Concede (The Diamond Empire Book 1) by Kathy Coopmans (bts book recommendations .TXT) 📕

Let’s not forget that the pain inside me is never-ending when parts of my soul are missing. Those I lost were some of the best parts of me, and I don’t know where I’m supposed to go from here.

I swallow those thoughts, for now, place my hands on my lap, folding them together to stop me from wringing them nervously. My pulse is pounding so hard I’m sure he can see it flutter in my neck.

“You’ve done your homework, I see. What I do, where I live, doesn’t have anything to do with the murders. What exactly is it you want from me?” I’m not about to elaborate on my life. Or my relationship with my family and friends.

I’ll be damned, too, if I jump in the passenger seat and let him steer me in the wrong direction when it comes to talking about anyone or thing in the Empire.

I’m not a fool.

Why is he digging up information on me anyway? Could he possibly be working his way to pinning the murders on me?

“You’re right. They don’t, but you see, I’ve made you my business for quite some time. I’ve been trying to bust the impenetrable walls of The Diamond Empire ever since I joined the FBI. In doing so, I’ve come to learn all about you, Miss Hughes. You’re the Black Sheep. The perfect princess who couldn’t do any wrong. Little Miss Innocent, who really isn’t at all. Does the name Seth Mitchell mean anything? Who would have thought a woman like you would willingly climb into bed with Lucifer?”

He shakes his head, leans in a little close for my comfort, and I swear I see a hint of jealousy flash in his eyes.

This man is all over the game board. One he’s never going to win.

Suddenly, I feel more uncomfortable than when I arrived. My hands tremble on my lap. The walls are caving in, and I’m having a hard time breathing.

How the hell would he know I slept with Seth? I hadn’t told anyone. At least not until last night when Sienna called to let me know Seth told her and his brothers. The excitement when she rambled on about him and me was too much for me to correct her. She’s been through hell, and I couldn’t crush Sienna. So, I just pretended we’d started seeing each other before my world shattered.

But none of that matters at the moment. I’m sitting here shaking in my skin, wondering just how far Agent Wozniak has gone with getting information on me. Cameras in my apartment? Having someone follow me around in Houston? Speculation? The questions are endless and disturbing.

To even think he could have watched shoots vomit up my throat. That’s right up Seth’s alley, not mine.

Again, I don’t say a word. But I find it funny he called Seth, Lucifer.

And, if, by chance, Dad is watching, he’s probably saying ‘it’s about time Victoria found a real man instead of all those annoying assholes she’s dated.’ The money-hungry Wall Street guy. The doctor who talked about nothing but surgeries.

Men who were safe. They were also very dull and boring. Half-assed in bed. Unlike the man I can’t seem to get off my mind—the man who knows exactly what to do to set a woman off.

Years of being a whore will do that, I suppose.

“Very well, perhaps you can answer this question. I’ve found the timing of your move to Houston quite coincidental with that of several young girls who’d been missing for months, then mysteriously returning. They were presumably kidnapped by three men known as XYZ. Those men have disappeared as well as Joseph Bennett. You wouldn’t happen to know anything about any of those things, would you?”

Agent Wozniak’s words drive a blade through my chest, confirming the one time I not only broke the law but also witnessed firsthand how the law fails some people. I’d do it all over again, too, if it gave those women back their freedom.

Freedom that never should’ve been taken away. Now those men who kidnapped them are the very definition of evil.

For him to put those two timings together and come after me is smart and stupid. Too bad for him; his work won’t hit the district attorney’s office as he probably hopes. It’ll burn to ashes by the end of the day.

Thank God, because so many people would go down. Innocent children would live without their parents. Too many people to count had a hand in helping those girls get home. Sienna’s ex-husband, Joseph, tried to take them across the Mexican border to sell them as sex slaves. Human trafficking is the one thing her father’s empire as well as ours work hard at bringing down.

It’s a never-ending battle that will continue for generations to come.

I’ve no idea where Joseph’s body is either. I only know he’s dead. The same goes for the XYZ men. It’s one of the first times in my life I was thankful my family killed people. They were all rapists and abusers.

Seeing those girls as I helped them get on our private jet and bring them from Texas to New York was horrifying. They never spoke a word as I placed hoods over their faces so they couldn’t identify me.

Our tracks were covered.

“Keep up this imitation of not knowing anything, and the consequences won’t go in your favor. There’s a lot of people connected with your family. I believe if you sat back and think about it, you’ll help me. You know the difference between right and wrong. If you choose not to help, the prison you’ll be going to is worse than the prison your brother Diesel is in currently serving time for drugs. Worse than the hellish one you grew up in. Those women will eat you for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I don’t want that for you, Miss Hughes. I’d much prefer you on the outside where I can keep an