Page 55 of Charity's Redemption

Gross.

I shivered as an image of Owen’s naked body burned into my mind’s eye. It’s not that I’ve seen him remotely naked before, but I imagine he’s just as boring underneath his clothes as his personality.

“That’s enough from you.”

“What do you think is going to come from this, Owen?” I turned my gaze to him. “You think your superior is going to look at my confession and pat you on the back, then give you a promotion?”

“My career isover. Now it’s my reputation.”

“Ahh, a man with nothing to lose. I like those odds.”

“I won’t stoop to your level to get what I need.”

“Why not?” I shook my head. “You’ve already landed yourself on the felons’ list by kidnapping me. Why not make it worth your while, huh?”

He shook his head as he paced, as my sarcasm riled him. I imagine this was how Luca felt at times. Even though he had a temper, he also knew how to control himself. He never struck me in anger. Put a gun to my head and threatened to kill me, yes. Put a gun to my chest when he kissed me for the first time… again, yes. But he’d never hurt me in anger.

“I can live with kidnapping, but not torture.”

“So that’s it. You’re going to talk me into a confession that won’t even hold up in court?” I scoffed, then laughed, hoping to push those sensitive buttons of his. My damaged lip scraped against my teeth, causing a biting pain to hit my molars. “You’re a pussy.”

Owen dragged the coffee table in front of me and sat, but just out of reach so I couldn’t kick him with my heavy boots. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks.

“What do you think your father will do when he learns you had something to do with his son’s death?”

I smiled and narrowed my eyes. “Owen, you poor pathetic man. We’ve been down this road before and so much has changed since then.”

He didn’t need to know that my father was well aware of my involvement.

He didn’t need to know that my father was the one to take the evidence.

He didn’t need to know that my father loved me, regardless.

Even though I still needed to sit down and discuss how he came to terms with it all, he hadn’t turned me in, and he even came to visit.

“So you admit you had something to do with your brother’s murder.”

“I never said that. But I’ll have something to do with yours.”

“And what about the little girl? What was your involvement there? I thought you were a killer, not a trafficker.”

“Again, you’re off base.” I yawned, then winced. “I’m getting bored. Can we move this on a bit? I have things to do.”

“Tell me why you did it.”

“Tell me what happened to your daddy?”

“Don’t talk about him.”

“Why? You want to talk about my dead brother. Let’s talk about your dead father. Was he recognizable when they discovered his body? I bet it wasn’t.”

He clenched his hands together and ground his teeth.

Just a little more, I’m sure of it.

Sure, I was playing on the same card I did in the jail, but it worked like a charm before. It was the fastest way I knew how to pull the anger out of him and get him to lose his mind. And when someone reacts with more emotion than with thought and logic, they make mistakes, and I’ll be here waiting when he does.

That was how I escaped the Russian, Egor, who was now very much dead. Of course, I had a little help from Max, but Owen wouldn’t get that far with me.

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