Die for Me Read Online Free PDF

changing her identity turned his back on her. “Come back when you have the rest.”
    A shimmer of hope pushed her anger aside as he turned back to face her. He had to give her those papers. He had to help her save her life. Green eyes found hers and she tried to manage a smile.
    Returning to his position against the counter, Aaron reached for her right hand. He shoved a scrap piece of paper into it, closing his fingers over hers. “Call this number. I’m sure you can work something out.”
    Torrhent looked down at what turned out to be a business card. “What is this?”
    “The easiest way for someone like you to make some cash. All he requires is for you to supply your own clothing.”
    “Clothing?”
    Aaron’s face flushed. “Yeah, you know. Clothing. Heels, dresses, all that stuff.”
    His words slowly clicked into place with the way his eyes avoided hers. “You’re sending me to a pimp ?” The anger flared again.
    “What other choice do you have?” Aaron asked. His face turned cold from her tone.
    “You want me to thank you?” Torrhent leaned closer to him, her gaze unwavering as the words left her mouth. “I am not a whore, and when I get the cash for my papers I’ll be looking for somebody else to make them.” She turned without another word. She would leave the pervert in his dingy, dank shop to suffer the consequences of her visit.
    Air ripped through her lungs, the effort to inhale becoming harder with each try. Stumbling through the door, Torrhent took in as much of the warm air as she could to calm herself. The lights of the city dazzled her beyond words. She’d never been to Los Angeles before, though it was nothing compared to New York City. Pushing the homesickness down, she made her way down the street.
    Now what? Getting to LA, to Aaron, had been a goal for so long, she hadn’t even thought of what might happen if her plans didn’t work out. Failure wasn’t an option. She couldn’t stay out in the open for long with her mug shot plastered over every television in the country, but she had nowhere to go. She needed that money.
    The streets were busy at nearly six in the evening. Skyscrapers protected her from the heat above, but drips of sweat made their way down her face and neck. People of all colors pushed their way through the crowds, waiting for buses, crossing the streets in a hurry. It reminded her of home. Torrhent forced her mind to focus. She needed a place to rest. Four days of walking, hitchhiking and looking over her shoulder pushed her toward a nearby street bench. It wasn’t much, but it would do the job better than an overpass.
    Her legs were sore, her head ached and her skin burned. She closed her eyes for only a moment. She knew it would take more than sleep to chase her problems away.
     
    * * *
     
    “I never expected to see you again.”
    “I hear that a lot.” Taigen switched the plain black phone from one ear to the other, but the cord would only stretch so far. The glass separated him from the man who’d literally and figuratively imprisoned his sister, but Pelican Bay imprisoned him. It seemed a fair trade. “You know why I’m here?”
    Christian Wren stared back at him for a moment, seeming to think over how much he should reveal.
    He’d never thought he’d have to see those steel blue eyes again or the man who went with them. After all, Wren had been the one who’d used Adelaide to do his dirty work, forced her to live in her own private hell for sixteen years. “What do you know?”
    Taigen’s former employer pushed shoulder-length brown hair out of his face. The orange jumpsuit did nothing for the man, washing him out and making him look much older than his thirty-five years. Prison obviously hadn’t been good.
    Just as it should be .
    “The guy your pet ATF agent described sounds like Nicholas Chesnick. Works as a right-hand man for Isaac Rutler.”
    The name pulled at Taigen’s memory, but he couldn’t place where he’d heard it before.