Page 154 of Risky Passion

Alice's voice bloomed in my head, soft and fierce all at once.Don't do this, B. Not like this. Your story isn't done. Our story isn't done.

I gritted my teeth. My whole body shook.

Tory didn't move. "We know what they did to the orphan kids. And how no one ever stopped it."

"I did," I snapped. "I stopped it."

One of the men stepped forward. Parker Foster, the cold case detective.

"We know about Alice Turnur," he said.

"You know nothing about her," I yelled at him. "Get back. Get the fuck back."

They all backed up except Tory and the dog.

Whisper from Border Force put her gun into a holster on her hip and walked out of the room. Through the doorway, I saw her stop at Alice’s body. Then she strode down the steps, heading toward the beach.

Tory looked at me with something like pity in her eyes. "We know you loved Alice," she said quietly. "You saved her, didn't you?"

I glared at her, jaw clenched so hard I thought my teeth might shatter.

Behind Tory, Jaxson moved forward again. His gun trained on my head. "Put the gun down," he ordered.

The fucking dog growled, baring its teeth.

My finger twitched on the trigger. Maybe this was the perfect end for me. Like Ned fucking Kelly. Going out on my terms.

"I was an orphan too," Tory said.

"Bullshit." I snarled at her.

"I was. My parents died when I was nine. Our Lady Saints Orphanage took me in."

"Yeah. Well, you're fucking lucky." My voice cracked. "At least you knew your parents. Mine dumped me on the steps like a piece of dog shit."

She nodded. "Yes. We know."

I jerked my head toward her. "How the fuck would you know that?"

"We found the intake records," she said.

Whitney stepped closer. "Yeah. I grabbed all those boxes before the fire you lit took hold."

Something cracked inside me. No.No.

"I saw you shoot Cooper," Whitney said, glaring at me.

“He deserved it,” I spat. “Crooked fucking cop.”

“Just like Eddie Walsh,” Jaxson said. “Let us help you, Beatrice.”

“Fuck you. Nobody wants to help me.”

“We do,” Tory said. “We want every bastard who hurt you and Alice to pay for what they did.”

“Bullshit.” I shook my head. “They never pay. Not a single one of them. Until I got hold of them.”

“And we understand why you did what you did,” Tory said.

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