Page 43 of Sins of the Heart
offered what she hoped was a reassuring smile—
exactly how was one supposed to smile at a six-yearold?—and played with the volume a bit more until she
was satisfied that it was loud enough to block ambient
noise.
52
SINS OF THE HEART
Straightening, she studied the closet door. She
figured the kid was so freaked that she’d stay put until
Roxy came back for her, so instead of shutting the
door all the way, she angled it so it completely blocked
any view of the bed, but she left it open a few inches
to let the light in. Finally, she stepped away. There was
a second of silence, and then a tiny voice carried
through the plywood: “…do the locomotion with
me…”
Roxy turned back to the bed and found Marin watching her with wary eyes. She closed the space between
them, held him by his hair and ripped out the gag.
“Ouch!” He rubbed the back of his head. “You tore
off my bloody scalp!”
“Cry me a river.” She tossed aside the gag and withdrew her knife once more, flipping it into the air then
catching it on the downswing. Marin’s head tipped and
bobbed. Up, then down.
“So, what now? You gonna kill me?” He tried for
cocky but ended up with something between a squeak
and a whine.
“I fucking want to kill you,” Roxy said, low and
furious. She leaned close, her eyes locked on his. “You
nabbed a kid. A little kid. And you were going to sell her.”
She took a slow breath, mastering her emotions. Marin
didn’t so much as blink. Guess she’d made an impression. “So now, I’m ready to let you talk. You give me
