The Temptation by Cheyenne McCray Read Free Book Online Page A

morning.”
    “We need to go to the police.” I let go of her hand and stood. “That was rape.”
    “I don’t want Evan to know.” She stood, too. “Since he’s with BPD he’d find out. I don’t want him or any of our brothers going off half-cocked and trying to take care of this themselves.”
    What she didn’t realize was that I was just as likely to take care of this myself as they were.
    “Besides,” she continued. “I’m embarrassed.”
    I took her by the shoulders. “You have no reason to be embarrassed. A man took advantage of you and forced you to do things against your will. What you need to be is pissed.”
    Although I was doing a pretty good job of being pissed enough for both of us.
    “I—I.” She swallowed. “I want to think about it first, okay?”
    I hugged her and felt her hot tears on my neck.
    Every tear she cried was like a hammer to my heart. Rori and I might not have been close, but she was my little sister and I loved her. I would do anything to protect her. If I had to fly out to Honolulu to find Richard Travis, I would. I was going to hurt that sonofabitch.
    I drew back and looked into her eyes. “When will he return?”
    “He should be back Friday.” She sniffled again.
    Time enough for me to plan his demise.
    “I don’t want to go home, Lexi,” she said. “That’s where he brought that woman. I don’t think I can sleep in my bed again.”
    “You’re welcome to stay here as long as you want.” I guided her back to the couch and made her sit. I sat, too, and brushed her hair behind her ear. “You can sleep in my bed.”
    “The couch is fine.” She managed a smile. “Later I’ll go bed shopping. I needed a new frame and mattress anyway.”
    I gave her a smile at her attempt to make things light. I didn’t want to smile, but I knew it would make her feel better. No, instead of smiling I wanted to take my Glock and blow off the guy’s genitals.
    So much anger and frustration had built up inside me that I needed to find a way to vent it. First having to shut down the Bachmann op and now my sister being put through a horror of her own.
    “I’m going for a run,” I said after I’d given her some Mountain Dew and pecan sandies, the perfect comfort food. “Need anything before I go?”
    She shook her head. “I appreciate you letting me hang out here for a little while.”
    “That’s what sisters are for.”
    I put on shorts, a T-shirt, and my jogging shoes, along with a pack around my waist that I used to carry my keys along with my work and personal cell phones. I’d put my Glock in a safe place that only I knew about.
    When I was dressed, I tied up the bag of garbage from the kitchen trashcan and carried it to the front door.
    “I’ll see you when I get back,” I said.
    She gave me a small smile as she lay down on the couch and put her head on a pillow. “Have fun.”
    I gave her a little wave before I carried the trash downstairs and went out the back to get rid of it before my jog.
    Clouds hung low in the sky and it looked like we were in for some rain. The air smelled clean and the summer breeze cooled my skin.
    My mind whirred as I jogged. I thought about the horrendous things that Bachmann had done. How he had arranged for young women to be taken from Russia under the pretense of winning modeling contracts then forced into sex slavery once they arrived. The young women from China who’d also been shipped to New York City, told they would have legitimate jobs, only to find themselves sex slaves.
    And how he had organized a ring for young American women as well. More anger burned through me as I thought about how Bachmann was responsible for the local ring where Nick’s sister had been abducted from a nightclub and sold to the highest bidder.
    My anger ramped up instead of dissipating and I clenched my jaw. How could they take us off the case? Perhaps they had brought in another organization like the FBI or NSA. But that didn’t make sense. The case