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

future… hinged on Crystal’s cooperation, and he didn’t like it. Not one bit.
     
    ____
     
    Crystal gave Mac a sideways smirk from the passenger seat. “I know what you’re thinking.” Though he said nothing, she sensed his wheels turning. “How can a little girl like me have so much power over your life?”
    Mac harrumphed, draped a wrist over the wheel.
    “I still can’t believe you’re a freakin’ babysitter,” she continued with a laugh.
    “Daycare worker,” Mac corrected while headlights zoomed past them through the windshield.
    “And, what do daycare workers do? They babysit.”
    He frowned. “I happen to like it.”
    “And there’s nothing wrong with that, I just think it’s…” She paused, cocked her head. “Cute.”
    “My boot up your ass won’t feel so cute if you screw this up for me.”
    The words echoed in the hollowed service van they borrowed for their evening drive to Lesico.
    Her brow went up. “Hostile. You’re a hard man to figure out, Mr. Truck.”
    Another short laugh. “Never been accused of that before.”
    She turned in her seat to get a clearer perspective. “You’re capable of violence. I’ve seen plenty of that from you, but I’m beginning to think your soft side is what defines you.”
    “I can’t believe you’re analyzing me, Elsa ,” Mac threw back.
    Crystal caught the flinch before it fired. Elsa was no more than a missing person who’d been deemed a cold case long ago. A nobody who’d become somebody under the cruel handling of a scientist and her drug. She’d explained it over and over again when Rena had tried to bring her around the day before. Elsa was dead.
    But, r efusing to veer off subject, Crystal continued softly, “You killed a man last night. You aren’t bothered by that?”
    Mac’s grip on the wheel relaxed. “It was either him or us.”
    But she could sense something… an undercurrent of angst he was very good at masking. “You’d have no problem killing again as long as it was to protect the ones you love.”
    “Nope.”
    “And you’d kill me just as easily.”
    “Yep.”
    Ouch. “And then you’d go to work the next day, change diapers and finger paint with your kids.”
    This trip grew more interesting by the mile. Crystal resettled beneath the seatbelt. “Tell me something.”
    Mac kept his focus straight ahead.
    “Have you killed before?”
    “None of your business.”
    Which meant yes. “Were you military?”
    Exasperation turned to anger. He stomped on the brakes, held up a finger as cars honked and swerved around them. “Let’s get something straight, Crystal,” he seethed, hazel eyes burning with malice. “We aren’t friends. You don’t get to grill me. As soon as this little adventure is over, our association is done. You got that?”
    So, the killing thing was a touchy subject. Crystal leaned over, fixed him with a wide-eyed look beneath the thick makeup. “Can I tell you something?”
    His finger came down.
    Her confession came out a whisper. “I’ve never killed anyone before.”
    The anger shifted to strong doubt. “Derek said all ghosts are trained to kill.”
    “Trained,” she agreed. “But I couldn’t go through with it when the time came.” Her “failure” had been overlooked when Angelo covered for her. “The man you killed last night was my partner.”
    Mac swore under his breath.
    “Angelo killed my mark for me when I choked and he lied about it. Saved my life in the process.”
    With an uncomfortable laugh, Mac lifted the faded ball cap he wore and scrubbed his head . “This just keeps getting better and better.”
    The guy got creeped out pretty easily. Crystal quickly allayed his fears. “I have no animosity toward you, whatsoever.”
    “Sure,” Mac grumbled and put the van in gear. “He was probably your boyfriend or something.”
    “Nah, too serious for me. Possessive. Lethal. Not to mention gay.”
    Mac’s brows lowered an inch.
    “His lover hated me. It was quite an