Evil Never Dies (The Lizzy Gardner Series Book 6) by T.R. Ragan Page B

woman inside. She’s underage, and I believe she was brought here under false pretenses.” Lizzy made a show of reading both men’s badges, setting name and numbers to memory.
    The officer on her right looked uncomfortable. His partner, not so much.
    “Officer Tagaleri,” she said. “If you leave here without questioning the woman inside, I will make it my business to report both of you to the chief of police.”
    “Go back to your car, ma’am, and let us do our jobs.”
    Before she could protest, he put a hand on his holster.
    She looked from the officer to Wayne Bennett.
    The man glared at her. His usually handsome face was pale and splotchy, his body stiff with ire. Recognition flickered in his eyes.
    It was time to walk away.
    Regaining control of her emotions, she turned around and headed back for her car, feeling three pairs of eyes on her back. Her mind was made up. If those officers left the premises without checking the house first, she would go in and take care of business herself.
    She slowed her pace, took her time walking down the street and toward her car. She’d hoped Bennett wouldn’t recognize her as Stacey Whitmore’s camerawoman, but the undeniable glimmer she’d seen in his eyes before she’d walked away told her he knew exactly who she was.
    When she reached her car, she opened the door and climbed in behind the wheel and turned the video on. Within minutes, a crying young woman, ushered by one of the officers, was helped into the backseat of the police car.
    Lizzy took a breath and waited for the officers to drive away.
    The girl was safe for now.
    But Bennett knew what she was up to, which meant things were about to get ugly.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN
    The first thing Claire Kerley saw when she walked into her bedroom was the crayon marks scrawled across her bedroom walls. Walls she had spent an entire weekend painting herself. She dropped her backpack on the floor.
    She could hear her little brother and sister fighting in the other room, arguing over who got the front seat on the way to the grocery store with Mom.
    Before she could close her door, her older brother, Cameron, walked in and took a seat on the corner of her bed.
    He was eighteen going on thirty. Their mother had remarried and had two more kids, another boy and girl. Judging by the way they argued, they would grow up to be just like her and Cameron.
    “What do you want?” she asked.
    “What’s the matter with you?”
    “Are you kidding me? Look around. Those little monsters take my things and write on my walls. And that man Mom married took away my phone and car for a week. That’s just plain cruel.”
    “They found a bag of weed in your room, and it didn’t help that you called Mom a bitch. The punishment was justified.”
    “Did you come in here just to remind me of what a horrible person I am?”
    “No, I came in here to tell you about something I saw at school today. You’re not going to like it, but I didn’t want you to hear from anyone else.”
    “What is it? Are you and Megan breaking up?”
    “No, we’re fine. This is about you,” he said, “not me.”
    Downstairs, Mom yelled goodbye, and the house fell silent. Claire waited for her brother to say whatever it was he had on his mind, but he seemed hesitant. “You’re driving me crazy, Cameron. Out with it.”
    “It’s about Luke. After practice, I saw him making out with Jasmine Perkins behind the gym.”
    “That’s a lie.”
    He shook his head. “They were going at it pretty hot and heavy.”
    “Luke despises that girl. God, this is a new low. You’ve never liked Luke. You’re just jealous because he’s the quarterback and you’re a lineman.”
    He sighed. “I wasn’t going to show you this, but if my character is going to be called into question, I guess I don’t have a choice.” He fiddled with his smartphone and then positioned it so they could watch the video together.
    Her stomach roiled. It was true. Luke and Jasmine were all over each