The Arrangement 22 (The Ferro Family) Read Online Free PDF Page A

folds the fabric open and offers it to me before leaning down and sealing the trap door on the bottom of the barrel.
    I open the little sack and look inside. Something glints in the darkness. I tip the bag into my palm, and a collection of stones tumble out. “Diamonds! There are, like, three dozen in here.”
    “And they’re big,” Mel adds, straightening.
    “Who would have paid her in diamonds?”
    Mel gives me a look. “Who do you think? Which means Black has been doing shit she shouldn’t do for a while. I wonder if she was into this shit while Vic’s father was alive.” Mel stops ogling the stones in my hand and glances at me. I put the rocks back in the bag, and she murmurs, “He’s not your father, you know, and that junior asshole isn’t your brother. Blood is just shit that runs through your veins, Avery. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.”
    That makes me feel a little better, but it still makes my skin crawl to know I’m related to such evil people. There are no guarantees in life. None. It wouldn’t bother me so much if I knew who I was turning into, but my identity slipped between my fingers the day I met Sean. It’s not his fault. It’s just timing. I would have been ensnared in all this with or without Sean. In a way, the insanity has brought me friendships that are stronger than blood—which is what Mel means.
    I drop my head and sincerely tell her, “Thanks, Mel. You’re as close to a sister as I could get.”
    She offers a wry smile and sniggers, “You just wish you were this tan!”
    Arching a brow at her, I fold my arms over my chest. She’s such a goofball. “I think you mean black.”
    “That, too. Then you could wear hoop earrings and be a badass like me. But you can’t. You’re the younger sis, the nerd, and way too pasty. It’s all right,” Mel covers my hand with hers. “I’ll look out for you.”

CHAPTER 7
~SEAN~
    N othing . Miss Black keeps her secrets close and her enemies closer. I thought I knew her well but never considered her capable of human trafficking. Kidnapping and enslaving people is so far removed from her original life goals that I wonder if she lied to me the entire time I knew her. It wouldn’t surprise me now.
    Survival instinct is strongest when a person is about to hit rock bottom. Miss Black isn’t the type of woman to go down without a fight. Even so, this is so disturbingly wrong I don’t know how to process it. It makes me wonder who is a more formidable opponent here—Black or Vic Jr.? While getting shot by that bastard would suggest Vic, the silent involvement of Black makes me wonder if she’s the brains behind the whole operation. In which case, unhinged or not, we should be more wary of her as our adversary.
    My mind flickers back to my mother, singed and chained. Her filthy face and ripped nails didn’t escape my notice. She was either in or near the mansion when the explosion occurred. Dirt and grime lined her nail beds and covered her forearms as if she'd been digging through the wreckage. She lost someone significant to her that day. Now the world thinks she’s dead, and Black intends to sell her. She won’t be bought for her body—anyone interested in acquiring Constance Ferro is her enemy. Mother wronged so many people it’s impossible to choose who it could be, but I have a few hunches. The good thing is she’s still locked in that room. No one jumped at the chance to buy her. The bad thing is she’s still locked in that room. It’s possible they were stalling to line up her sale.
    Avery’s compassion nearly made me stop and take Mother with us and damn the consequences. Regardless of the bad things Mother’s done, this is a hideous way to die—being sold as property and losing all sense of safety, sense of self. That alone could unhinge her.
    I rustle through papers on a hallway desk and hear Marty approach. He’s silent, but there are telltale signs in the way he moves, in the noises of the house. A floorboard