Read Online French Connection Vol. 3 by M. S. Parker - Free Book Online

scrambled for an explanation that would get me out of here in one piece. “You saw that they were holding me against my will. You tried to talk them into releasing me and they attacked. You had no choice.”
    He gave me an appraising look. “You truly are a skilled lawyer.”
    “Thank you.” I slowly backed away. The window was definitely looking like my best bet right now. I had to get away from Pierre before I could worry about where Gavin was.
    “And I like you, Carrie,” he continued.
    This was not going a good way.
    “But you are an honest person. You will have to tell what you saw, and I cannot allow that. My employers cannot allow that.”
    “Your employers?” I asked. I wasn't stupid. The moment I'd seen the bodies I knew Pierre wasn't a journalist, but I asked for confirmation anyway. Part of me wanted to know so, if I got out of here, I'd have information. Most of it, however, was because I needed to keep him talking.
    “Let us say that my... family is not fond of hers. In Corsica, we are what you would call rivals.” Pierre reached down and pulled a knife from his boot. It still had blood on it.
    A thought hit me. “Those pictures you showed me, the files... were they real?”
    “Yes,” he said. “I needed for you to believe me so that you would testify to the authorities about the things Alizee had done. Your word would have weight.”
    “So she killed those girls?” Even as I said it, I knew what the answer would be.
    “Unfortunately,” Pierre said. “Alizee is not so sloppy. She does not leave evidence. I was forced to create my own.”
    I felt sick. I'd trusted this man, believed that our goals were the same. I couldn't afford to think about that now though. I had to keep him talking.
    “If you're from some rival family, why didn't you just kill her? You obviously don't have a problem killing people, and getting to Alizee isn't too difficult.”
    “You are much smarter than I thought,” Pierre said. There was admiration in his voice, as if he hadn't expected me to come up with such a good question. “If I killed her, my family would be the first suspect. It could cause war between our families and that would result in death. If she is arrested or discredited, we cannot be blamed.”
    “And everyone else is just collateral damage?” My heel hit the wall and I knew I was there. The window was to my left, a desk to my right. If I was going to do this, I needed to do it fast.
    “I truly am sorry,” Pierre said. “This is just business.”
    And then he lunged.
     

Chapter 11
    Carrie
    Just as Pierre started to make his move and my brain began to work on some sort of gibberish I suppose had something to do with fight or flight, the door opened.
    Vincent let out what I assumed was a string of curse words in his native tongue and Pierre turned.
    Maybe it was a reaction to what Howard had done, maybe it was instinct. Most likely, it was my self-defense classes kicking it. Whatever triggered it, I reacted.
    My hand closed around something solid and heavy and I swung it at Pierre's head.
    I had one of those moments where things seemed to go into slow motion.
    I watched Pierre start to turn his head as the statue arced toward him. There was a moment of surprise in his eyes, followed by the realization that, no matter how fast he moved, he couldn’t get away. The head of the statue slammed into the side of his face with a hollow-sounding thunk and the momentum spun him around. His eyes rolled back in his head and his body dropped. Blood sprayed from his mouth and I was pretty sure there were a couple pieces of teeth in it too.
    As he collapsed to the ground, sound and speed came back into the world. My mouth hung open in shock and I could hear my blood rushing in my ears. Sure, I'd had a face-off with Howard that had been violent and physical, but I'd at least known Howard had been a sleaze before he tried to rape and sell me. I'd thought Pierre had been my friend. The swiftness he’d gone from