Crystal Mac: A prologue novella to Captive Series Book 3 HELL'S HILLTOP Read Online Free

behind her. “Mac’s volunteered to assist you on that front.”
    Crystal peered o ver her shoulder, caught Mac hanging on to every exchange. “You mean he’s volunteered to babysit.”
    “Happens to be my specialty,” Mac retorted, keeping the scowl.
    “You gonna read me bedtime stories, too?”
    An image of it flashed through her mind , bringing a smile to her face. Instead of rising to the bait, Mac looked away with a tilt of disgust to his mouth.
    A decision was made. As long as they were within arm’s reach, Crystal would continue to sling bait until Mac Truck became her big softy.
    “Since we’re on the same side,” Derek continued, commanding her attention, “you can tell me if there was anything useful on your laptop.”
    “You mean the one you broke during your escape last night? Nothing was on it except my highest Minesweeper score.” His look called her a liar. She gave a helpless shrug. “They knew I had it. Watched my every move. You wasted your time trying to smuggle it out of there before the explosives went off.”
    “You’re already breaking rule number two, Crystal.”
    Her answer came without blinking. “I’m telling the truth.”
    Derek folded his arms over the table and fixed her with some kind of voodoo truth stare. Crystal suppressed a shudder. “My father used to look at me that way. Stop it.”
    “I think your sister used the equipment I saw in your room to get Sophie’s ID and password.”
    Her sound of disgust came as she pushed her empty plate away. “Rena wouldn’t have been able to get those things without my help. Two years in the slammer put her way behind. But I didn’t do it on anything that can be linked to me, so just forget about the laptop and equipment. It’s a dead end.”
    Crystal could see his wheels turning, knew he didn’t want to let it go that easily.
    With a sigh of acceptance, Derek slowly folded her hands in his own. “I want our partnership to work,” he said thickly. “Our end goals are the same: to survive this death sentence that was forced on us both. To grow old with our families.”
    Crystal looked at their hands, knew his gesture was more of a threat than one of camaraderie. It compacted the feeling of foreboding when she considered the fact she had no family left. Sophie had seen to that.
    “I think you are extremely misguided where Rena ’s concerned.” Her eyes locked with his. “But I’ll try to help you get your life back.”
    He must have sensed her sincerity because his hands gave hers a squeeze. “Yours, too, Crystal. It is possible. The only reason you were brought to IGP was to ensure Rena’s cooperation. You may think she abandoned you, but I don’t. And, whether you believe it or not, your sister holds the key to our future. When she comes through for us… you’ll finally get to go home.”
    But there was no home. Before the tears could come, she pulled her hands away and stood. So did Mac. “Your faith in Rena is admirable,” she said, “but if I had money to bet, I’d put it all on Ty.”
    When Derek scoffed, Crystal reminded with a stern finger, “Without him you’d be dead, Bennett. No matter what you think, he’s always had our best interests at heart. He’s the one thinking straight. He’s got the sample everyone is after, and if Rena comes through for us, it’ll only be because Ty comes through first. Again .”
    A look of suspicion crossed Derek’s handsome features. “He’s got quite a fan in you.”
    Damn straight. Ty Ferguson was a saint in her book, undeserving of the label he’d been branded by these people. She knew he wasn’t a traitor, and it had nothing to do with his good looks, or the fact he was a fireman and in the business of saving lives. He’d just become another of Rena’s casualties, and in that, Crystal could fully relate.
    “You gonna tell me what happened between the three of you yesterday?” Derek asked without expression.
    It was something she wasn’t willing to discuss