Kill Switch: A Vigilante Serial Killer Action Thriller (Angel of Darkness Suspense Thriller Series Book 1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

but she could still remain detached because the horrors happened so long ago to people she’d never known. Suddenly having a human face put on things caused a shiver to run down her spine.
    “My mother’s family, yes. Her parents managed to have her smuggled out of the country. She never saw them again. It was nothing unusual back then, but it’s hard to imagine now.”
    “You can say that again.”
    Now both on the same level, Tess could see the lady wasn’t actually that old. Probably midfifties. However, her sunken cheeks, gray skin, and bony arms and hands made her look decrepit.
    “So where else have you passed through,” said the lady, “if you don’t mind me asking?”
    Tess blew out a breath. “Er, Japan, China, India, Thailand. I’ve been around.”
    “My. And do you speak all those languages?”
    “Enough to get by.”
    A wry smile crossed the lady’s face. “But I bet no Romanian.”
    “Not a word. Sorry.” A ripple of embarrassment washed over Tess. It did whenever she met a person who’d dedicated years to mastering her language while she couldn’t even say something as simple as ‘Hello’ in theirs.
    “That’s okay,” said the lady, her eyes sparkling with kindness. “Why would anyone learn the language of a poor country that no one cares about?”
    The lady didn’t seem to be having a dig, merely stating a fact. And she was right – like most people, Tess would struggle to even point to Romania on a map, so why would she bother to learn its language?
    “So,” said the lady, “is this a long vacation you’re taking?”
    “Er…” The question stumped Tess. And not for the first time – she had asked it of herself more and more lately. Why was she still in Europe instead of back in New York City following the plan she’d set in motion nearly a decade ago? How much more prepared could she be?
    She’d kept telling herself she hadn’t gone back yet because she wanted to see the world and experience its cultures to develop her mind as a thinking machine as much as she’d developed her body as a killing machine. More and more often though, that just seemed like an excuse.
    What was holding her back?
    Fear of failure?
    Or fear of success? Killing had become her life in Shanghai, and that had nearly ended her – what if it became her life again back home?
    But how much longer could she delay?
    Every day now, a dull pain clawed inside her chest. Like homesickness on steroids. Something was trying to drag her back to the US. Something primal. Something that was becoming harder and harder to resist.
    Tess didn’t answer the question.
    The lady locked Tess’s gaze, the kindness in her eyes replaced by a burning defiance. “I saw you last night.”
    The words hit Tess like a shotgun blast to the chest.
    Tess thought she’d misheard. “Excuse me?”
    “In the park… Fighting those hooligans.”
    Tess remained silent. Where was she going with this? Was she going to ask for money to keep quiet?
    But this revelation did explain why Tess had felt uneasy after the fight – someone had been watching her from the shadows after all. She studied the lady, trying to guess where this was heading.
    “You didn’t have to help that young couple,” said the lady.
    “Who else was going to help them?”
    “The police.”
    Tess was sure the lady hadn’t meant to be funny, but she couldn’t help but snicker. “Yeah, right.”
    “You don’t have much faith in the authorities?”
    Tess shot her a sideways glance.
    “Aren’t they there to help you?”
    “At best, they’re there as a deterrent, at worst, as a clean-up crew.”
    The lady thought for a moment. “But why risk your own safety? You could just have walked away.”
    No, she couldn’t. Not when she had the skills she had. It would be like a doctor walking away from the scene of an accident leaving someone to bleed out on the street.
    The woman’s frail, gray hand reached over. She placed a photograph of a woman in Tess’s