Page 6 of Dark Consequences
Iwait for her to scream. Honestly, I half expect it since there’s a gun in her face. Only she simply stares up at me with a heaviness I can’t identify in her eyes. Almost like she’s ready for me to pull the trigger. Almost like she’s hoping I do. But it would be a shame to do so and ruin such a pretty face.
“Who are you?” she asks, her voice barely more than a whisper.
Before I can respond, the blankets shift in front of her, revealing the dark-haired head of a small child. When my eyes snap back up to hers, a protective fire now swirls in those mesmerizing blue depths. The child is clearly important to her because she’s prepared to defend her at all costs, like a lioness protecting her cub. Just like a mother would.
“Mommy?” A tiny voice breaks the silence, proving my assumption right.
As the dark head shifts toward me, I immediately lower my weapon. I’m not in the business of pointing a gun at a child, even those I don’t know. The young child stares up at me with blue eyes similar to the woman holding her and blinks sleep away.
You would think the child would at least scream with a stranger standing in front of her. But just like her mother, she stares at me with a vacant look. Almost like my presence with a gun is a common situation in her life. A sick thought crosses my mind—perhaps a gun in their face is a regular occurrence for them, explaining their lack of surprise. The idea leaves me nauseous.
“Hi,” the little girl says.
Without hesitation, I respond with a casual “Hi,” unable to resist the magnetic pull of the child’s voice and expression.
“Who are you?” the woman repeats her question, a little louder this time.
“My name is Raphael.”
“Did he send you?” Her voice falters like she’s afraid of my answer.
“Who?” I have a feeling I know the answer, but I need to hear it from her.
“Xiao.”
I frown and shake my head. “No.”
Her brow furrows. “Then why are you here?”
“I’m looking for Xiao.” No use in lying because something in her tone tells me she’s not interested in protecting him.
“Why are you looking for my daddy?” the little girl asks.
Her question throws me for a loop.
Holy shit.
Xiao has a kid and a baby momma? Evelyn found nothing of the sort during her research, but I’m not too surprised since finding what she did was hard enough. But if it’s true, the daughter of Xiao and her mother lie in front of me. Of course, I’d rather it be Xiao himself, but having them is a close second. This changes things in a big way.
“Do you know where your dad is right now?”
The girl shakes her head.
I look at her mom. “Do you know where he is?”
She raises a hand and points at the door. “Last I saw him was two doors down.”
Great. I searched that room and all the other ones upstairs and found no one.
“When?”
“I don’t know…maybe a couple of hours ago?”
We confirmed he was on-site moments before we infiltrated. Where the fuck is he now? How did we miss him?
“Guys, you have less than a minute. Where the hell are you two?” Enzo demands in my earpiece.
“Downstairs is clear,” Dominic announces.