Finders/Keepers (An Allie Krycek Thriller, Book 3) Read Online Free PDF

accented English.
    Allie smiled back, said, “You’re welcome,” then quickly grabbed the lever and stepped outside before the girl could see the terrible truth on her face.
    She hadn’t closed the door completely when a male voice said, “Sounds like things went well.”
    She forced the anger and disgust down, shoving them deep into the part of her where she needed to hide them, because right now those emotions were liabilities that she couldn’t afford.
    Stick to the plan!
    “I wouldn’t know; it’s my first time, remember?” she said, looking over at Reese leaning against the wall next to her. He was reading her face, and for just an instant she was afraid he might be able to see her deception.
    “Well, no one’s screaming or banging on the door, so I’d say that’s a very good sign,” he said.
    She turned away from him, from those sharp, scrutinizing eyes, and took in the vehicles inside the warehouse instead. The place had been converted into a garage, with the semitrailer that had brought the girls parked in the middle as men worked on its engine and refueled it. They had already changed the tires and repainted the sides—it was now red and black instead of all-white. Even the cab didn’t look the same. They had done a complete makeover in less than a couple of hours.
    The two guards from the park were moving around outside the building, their weapons still well-hidden inside their jackets. She guessed submachine guns by the shapes. A single paved road led to the front doors of the warehouse while hurricane fencing surrounded them. She couldn’t see the interstate anywhere, even though she knew it was close by.
    “You told them to bring in the food and water while I was inside so the girls would connect them to me,” she said. It wasn’t a question.
    Reese shrugged, but didn’t confirm or deny.
    “Why are you only just feeding them once a day?” she asked.
    “It’s not by choice. I had to convince our employers just to give the girls this much. They wanted to give them just water for the entire trip, have them starved by the time they reach their destination.”
    “They’ll be so grateful for the food they’ll forget they were stolen from their homes and families, is that it?”
    “Something like that.”
    “What happens if they don’t all make it to their destination?”
    “That’s why we’re here, Alice. To make sure they do. Keeping them fit is someone else’s problem.”
    “Are they all from Mexico?”
    “They came through Mexico, but there are a lot of South Americans. Colombia, Venezuela, as far as Argentina.” He paused briefly, then, “They aren’t all stolen from their homes and families. Some were sold. There are a lot of desperate people out there, and youth and beauty are still prized commodities.”
    Allie was grateful for the thick smell of spilled oil and grease around them, anything to force away the memories of the room behind her, of Sara and the others gorging themselves on stale sandwiches, grateful for just a bite, for a splash of humanity…
    “You haven’t told me who we’re working for,” Allie said.
    “Didn’t you ask Juliet before you agreed to be her replacement?” Reese asked.
    “I did, but she didn’t know.”
    “And you took the job anyway…”
    “The money was too good to pass up.”
    “And that’s how it’s supposed to be. We’re all just freelance contractors, Alice. It’s better not to know everything. Safer that way, for all parties involved.”
    “But you know who they are?”
    “Only because Dwight and I have worked for them long enough to have earned their trust. Or as much trust as you can earn with people who sell little girls like they’re canned goods, anyway. Do you know why Juliet doesn’t know who they are?”
    “She never asked…”
    “That’s right. And she was smart not to. She didn’t want to know about a lot of other things, too, so I never told her. She came, did her job, and left with a nice payday. Be