Worth Dying for (A Dying for a Living Novel Book 5) Read Free

nice haircut, he looks like shit. The woman beside him, Maisie’s mother Georgia, doesn’t look any better. Her hair is disheveled and thick black smears from her eyes to her chin.
    “We want our daughter back. We want all of this to end.” Caldwell panders to the sympathetic crowd. The camera sweeps the masses, and there isn’t a dry cheek in the house.
    “When was this?” I ask Gideon.
    “It must’ve run earlier today. I’m surprised they didn’t broadcast it in Times Square,” he says, deep creases forming between his eyes.
    “We want the people responsible for this to be brought to justice. We’ll give a reward to anyone who provides information on our Maisie.”
    The camera cuts to the reporter, who also has tears in her eyes. “The following suspects are wanted for questioning in this case: Jesse Sullivan—”
    My mugshot from last year flashes up on the screen. Not the most flattering picture, I must say.
    “Rachel Wright—”
    Rachel wearing her mental hospital gown flashes up on the screen next. At least she looks a little worse than I did. If she sees this, she’s going to go ballistic. The fact she was on television without makeup and not dressed to the nines will definitely cause an uproar.
    “Alice Gallagher—” Ally’s driver’s license photo fills the top right of the screen, making our square 3/4 complete.
    “Captain Gloria Jackson—” An old photo of Gloria from her days in the military is the last to appear. She looks sharp in her uniform, her face and eyes somber.
    “A fifth suspect, possibly a radical Islamic terrorist, is believed to be assisting them. They are responsible for the bombings in Chicago that took so many lives.”
    “What racist bullshit.” I half-choke on the words. “Caldwell blew up the city himself!”
    “Any information leading to the capture of these criminals or the return of Maisie Caldwell will be generously rewarded.”
    Gideon turns off the screen. “The first part of the program presented Maisie’s disappearance as an attack against the Church. They are arguing that some have radicalized against the unification of the Church and seek retribution by harming the daughter of its leader.”
    I squeeze my head as if to keep the anger from splitting it in two. There are so many problems with this I don’t even know where to begin. I end up shouting, “You’re not a terrorist!”
    “It doesn’t matter.” He flashes me a weak smile. “I look like a terrorist, and my devices can’t hide us from the public. We are only hidden from technology. Someone will spot us on the streets.”
    “We aren’t abandoning the plan!” No, no, no. We are so close to killing him once and for all. Caldwell, the evil son-of-a-bitch who murdered my handler Brinkley, abandoned me, mentally abused Maisie, and is responsible for the genocide of hundreds of thousands of people. No. I won’t stop until he is cold in my grip.
    “Jesse.” Ally places one hand on my arm. Her eyes are big and round, and more alert than they’ve been in the last few hours. “If we’re caught and we go to jail, we won’t get our chance.”
    She’s right. Dammit.
    I look up at Gideon. “But what about our plan?”
    “It can still work. With a few minor alterations, it can still work.”
    I accept his answer with a sense of unease. I wish I could ask Gabriel what he thought, but I’ve only seen him twice since we left Chicago. Until he became absolutely inaccessible, I hadn’t realized how much I’d come to depend on the advice of my angel. I know he’s still there. I can feel him so to speak, but he can’t materialize as long as Rachel, Maisie, and I are together. Inconvenient.
    “Just don’t tell Maisie,” I say at last, looking from Ally’s face to Gideon’s. “If she knows, she’ll do something stupid and heroic.”
    Gideon clears his throat and cuts his eyes over my shoulder.
    I turn and find Maisie standing in the doorway, her expression grim. Winston sits at her feet,