Read Online Evil Without a Face by Jordan Dane - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Jordan Dane
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she’d call when she got where she was going.” She wrung her hands, her knuckles drained of color. “I can’t get my head wrapped around this, Payton. Nikki did it for real this time. She really did it.”
Disoriented, she wiped her face with a sleeve from her bathrobe. Smudges of mascara left dark circles under her eyes, and her skin was covered with red blotches.
“I need a drink.” She grabbed for the armrest, trying to stand, but Payton stopped her.
“Joe’s got coffee coming, honey. Remember?”
“It’s almost done,” Joe called out from the kitchen. Payton knew he’d been listening.
“You said she met someone off the Internet. Why do you think that, Susannah?”
“I know what goes on, Payton.” His sister slouched back but kept a grip on his arm. “All those secret codes. She didn’t want me to know.”
“What are you talking about? What codes?”
“I’ll show you.”
She struggled to get off the sofa. Payton helped pull her up, then followed her to the stairs. He kept a hand to her back so she wouldn’t fall. Susannah had more than a few drinks, but who was he to judge? Suffering a hangover, he had no right to say anything. When they got to Nikki’s room, shemoved to the desk and grabbed a stack of papers by the computer.
“See? She’s been talking in codes.” She choked back the emotion of her daughter’s betrayal. “She didn’t want me to know. She did all this to blindside me.”
Nikki had run away before, staying at a friend’s house in town. She wanted to hurt her mother and had succeeded in a big way until Susannah took to spying on her. She found chats on Instant Messenger where her daughter had made arrangements to escape maternal oppression. She tracked Nikki down and forced her to come home that time, erecting a wall between them. Trust on both sides had decayed, a complete breach of faith.
When Payton looked at the printed pages Susannah gave him, he saw where his niece had thwarted any potential for her mother’s espionage attempts. This time she meant to disappear for real.
“This looks as cryptic as one of my old playbooks,” he muttered, staring at one of the pages. “Where did you get these?”
Joe had followed them upstairs. Payton handed him the pages, sharing an apprehensive look. When he turned back to Susannah, she looked sick.
“Off the computer.” She swallowed and avoided looking him in the eye. “I’m not proud of what I did, but…” His sister struggled to find the words. “I put software on her computer, to spy on her activity. I used it the last time, but I swear to God I had no intention of—”
“No one’s judging you here, sis. You and Nikki have history. I’m not gonna pretend to know what it’s been like.”
“I thought I could trust her again. I wanted to. God, I didn’t think I had to keep doing this.”
His sister was pale, the skin of her face a ghastly gray.
“Nikki did this on purpose, to shut me out.” Susannah collapsed onto her daughter’s bed. “I should’ve taken the computer away for good, but I was afraid.” A strange amusementdrove harsh laughter from deep in her chest, a nervous outburst that sounded out of place. “Afraid I’d make things worse. Can you believe that?”
Her eyes filled.
“I was just trying to establish boundaries for her. I thought I was doing the right thing. If this ends up being my fault, I won’t…I just can’t…”
His sister grabbed for her daughter’s pillow and clutched it to her face, breathing in the scent of her only child. It broke Payton’s heart. He reached out a hand and stroked her head. Nothing he could say would help, but he had to do something.
“We need a recent picture of Nikki.” When she looked up at him through dazed eyes, he said, “So we can make flyers to post around town. We’re not gonna leave Nikki in the hands of the local law without helping all we can.”
Not waiting for her permission, Payton looked around the room and found a
Disoriented, she wiped her face with a sleeve from her bathrobe. Smudges of mascara left dark circles under her eyes, and her skin was covered with red blotches.
“I need a drink.” She grabbed for the armrest, trying to stand, but Payton stopped her.
“Joe’s got coffee coming, honey. Remember?”
“It’s almost done,” Joe called out from the kitchen. Payton knew he’d been listening.
“You said she met someone off the Internet. Why do you think that, Susannah?”
“I know what goes on, Payton.” His sister slouched back but kept a grip on his arm. “All those secret codes. She didn’t want me to know.”
“What are you talking about? What codes?”
“I’ll show you.”
She struggled to get off the sofa. Payton helped pull her up, then followed her to the stairs. He kept a hand to her back so she wouldn’t fall. Susannah had more than a few drinks, but who was he to judge? Suffering a hangover, he had no right to say anything. When they got to Nikki’s room, shemoved to the desk and grabbed a stack of papers by the computer.
“See? She’s been talking in codes.” She choked back the emotion of her daughter’s betrayal. “She didn’t want me to know. She did all this to blindside me.”
Nikki had run away before, staying at a friend’s house in town. She wanted to hurt her mother and had succeeded in a big way until Susannah took to spying on her. She found chats on Instant Messenger where her daughter had made arrangements to escape maternal oppression. She tracked Nikki down and forced her to come home that time, erecting a wall between them. Trust on both sides had decayed, a complete breach of faith.
When Payton looked at the printed pages Susannah gave him, he saw where his niece had thwarted any potential for her mother’s espionage attempts. This time she meant to disappear for real.
“This looks as cryptic as one of my old playbooks,” he muttered, staring at one of the pages. “Where did you get these?”
Joe had followed them upstairs. Payton handed him the pages, sharing an apprehensive look. When he turned back to Susannah, she looked sick.
“Off the computer.” She swallowed and avoided looking him in the eye. “I’m not proud of what I did, but…” His sister struggled to find the words. “I put software on her computer, to spy on her activity. I used it the last time, but I swear to God I had no intention of—”
“No one’s judging you here, sis. You and Nikki have history. I’m not gonna pretend to know what it’s been like.”
“I thought I could trust her again. I wanted to. God, I didn’t think I had to keep doing this.”
His sister was pale, the skin of her face a ghastly gray.
“Nikki did this on purpose, to shut me out.” Susannah collapsed onto her daughter’s bed. “I should’ve taken the computer away for good, but I was afraid.” A strange amusementdrove harsh laughter from deep in her chest, a nervous outburst that sounded out of place. “Afraid I’d make things worse. Can you believe that?”
Her eyes filled.
“I was just trying to establish boundaries for her. I thought I was doing the right thing. If this ends up being my fault, I won’t…I just can’t…”
His sister grabbed for her daughter’s pillow and clutched it to her face, breathing in the scent of her only child. It broke Payton’s heart. He reached out a hand and stroked her head. Nothing he could say would help, but he had to do something.
“We need a recent picture of Nikki.” When she looked up at him through dazed eyes, he said, “So we can make flyers to post around town. We’re not gonna leave Nikki in the hands of the local law without helping all we can.”
Not waiting for her permission, Payton looked around the room and found a
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