Page 38 of Twisted Empire

And with the eager vibe that hummed between us as Logan turned on the phone and the rest of us looked on, we were becoming even more of a cohesive unit than we’d been before. Maybe even a family, with Madelyn right there at the center of it.

She caught my eye with one of her soft smiles, and I had to smile back. The family we’d formed wasn’t just cohesive. It was the best one I could imagine.

CHAPTERSIXTEEN

Madelyn

We pulled over to the curb next to a stretch of modest suburban houses, a few yards down from the specific house we were interested in. I peered at its pastel blue walls through the dim light from the streetlamps that’d blinked on with the descending night. A second car carrying the people Beckett had brought for backup parked behind us.

I dragged my gaze away from the house to glance at Logan in the seat next to mine. “You’re sure this guy is connected to the illegal organ transplants?”

My stepbrother nodded. “The trail from the data we grabbed off that phone was clear enough once we dug far enough. And the guy’s a doctor—Doom’s Seed will obviously have needed some medical experts on board to make this work.”

“We don’t know exactly how connected Dr. Evancho is,” Dexter piped up from where he was sitting next to Beckett up front. “It’s possible he doesn’t know the full extent of the situation.”

“We’ll approach him cautiously rather than aggressively.” Beckett leaned forward to peer at the house. “I don’t see any signs of a significant security system on the house.”

At my other side, Slade tapped his window. “There’s a car in the driveway. Someone’s home.”

I rubbed my arms, a chill passing through me despite the whir of the car’s heater, and Logan set a reassuring hand on my shoulder. “It’ll just be him. His one kid is grown up and lives in a totally different city now, and his wife’s out of town this week speaking at a conference on the other side of the country. No innocent bystanders.”

“Unlesshe’sinnocent,” I pointed out.

“We’ll figure that out,” Beckett said confidently. “Let’s go see what Dr. Steve Evancho will tell us, Maddie.”

We all got out of the car, Beckett’s men emerging from theirs as well, but everyone except Beckett and me hung back on the front lawn while the two of us climbed the steps. When we’d been hashing out the plan, I’d pointed out that seeing a young woman at the door might put the doctor a little more at ease than if he were faced with a bunch of tough-looking men.

The guys had only agreed because Beckett would be right there next to me—and fully armed, if things took a bad turn.

As Beckett pressed the button for the doorbell, my stomach knotted. I squared my shoulders and willed my nerves to settle, though my heart kept thumping on.

It was one thing to rush in to help in the middle of a fight already happening, when I could see there was an obvious threat. In this situation, for all intents and purposes,wewere the threat. It wasn’t a feeling I enjoyed.

The door eased open, revealing a man I knew from Logan’s research was in his early sixties, with thin gray hair swept to the side of his broad forehead. At the sight of us, his eyes widened slightly while his jaw clenched.

He definitely didn’t figure we were just canvasing for charity.

“Yes?” he said in a nervous tone.

“Dr. Evancho?” I said, and went on at the brief dip of his head, “We need to ask you about something important. I think you have information that could save a lot of lives.”

His expression tightened even more, and he took a step back, his knuckles whitening where he gripped the door. “You must have the wrong person. I think you’d better leave.”

“Please, Dr. Evancho,” I started, but he cut me off.

“I have nothing to say to you—I don’t know whatever you think it is I know. I’d appreciate it if you left my property right away.”

He started to close the door, but Beckett caught it with a smack of his hand. He held the doctor’s gaze with the cool fierceness I’d always admired in him, and lifted his shirt just enough to flash the gun in the concealed holster at his hip.

“We could get the police involved in this matter,” he said firmly, “but we’re willing to handle it privately, which I think is what you’d prefer. Especially considering who you’re entangled with.”

A flash of pure terror crossed Dr. Evancho’s face, all but confirming our suspicions about his connection to Doom’s Seed.

I held out my hand to him. “Please. We’re not here to hurt you. We only want your help. I already—I lost my dad because of the people you’ve worked with. You’ve got to know that what’s happening is wrong. Don’t you want to see it stopped?”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the doctor muttered again, but he shifted his weight, not trying to force the door.

“You went through all that medical training,” I tried again. “You dedicated your life to saving other people’s lives. I can’t believe you’d want to let innocents keep dying if you have the chance to end the suffering. What did you take that oath for?”

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