear someone apart.
    “Tell me what he made you do.” I put my hand on hers where she was picking at a loose thread on her skirt.
    “We were in my bedroom and I was naked. He gave me a drink and I got a little lightheaded and dizzy.” Rori’s eyes filled with tears. “Then he brought in another woman. I guess she’d been waiting outside.”
    My skin began to burn. “He drugged you then forced you to have sex with another woman?”
    Rori nodded.
    I took a deep breath and let it out on a slow exhale. She flinched and I realized I was squeezing her hand too tightly. I relaxed my grip. “What’s his name? Where does he live?”
    “Richard Travis,” she said. “But he’s gone. He’s a pilot and was headed for Honolulu this