Twisted Affair Vol. 5 Read Online Free

own research and having my PI use his contacts too. I have a copy of the death certificate. Coroner's report.” His voice softened. “Katka Duseková died in the Czech Republic at the age of seven.”
    “No.” The word didn't come out as strong as I'd wanted it to. If anything, it sounded almost like a half-sob. “I don't believe you.” I could feel the walls I'd built cracking. My hands were shaking.
    “The tattoo,” he said suddenly. “The tattoo on your hip.”
    “I do not have a tattoo.” My hand went to my hip automatically. “Katka does.”
    “That's how we settle it,” he said. “I've seen the tattoo. I know it exists. So if it's not there, all of my information is wrong.”
    He was right, I knew. It was the best way to prove to him that my sister was alive and well. But the thought of showing him my hip filled me with an inexplicable dread. I set my jaw and reminded myself that I didn't have anything to worry about. I knew my sister, and she was alive.
    I untied the belt of my robe, then realized that I wasn't wearing anything underneath. I glanced at his face in the mirror, but it was a mask. The only thing I could see was the pain in his eyes. I shifted my hands so that I could still keep part of the robe over my more private parts and then, biting my bottom lip, I pulled the fold of the robe aside, exposing my hip.
    “See,” I said. “Nothing.”
    His breath caught and I watched a tear slide down his cheek. But it didn't look like a tear of happiness. He reached around me and, before I could stop him, his fingers were on my hip. He wasn't trying for anything inappropriate, but my skin still burned as his finger traced across my skin.
    “L and K,” he said softly. “In script, right here.”
    I opened my mouth to tell him that I knew where my sister's tattoo was, but then I saw what I hadn't seen before. What I hadn't let myself see. There, as his finger made the pattern again, I saw it. The ink. The script. The letters.
    My knees buckled and if he hadn't caught me around the waist, I would've fallen to the floor.
    The memories hit me all at once, and I pressed my face against Blayne's chest as he picked me up.
    He screamed for more money, said that what we had wasn't enough. His eyes were wide and wild, his hair stringy. Even from where I was sitting on the floor, I could smell him. He smelled like a toilet.
    My sister was next to me, clutching her doll to her chest. Papa and Mama were standing off to the side and Mama kept looking over at us, like she wanted to get between us and the crazy man who'd interrupted our evening.
    The second shot followed the first, loud bangs that made me jump. Katka screamed as Papa fell down, blood going everywhere. The man swung the gun towards us and Mama jumped even as he fired. Her head snapped back and I saw a hole where no hole had been.
    I couldn't move, couldn't even scream. My parents had just been shot and the man who'd done it was now pointing his gun at me and my sister. I squeezed my eyes shut as tight as I could and reached for Katka's hand. I flinched when I heard the bang and waited for the pain.
    Then I heard the door slam open and someone yelling. Another few bangs. Still, no pain.
    Then the fingers wrapped in mine went limp and my entire world came crashing down.
    Blood was everywhere, soaking into her pretty white dress. Her face was white, eyes open. I clung to her hand, crying and calling her name. I could hear other people around me, but none of that mattered because my little Kat wasn't answering. I was a child, but I knew she was gone. I was alone, and we'd promised each other that we'd never be alone. I begged her not to leave me.
    Then arms were around me, pulling me away from her. I kicked and fought, screaming for my sister. It wasn't until much later, after all the tears had been spent and my insides were hollow, that I told myself a lie. Just a little lie. One little lie. It couldn't hurt anything. And, for a little while, it could