Rogue's Passion(57)

He stepped out onto the balcony and leaned on the metal railing. It was a fifteen- to twenty-foot drop to the ground below where the lawn sloped away from the building. At the bottom of the incline was a small pond with a flock of Canada geese swimming and grazing near the edge. A few children were playing a game with colorful plastic rings and he could hear the sounds of people on the tennis courts.
He was about to go back inside when something caught his attention. Tucked into the far corner of the balcony behind a planter was another packing box. Had she wanted to take this one with her but decided at the last minute to leave it? He bent to examine the contents and noticed a red smudge on the side. Blood?
Inside the box were a bunch of tacky curios, including a set of breakable pigs wrapped in newsprint, some half-burned candles, and five black-framed drawings, one of which was broken. He pulled out the broken one first, taking care not to cut himself, and noticed that this one’s picture was missing. Had she removed it right before she jumped and cut herself in the process? What was so important about that one drawing?
He carried the box into the apartment and set it on the counter. Taking out the frames, he studied them one by one. They were pencil drawings of the same young woman. Olivia, maybe? It was hard to tell, though, because none of the drawings were of the woman’s entire face.
He glanced at the artist’s signature and a rush of adrenaline shot through his veins. Could this be right? He blinked a few times to make sure he’d read the name correctly.
Vince Crawford.
Sitting back in the chair, he considered what this meant. Why would a young woman suspected of being an unregistered Talent possess artwork by the Institute’s most notorious prisoner?
He made a quick call to Dr. Longmire and soon had his answer.
Vince Crawford had a twin sister who’d never tested positive as a Talent, but the Institute had lost track of her after she turned eighteen.
“What’s her name?” the Fixer asked the doctor.
He could hear the sound of papers being shuffled on the other end of the line. The Institute, headed by the brilliant but ancient Dr. Longmire, insisted on doing things by hand rather than computerizing their records.
The doctor cleared his throat. “Crawford’s twin sister is named Olivia.”
Bingo.
For the second time today, he felt that sudden rush of adrenaline that he craved so desperately.
Some people got it through extreme sports. Others got it from driving fast and partying hard. Not that he didn’t enjoy those things now and then, but personally, he got the most thrills when he was closing in on his prey. The feeling was second only to fucking a beautiful woman, which, when he thought about it, was always the same. The repulsion, the refusal. Then came the restraints and the gags. He always took them from behind so he could pretend they weren’t horrified. However, chasing someone who didn’t want to be caught was never the same experience. They tried to stay one step ahead of him, tried to outsmart him, but he hadn’t failed yet.
“Why are you asking?” The doctor’s slightly nasal voice echoed through the earpiece.
“You know the unregistered Talent you hired me to find? The one we figured had healed those people at the explosion site?” He didn’t try to keep the cocky tone out of his voice.
“What about her?” Dr. Longmire’s excitement was palpable. He imagined the octogenarian rubbing his gnarled hands together gleefully, his watery blue eyes wide in anticipation. “Have you located her yet?”
Not exactly, but it would just be a matter of time until he did. “The woman we’ve been looking for happens to be none other than Vince Crawford’s sister, and I’m sitting in her apartment right now.”
A series of gasps and chokes could be heard through the line. The doctor began firing off questions in rapid succession, but the Fixer wasn’t listening. Instead, he kicked back, stretched out his legs, and put his feet on the table. He was already planning out his next move.
Olivia Crawford-Collins-Hoffman would reenter her life at some point. And when she did, he’d be waiting.
    







 
    Dark and Deadly: Eight Bad Boys of Paranormal Romance by Jennifer Ashley, Alyssa Day, Felicity Heaton, Erin Kellison, Laurie London, Erin Quinn, Bonnie Vanak and Caris Roane
    
 


 
CHAPTER 20
Asher spread the map on the desk. He thought Olivia would lean over and point to where she grew up, but she turned to face him instead.
“Tell me about your sister. What’s she like?”
He exhaled slowly. “It’s been a long time since I’ve seen her—not since I joined the Iron Guild. When our stepfather would go off on one of his tirades, she’d run away for days at a time, while I’d stay and confront him. I don’t blame her though. He was exhausting to be around. He accused her of carrying on with one of the local boys, but maybe she’d found a portal, slipped through to your world and met your brother.”