Page 4 of Hell on Wheels

Chapter 2

Eleven months earlier—

“You sure about this?” Torin asked, adjusting the wire hidden beneath my clothes. “It’s not too late to back out.”

I shook my head at my stepbrother, appreciating his concern, but we both knew I was too far in to walk away now. “I need to catch him in the act, Tor.”

He shook his head, pulling his hands away. “We can find someone else, Lark.Any-fucking-oneelse.”

“It won’t work, and it’s taken too long as it is. We don’t know what’s happening to Molly or what they’re doing to her. She’s alone. Every single day they’re hurting her, it could be the last. We have to stop it.”

“Fuck!” His hands gripped his short dark hair and pulled. “I can’t think about that. If I do, I’ll just gun them all down.”

“Which is why we agreed I had to be the one to go in,” I reminded him.

Torin sighed, pulling me into a hug. “It wasn’t supposed to happen. It shouldn’t have happened at all.”

“Which part?” I asked, slightly sarcastic. “The part where Fred snuck into my room at night or beat you so badly for pulling him off me that you ended up in the hospital for two weeks?”

“Lark,” he croaked.

“Or how he sold our little sister into sexual slavery to pay off his debts?”

Neither of us referred to the sperm donor/stepfather as anything other than his first name. Fred may have been related to us by blood and marriage, but he would never be considered family. We both hated him for numerous reasons, but his latest crime, trading Molly to the Guerrero Cartel in exchange for his indiscretions, spurred a new rage and disgust for the man who committed numerous crimes against us.

Torin had come into my life when I was twelve, already bruised and traumatized by Fred’s abuse. Torin’s mother had no idea of the monster she married. Fred played the part, moved her in, and slipped a ring on her finger so fast the woman didn’t have a clue about his true intentions, which included her two children and his depraved desires. Fred was the oldest and became the protector of his two sisters.

“Fuck, Lark.” His voice cracked. “You’re right. We need to get Molly back. The rest doesn’t matter right now.”

“I want him to suffer,” I hissed.

“He’ll suffer as soon as Molly is safe,” Torin promised for the umpteenth time. “Right now, the Cartel protects him. He knows too much about their operation to cut loose. Fred lives on borrowed time anyway.”

I knew that, but it didn’t make me feel better.

Clearing my throat, I changed the subject. “Angel Mackenzie likes me. I can use that to my advantage.”

Torin scowled. “Be careful. He’s got a reputation for overindulging liquor and beating on women. He won’t hesitate to hurt you if provoked.”

We’d been over this a dozen times. “I can handle him.”

“I’m sure you believe that, but he’s a nasty sonofabitch.”

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