Secret Passions Read Online Free PDF Page B

he wasn’t even sure that he still wasn’t one right now. How could he have pulled a young girl away from her family, all because he’d seen something in her art and desired to exploit it. Sure he’d cared for her safety. Sure he’d cared enough to send Ethan to save her. But back then, that’s all he’d done. Once she’d been delivered to his doorstep, he’d pretty much washed his hands of her.
     
    Now she was back with stars in her eyes, and he felt like the lowest scum of the Earth. He walked over to his laptop and decided to do something right for once.
     
    He was no Ethan Knight, but he knew his way around the internet and figured he could do some basic searching himself. To do any real digging, he’d need Ethan or his team to help out. He started with searching her family name and the town she was from. He didn’t know why he remembered several details about her all of a sudden, but things started becoming clearer.
     
    Her full name was Sannidhi Rangan. A simple search of that and Puri, India, brought up thirty-thousand possibilities. So he narrowed it down by adding her father’s name, Haidar Rangan, which brought up just under twenty options.
     
    He spent the next hour searching, researching until he felt he knew a little more about her family. One thing was clear to him now: they wouldn’t stop until they got what they wanted. And from the looks of her family’s affairs now, they wanted it all. They wanted her money, her freedom, her life. All for revenge.
     
    Sandi had been engaged to Ishat Mahabir since the tender age of seven. Mitch’s blood began to boil at this information. Seeing an engagement announcement in the local paper and the picture of the small seven-year-old Sandi standing next to a young man in his early twenties just pissed him off.
     
    Apparently, Mahabir came from a wealthier family than Sandi’s and when she disappeared the week before her wedding, her family was responsible. Basically, the Mahabir family ruined her family after she’d left. Almost all her family’s power had been lost when Sandi had fled the country.
     
     

Chapter Four

    T he next morning, Sandi walked out of the bedroom after dressing and making sure the bed was made. When she opened the bedroom door, the place was quiet. She didn’t think that Mitchell was there but to make sure, she walked across the landing and knocked on his door. When she was met with silence, she quietly opened his bedroom door. His bed was neat, almost as if he hadn’t slept in it. His computer screen sat open and was set to a screen saver. She didn’t mean to snoop, but an image of Mitchell and a tall brunette popped onto the screen. She took a few steps into the room and noticed how happy Mitch had looked. Looking at the brunette, she realized that it must be Suzanne. A smile was pasted on the woman’s face, but her happiness didn’t reach her eyes. Then the photo changed to one of Mitch and a taller, dark-haired man. Their arms were slung around each other and both had matching grins. She couldn’t help it, she smiled at the image the pair made. She thought the picture had been taken at a sports game of some sort. She wasn’t sure but it looked like they were standing at a stadium.
     
    When the photo switched again, she blinked and looked around his room. She could easily get caught up and watch his computer screen all day. Looking around the room, she noticed the design lines and color usage he used here. It was the same as in the rest of his place, simple with a hint of masculinity. There was several small touches here and there that reminded her a woman had once lived here. But for the most part, the space was all his.
     
    She walked back out of his room and closed the door. Looking over the railing at the living room and kitchen below, she noticed again how silent it was. Taking the twisted staircase, she saw the note on the small stand at the bottom of the stairs. His phone sat in the charger next to a small