Page 14 of Untouchable

“What works perfectly?”

“You need to get close to him.”

“Close to him? Why?”

“Because we need proof. Some sort of evidence. If there was any other way to get it, I would have found it by now. But there’s not. There’s no way I can get close enough to him to search his home and computers, but you can.Youcan.”

“You want me to?—”

“Get close to him.” The words were like chips of ice. “Any way you can. Get close enough to bring the man and the whole family down.”

Kelly thought for a moment she might actually faint.

This was too much. Simply too much.

“You’re crazy! I’m not a spy. You want me to fuck him again, knowing that he was responsible for?—”

She had to break off the words because the reality suddenly came home for her. She’d had sex with the man responsible for her father’s death. He might not have pulled the trigger, but he’d killed her father just the same.

And she’d allowed him into her body, felt his hands all over, surrendered part of herself to a man she could only hate.

The wave of nausea was too strong, and it drove her to her feet. She jumped up and ran for the bathroom, gagging a few times as she processed the truth.

It was too horrible to accept. Too horrible to allow.

She stood over the toilet, waiting to vomit, but it never came.

Her mother’s voice came behind her. “You’ll have to be stronger than that if you’re going to get this done.”

“I’m not going to get any of this done. It’s crazy, and I’m not going to do it.”

“Yes, you will. If you ever want to live with yourself after today, you’ll do it.”

“It will never work. He’ll find out who I am.”

“No, he wouldn’t. I paid good money to bury the records of your identity. On paper and in all official records, you’ve been the Watsons’ daughter from birth. He won’t find anything.”

“I still won’t do it.”

When her stomach had settled enough, Kelly went over to the sink to splash water on her face. “Just go away. Why are you all of a sudden so set on this anyway? You’ve had seventeen years to make your ridiculous plans happen. Why now?”

She was drying her face when her mother responded, no resonance at all in her tone. “Because I’m dying. It’s now or never.”

Kelly gasped and whirled around, clutching the towel in her hand.

Her mother continued blandly, “Cancer. What else would it be? I have no more than three months. Do this for me now so I can die in peace.”

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry. But you abandoned me when I was ten, so I’m not sure what you expect of me now. Blood isn’t enough. Not to do this. It will never work, and I can’t even stand the thought of the man now, much less get close enough to him to”—she shook her head—“I’ve put all this behind me. I’m not going to let it drag me down now.”

“You haven’t put it behind you. Don’t lie to me about that. I’ve been watching you all your life. You don’t let yourself getclose to anyone. You never risk a real relationship. You never let anyone really touch you inside. Why do you think that is? It’s because you’re still trapped in the same nightmare I am—injustice with no fix, no answer. Well, here’s your chance to answer it, to move on at last. And to let me die with some sort of peace.”

For a moment, just a moment, Kelly wanted that so much she could taste it. Closure. Peace. Healing. An answer. Something to cover the dark void beneath the precipice she’d always been trapped on.

But it was too slim a hope, and there was no way she could do what her mother wanted her to do. The woman must be completely heartless to even ask it of her.

Heartless. Or desperate.

“He believes he’s untouchable, Kelly. We can’t let him get away with it forever.”