Page 29 of The Sinner’s Desire (The Sinner’s Touch #1)
I’m going insane.
I’ve always been obsessed with my past, but every time Jonathan and Maria slip away again, the thirst for revenge grows—and the plans I make for when I finally catch them become more and more brutal.
This chase has to end. I have to find those bastards, or I’ll fall into a spiral of hatred I may never come back from.
On top of that, I’m heading home today and still haven’t managed to talk to Ethan. My life is far from an open book, but I’ve never kept anything from him—the man who’s my only real family.
I know Lilly deserves a better man and that I should let her go, but I also know I won’t.
Every day I’ve been gone, we’ve talked—and I wanted to know every detail of what she was going through. Not the kind her bodyguards would report—but the intimate ones. Her thoughts, especially.
She doesn’t open up easily either, and I think I finally understand why: Lilly has gotten used to being overlooked. To being invisible.
In the moments I had free during this time away, I looked into Ramon. It didn’t take more than an hour and a few calls to find everything I needed to know about her stepfather—and my rage hasn’t eased one bit.
Does Nora know the dozens of car dealerships he owns are just a front? Does she have any clue what her husband is really involved in? I wouldn’t be surprised if she chose to ignore it.
His main business involves high-end escort clubs for elite clients—which, in plain terms, makes him a pimp for luxury prostitutes.
Even though exploiting women’s bodies is far from honorable, it wouldn’t be anyone else’s business if the women were actually of age.
The older girls he employs are Lilly’s age. There are fourteen-year-old girls being abused to satisfy those sick perverts.
Most of them come from Eastern Europe—poor families, desperate situations. And even though, from what I could gather, they weren’t brought here against their will, over 80% of them aren’t legally able to consent.
What the fuck is wrong with this world? Why do pigs like Ramon and Jonathan turn their attention to children instead of being with women their own age?
And what the hell does Ramon even want with Nora, when his business revolves around underage girls?
Lilly spent every school break in that house.
Right now, in some twisted way, I’m grateful to her venomous mother for sending her to boarding school.
Even though I got a decent overview of Ramon’s secret life, I’m not done with him. I don’t care that Lilly’s now safely out of that bastard’s reach—there are other girls still likely suffering at his hands.
I’ve got my top tech security guy digging into every aspect of Ramon’s activities, tearing it all apart. By the time we’re done, there won’t be a single secret left between me and that bastard—and for his sake, there better not be anything in there related to Lilly.
She said she had a feeling of there being something like a flash from a phone camera in her room.
I wish I could believe it was just her imagination, like she innocently suggested—but really, what are the chances a man who exploits underage girls would have someone like her under his roof and do nothing?
In the end, we were lucky she came to stay with us.
From my experience, predators take advantage of opportunity. And while Lilly is now technically an adult and probably no longer Ramon’s target—since he seems to prefer them even younger—I still don’t want her anywhere near that house.
She has good instincts. Even without knowing the kind of man her mother married, she kept her guard up.
Every time, I realize more and more how wrong Ethan is about his sister. Lillyana isn’t some fragile crystal. She might be young and inexperienced, but she’s smart and knows what she wants.
He thinks he knows her? I doubt it. Maybe he just sees what he wants to see.
In the short time I’ve spent with her, I’ve watched Lilly bloom from girl to woman.
I stay quiet as Blood drives. Before we head out, I want to stop by and see the kids. All of the children we rescued on our last mission were taken to a clinic days ago—not only for physical care but for intensive psychological follow-up.
Normally, I don’t interact with the children we rescue. Getting emotionally involved with the victims can be paralyzing. But this time, I couldn’t stay detached.
There were sixteen of them—including the little boy, Bruno.
We passed basic information on to the FBI and handed them off to the agents we’re working with. Meanwhile, my men torched the house and warehouse, erasing every trace we’d been there.
Of course, we collected evidence first—enough to hopefully help bring some of those pedophiles to justice later.
Still, we found nothing that pointed to Maria and Jonathan. They’re slippery snakes, always a step ahead.
This wasn’t the first child-trafficking house we’ve uncovered—it’s more like the ninth or tenth. But unlike the others, this time I couldn’t keep my emotional distance.
I can’t walk away from that boy. Something in his eyes pulls me in.
“You sure you want to do this?” I know Blood is talking about stopping by to see Bruno at the clinic.
“I need to check that he’s okay.”
“Why him?”
“I don’t know. Maybe because when I look at him, I see myself. He looks like he doesn’t feel anything—and it’s exactly why I know he feels too much.”