Vendetta Read Online Free PDF Page B

leaves, offering me a sympathetic smile before the door locks behind her. Her sympathy pisses me off.
    I finish my meal, forcing myself to eat everything offered.
    With nothing else to do with my time, I have the longest shower in history. Looking through the clothes I’ve been given, I choose a pair of yellow sweats and a snug T-shirt. Who chose these clothes? I have so many questions, and no freaking idea about any of them.
    The next time I see Devon, I’m going to demand some answers.
     
    DEVON
    “So, you're holding Leighton Moore locked up, eh?” Hayley says when she finds me in my uncle’s library, my head in my hands. It’s the only place in this mausoleum of a house where I can actually think, and after what happened earlier I need to clear my head.
    I say nothing. She knows who Leighton is, just like I do.
    “God, Devon. What were you thinking?”
    “I was thinking, Hales, that I’m almost there. And she was in the way.” It seems like a plausible excuse. Hayley knows all my theories about who's responsible for my family’s disappearance and, well, death. I'd hate to admit to her I only brought Leighton here because I didn't want George killing her just like that—it seems stupid when you think about it. She's not any safer from me.
    “Hey.” Hayley puts her hand on my shoulder and I look up at her, a golden halo around her head from the lights behind her. I always thought she looked like an angel with her beautiful blonde hair and those baby blue eyes. “What's going on?”
    “They found them,” I say, my voice breaking. “The new high school construction site.”
    “So? This is nothing new,” she says in a matter-of-fact tone, sitting next to me. If it was anyone else I might have been offended, but Hayley accepted the truth long ago, the same way I did. “This is what we needed. Do we have a plan?”
    I'm not surprised that she's including herself in these plans, whatever they are. My uncle is letting me call the shots on this one, as they discussed this morning. Because it's personal to me. Like they weren't his family, too.
    This is the ultimate test. I know what he expects, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want it, too. And even if I didn't, he wouldn't let it slide.
    “An eye for an eye,” I tell her, letting the words settle around us. I don't feel any different for finally voicing my plan.
    Hayley nods, squeezing my shoulder harder. She was always supportive of my decisions, whatever they were. It's what best friends do. Or, best friends and ex-girlfriends, in Hayley's case. She's the only person in this world I'd trust with my life.
    I met her in front of her father's office the day after my parents disappeared. Her dad is the DA, Mackenzie Fletcher. My father and he grew up together. When my uncle got me from boarding school, the first place we stopped was their house. I sat on the hallway floor, my arms limp at my sides, when she approached, carrying some chocolate in her hands. She shared it with me, and held my hand while they talked inside, not saying a word.
    We've been inseparable since, though I never felt her father approved. I’m not exactly the kind of person someone like him would want his daughter to associate with.
    For a while we just sit there in a comfortable silence.
    “If you can't let it go . . . ” she says.
    “I can't let it go. It's not right, and I owe it to them,” I say, my voice gaining more conviction with each word.
    “She wants a television.” Hayley changes the subject, amusement lacing her voice. “The girl is held prisoner by the nephew of a sworn enemy, and she wants a television.”
    “I'll get her something. Will you help me out with her?”
    “Why, are you scared of that little girl?” she asks.
    “She’s not that much younger than you. And, if you were me, you wouldn't go in there either.” I give her a pointed look.
    “Oh my God,” she says in mock outrage. “She didn't?”
    I groan out in exasperation and lean my head on the