Redemption (Enigma Black Trilogy Book #3) Read Online Free Page A

hope of counteracting the pain that flooded my body. “Don’t look so sullen. There will be a day when my heart stops beating.” Next to me, Ian’s expression hardened as he gently squeezed my arm. He was giving me a warning, like when he used to kick my leg from underneath the table.
    “Now, now, Ms. Stevens,” Victor continued, unfazed. “It hurts me that you would insinuate such things, seeing as how you have turned out to be quite the star. In fact, you’ve single-handedly turned into our greatest asset. Your recovery was both necessary to our cause and a blessing for the people of our beloved country.”
    “What are you talking about?” I asked, incredulously. “How in the world am I an asset to you? If anything, I should be taken away in shackles to await my punishment for insubordination.”
    “On the contrary, you and Mr. Grant here were quite the victims.” Victor laughed softly as though remembering a joke only he had been privy to. “You didn’t actually believe we would let the address be televised live without a delay, did you?”
    From the depths of my being, I could feel every cell simultaneously ignite. “What did you do?” The strength I’d been trying to project disappeared, making way for the rage that was burning me alive.
    “It’s not what I did, Ms. Stevens, it’s what you and Mr. Grant did that got the whole country talking.” I looked over at Ian, who remained next to me, stone-faced. “After all, you were just doing your job, jumping into the crowd to find the sniper the rebels had sent, only to be shot by their leader as you and Mr. Grant fought alongside our country’s soldiers to protect all of those innocent bystanders from the massacre the rebels were planning.”
    “That’s not what happened at all. You know that’s not what happened. You know Brooks planted the sniper in that crowd. How, Victor? How could you have possibly changed history?” And then it dawned on me. The delay; what had been broadcast “live” across the country versus the reality of what had actually happened must have been filtered somehow, or edited. “Cameron,” I said, clenching my jaw to suppress a scream.
    “He’s a rather remarkable boy.” Victor confirmed my suspicions. He walked around the bed closer to where I lay helpless, as if to taunt me. “In fact, I would go as far as to say that you owe him one. Your actions at the address not only nearly got you killed, but were not appreciated by President Brooks. Cameron’s interference, in a way, saved your life a second time. Now, get your rest, Ms. Stevens. You have an address of your own to give to your adoring fans. They’re just dying to hear how you’re fairing, after all.”
    “No,” I all but screamed. Pain tore through my body, further enraging me as Ian held me back from lunging at Victor. “I won’t do it.” Ian’s grip tightened around my arm, but I ignored his silent plea.
    “Oh, but you will,” Victor answered, remarkably even-tempered. “And you will say exactly what I tell you to say in exactly the manner I tell you to say it.”
    “Or what? What will you do? What can you possibly do to me that hasn’t already been done?”
    “Don’t tempt me, Ms. Stevens. Trust me, you wouldn’t like any of the answers to those questions. Now, rest up,” he sneered, patting my leg, “you’ve got quite an impression to make with your fan club.”
    Without even so much as another glance in my direction, he turned around and walked out of the room, leaving us to sift through his wreckage, like a village in the aftermath of a cyclone.

Chapter Three
A Witch Hunt
    “Come on, Elizabeth, we haven’t got much time,” Roger said, stuffing what belongings of theirs he could into two duffel bags.
    “Just a minute,” she shouted back from the garage. A loud bang, like the sound of a gunshot going off, accompanied her reply.
    “Good God, woman, what’s going on out there?” Roger ran from the living room of their