Read Online Snake Eyes (The Masks Series Book 3) by Melissa Pearl - Free Book Online

dark liquid before splashing in a little milk and stirring the heck out of it.
    “Having fun with your whirlpool?”
    My head snapped up to take in Kaplan’s raised eyebrows before I whipped the spoon out of my overflowing cup and tapped it on the edge.
    With shaky hands I lifted it to my lips, spilling a few drops onto my jeans.
    “Look, calm down. You’ll be useless to me if you can’t control those emotions. Now, take a breath.”
    I sucked in a slow breath and closed my eyes. “Okay.”
    “You did fine with our last sting operation. You’re going to be fine with this one, too, but I need you to stay focused. Can you do that for me?”
    My eyes popped open and I met her gaze with a short nod.
    “Good.” Kaplan slapped a file down on the table. “Quella Maria Mendez.”
    I flicked it open.
    “Born January 4 th , 1998.”
    I gazed down at the photos. There were no really clear shots of her, just long-lens stuff, most a little blurry. She wore big glasses in over half of them and was surrounded by men in suits.
    “I take it she’s well protected.”
    “This is the first time Daddy is letting her roam free, which is why I’m suspicious. My guess is he’s getting her out of the way while he starts up his new business.”
    I grimaced. “Human trafficking. How can you call it a business?”
    “Because that’s exactly what it is and that’s how these men see it. These girls are just a commodity to him; something that will earn him big bucks. He doesn’t care.”
    My eyes fell back to the page. “But he obviously cares about her.”
    “Yeah, well, she’s his daughter. I guess she’s the exception to the rule.”
    “But, how can someone who has children do this?”
    “That’s irrelevant, sweetheart. I don’t care about the psychology. I just want you to help me get these girls back.”
    “Yeah.” I nodded. “Of course.”
    The waitress approached and Kaplan snatched the file back. I flipped open the menu, feeling anything but hungry.
    “Blueberry bagel, please.”
    “That all?”
    “Um...and a fruit bowl. Thanks.”
    “Egg white omelette.” Kaplan handed the menus to the waitress and flicked her hand in an obvious buzz off gesture. The waitress took it with a kind smile, but I could see the glare behind her mask.
    If she wasn’t careful, Kaplan might end up with more than egg whites in that omelette. I squashed my grin, focusing back on the file slapped in front of me.
    “The girl spent most of her life growing up in Albuquerque and Palm Springs. Those are where the two main family homes are. She has been home-schooled by several different tutors and she’s basically been raised by two nannies, who have been there since her birth. Her mother died when she was six.”
    “Wow, that’s sad.”
    “She’s had a charmed, sheltered life. I wouldn’t feel too sorry for her. She was probably closer to her nannies than her mother anyway.”
    I’d had Kaplan’s mask off since sitting down at the table, so it wasn’t hard to miss the wave of jealousy riding over her features.
    Jealousy? What was that about?
    “I have a feeling Mendez owns one more home somewhere. We haven’t been able to find any financial trace of it, but it’s a gut-instinct thing. He has a business of operations somewhere and I need you to find it.”
    “If he’s sending his sheltered daughter off to UCLA so he can start up some dodgy business, he’s not going to be bringing her back to his hub of operations.”
    “Mendez hasn’t been seen in either Albuquerque or Palm Springs for the last two months, and his daughter arrived in L.A. from an undisclosed destination. My guess is he’s sending her off to iron out the kinks in this new operation of his, but as soon as he has it up and running, he’ll want her back. Even if you can’t get her to take you wherever the hell he is, at least you can do some snooping into the other places. There has to be something somewhere, some little clue that will open up the can of