Read Cat's Paw (Veritas Book 1) for Free Online Page B

and see who screamed first.
    “I got your message,” he said, glaring. “And you can just fuck off.”
    “What message?” she replied, looking confused.
    “You know what I’m talking about. Don’t play stupid.”
    “No, I don’t know what you’re—”
    “Let me show you, then.” He grabbed her arm and towed her through the house, ignoring her protests.
    “What are we doing?” she demanded as he marched her out the back door.
    “Letting you admire your handiwork.”
    He let her go right before they reached the trash can. Whipping off the lid, he waited for her to admit this was her doing. Instead, the woman’s face went pale. Her hand covered her mouth and she stepped away. He lowered the lid, then stepped back to escape the cloud of flies.
    Morgan swallowed hard as she took another step back. “Who did that?”
    “Your people.”
    “What? No way,” she said. “We don’t do that kind of crap.”
    His resolve wavered. “Then who? The Russians?”
    To his surprise, she shook her head. “No. That’s not Buryshkin’s style.”
    If it wasn’t her or the Russians, there was another player in the game. No, it has to be one of them .
    “That was my sister’s cat,” he said. “There was a note with it. It said, ‘Nowhere to hide.’”
    “Was it a message for you . . . or for her?”
    That, he didn’t know.
    The frown on Morgan’s face grew. “Admit it, you’re in deep trouble, Parkin. You’ve got enemies who’d love to break you in half, and they don’t care who they hurt in the process.”
    “My problem, not yours.”
    “It’s your sister’s problem too. They won’t hesitate to use her as a way to put a ring in your nose. You piss them off, and you’re both taking a one-way trip to the swamp.”
    “Is that any different from you guys?”
    “Hell yes.” A fly landed on her face and she swiped it off. “With us, you get a chance to make things right. A chance to get even. Don’t you want revenge?”
    “Of course I want revenge,” he said, stepping closer to her now. “But I won’t be a pawn for anyone. I’ll take care of my sister on my own. That’s my job now.”
    Morgan shook her head in dismay. “You’re so out of your league.” She dug a business card from her purse and offered it to him. “Call me if you change your mind.”
    “I won’t.”
    She tossed the card in the grass at his feet. “Someday, you may not have a choice anymore.”
    He made no move to pick it up. “Not going there, lady. I’d rather kiss the devil’s ass.”
    “Dial that number and maybe we’ll still have time to pull your ass out of the fire. Because we’re going to be the only ones who can do it.”
    As the woman marched around the side of the house through the weeds, he stared down at the business card, then picked it up. A mobile number was listed beneath her name.
    He crumpled the card, then threw it toward the trash can and the rotting corpse, where it belonged. By the time Alex was back inside, the kitchen clock told him he needed to get a move on; Miri’s tire needed fixing, if for no other reason than to get in her good graces. Especially when he would have to tell her Mr. Toes was dead.
    Who the hell would do something like that? Clearly it was some sick bastard, and the fact that he’d been anywhere near Miri scared Alex senseless.
    After making sure the back door was bolted, he collected the ring of keys and the money from the kitchen table. Locking the front door behind him, he paused and took a deep breath as the open space loomed around him, pressing down on him like it had its own weight. Some cons took time to adjust to the outside, and apparently he was one of them. He wondered if he would ever be normal again.
    No routine. That was what he was missing. Routine meant stability. Relative safety. Now he felt like he was completely adrift in a sea of unknowns. Other people would go to the cops, tell them about the cat, maybe get someone to investigate.
    But not Alex. Not