Sacrifice the Wicked Read Online Free PDF

filter out data from the most complex systems. Parker didn’t understand it all; she’d tried for a while, but that language belonged to a whole other, much more foreign world.
    What she did know was that when Jonas talked about the Ghostwatch hacker as if the second coming of Christ was on its way, there was a major issue.
    Ghostwatch and Domino weren’t the only dockets on the Mission’s collective desk, either. The city’s witches weren’t being kind enough to wait their turn. The lower-level teams had their own problems, and according to the reports flooding her in-box, they were all contending with a spike of witch-related activity.
    To say nothing of her murdered missionaries. If they didn’t get a lead on this soon, she was going to lose more men. She couldn’t afford that.
    She pushed open her office door, schooling her features into a mask of cool appraisal as she found it unsurprisingly occupied. A blond head lifted from a digital readout; artfully tousled waves slid off shoulders clad in a stunning red designer blazer. Cheerleader perfect.
    As Parker hung her trench coat on the hook inset by her door, her back teeth ground.
    Dr. Kayleigh Lauderdale. Just Parker’s luck.
    If Parker was the ice bitch of the Mission, then the daughter of Sector Three’s director was her classified equivalent. With her wavy blond hair, innocuous gray-blue eyes, and expensive suit, she gave the same air of hands off that Parker polished to perfection.
    Only her shoes, Parker noticed as the woman rose to her feet, were flats. Contrasted black against her red suit.
    “Good morning,” the woman said in cheerful greeting. She didn’t offer a hand.
    Parker didn’t care. “Dr. Lauderdale.” She shut the door behind her with an emphatic, quiet click . “I was unaware you had an appointment.”
    If Parker’s frosty greeting scored any hits, she couldn’t tell. There had to be something in the Sector Three water coolers. Every employee she’d ever had the bad luck to deal with had matched Parker attitude for attitude.
    The fact that the director of Sector Three was this girl’s father wouldn’t help Parker’s case.
    “I’m sorry.” Kayleigh sat as Parker sank into her own chair. “I’m given to understand you’re always prompt, Miss Adams.”
    “Director Adams,” Parker corrected coolly. She didn’t address her punctuality—or lack thereof. “We’re very busy, Doctor, excuse me while I get to the point. What does Sector Three want with the Mission this time?”
    Score. Parker watched the woman’s smile fade. “You are referring to Nadia Parrish?”
    Mrs. Parrish was only the tip of the iceberg. Parker had so many questions. About Mrs. Parrish, the folder Simon stole, the order that demanded the Mission seal their own operation and destroy the data.
    There was a lot Parker referred to.
    When she only studied Kayleigh, steepling her fingers on the polished surface of her light wood desk, the scientist sighed. “I understand that relations between Sectors Three and Five have been strained, Director. It’s my hope to change that.”
    No real answer. “You can start with explaining what you want.” Parker’s voice didn’t soften. Didn’t warm.
    She didn’t want this Lauderdale—any Lauderdale—in her office. Not even in her Mission. Parker had to deal with the fact that the sector’s Magdalene Asylum headquarters occupied the quad across from the Mission. If she looked out of her office windows, Sector Three’s side of the quadplex towered even above Mission levels.
    The first ten served as hospital wings, topside’s premier facility. The next seven as rehabilitation centers. The rest was classified. What was worse was that all the labs the Mission had access to fell under his purview.
    And that bothered her.
    Laurence Lauderdale kept a tight rein on his division. As tight as Parker kept on her own, only he had the temerity to walk all over hers.
    She’d happily return the favor. On those rare