**Deacon''s **
I pick up the te of food on the table. I''m sure the girl is wrong about this, She has been through a lot and is clearly very scared, so I''m not surprised she suspects the food is poisoned. Given the rogue''s previous history of attempting to poison food and water, I''m not taking any cliances.
"Here is what I am going to do. I will have this food tested and have you and the children moved to a ce where i know it is safe. That may take me some time to arrange, but in the meantime, I''m going to have some food. brought from my own kitchen, where my children eat. If you are still worried, I will eat some of the food in front of you," I tell her.
"Why are you being nice to me? We are on opposite sides," he asks, her eyes full of suspicion.
did, "Because I don''t believe we are on opposite sides. I believe you are a victim and didn''t choose this life. If you die you wouldn''t be so scared of your own people," I shrug, giving her the truth.
"And how do you know I''m not just tricking you into thinking that?" She asks, her eyes finally meeting mine.
"Because from here on out you are going to answer my every question truthfully," I say,cing my words with my gift and taking control of her mind withpulsion.
I see the split second of panic in her eyes when she realises what I have just done. I know I should feel more guilt for doing this to her. She has already had enough free will stripped from her, but my daughter''s life could depend on getting the truth from this girl.
The girl sags in defeat; she knows she misjudged me. She had assumed that because I hadn''t attempted topel her yet I didn''t have the ability. She had let her guard down and I had taken the opportunity. Maybe, once this is all over, I''ll find a way to earn her forgiveness.
"What is your name?" I ask.
"L Ford," she says with a sigh.
"And how old are you, L?"
#19."
"Do you know where Harper has been taken?"
"No, I have already told you, they don''t tell me anything. I get taken to new ces with barely any warning. I only find out where when I get there," she says, scratching nervously at her forearms and beginning to rock again.
I study her for a moment, her demeanour is off, and she is most certainly worried that I''m going to ask her something she doesn''t want me to. I just have to work out what that is.
"What was your role with the group?" I ask.
"I looked after the children, that''s it," she says.
"Do you know anything that could help me find my daughter?" I ask.
"No," she shakes her head.
"Then what are you so worried about me finding out?"
"I killed someone," she sobs, and her rocking bes more erratic as she cries
loudly.
:
"How?"
“I didn''t mean to. I was angry and he was being a jerk. We were arguing, and I shoved him. It was just supposed to be a small shove to get him out of my face, but I shoved him so hard that he fell backwards and through the window. We were on the 6th floor," she says with a heart-wrenching sob.
"Who was it?" I ask.
"His name was Paul Walton. He was my boyfriend. We had been together since
HP were 15."
"How long ago did this happen?" I ask, writing down the name to give to my contact within the human police.
"Almost two years ago. Just after my 18th birthday," she says, wiping the tears from her face.
"I''m going to guess you didn''t know you were a Grey until that moment," I say, and she shakes her head.
"That''s why I went to the assessment offices. I knew what I''d done wasn''t humanly possible, not from the tiny shove. When I got there, they called for someone to pick me up. I thought they were bringing me to the Grey realm. That''s what the adverts said would happen, but I was taken to some rundown building and told I was a part of their faction and my father had been waiting for my gifts to awaken," she exins.
"So you went into the actual assessment office?" I ask, sitting a little straighter in my chair, because if she is saying what I think she is, then this is massive and means we have a mole in our assessment centre.
"Yes, I did the assessment and was confirmed as a Grey," she nods.
"Which office did you attend?"
"The Somerset one."
"Can you remember who did your assessment?
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"I can''t remember his name, but he had dark brown hair and blue eyes," she
says.
I write it down, even though it doesn''t narrow it down very much.
"Anything else distinctive you can remember?"
"No, sorry," she shakes her head.
"On it," Axel says into the mind link.
"I''m going to speak to your friend that was brought in with you, and then I''ll make
the arrangements I promised you. Thank you for your help, L," I tell her,
standing to leave.
L nods and I take the te of food and my notepad. When I open the door, Raff is outside, talking with Axe. Josie, Sage and the rest of the guys step out of the other room to join us.
"I think it''s safe to say we have some moles. You need to put your most trusted men in charge of guarding the two women and the children until we work out who is working for the rogues. Can we also get this food tested for anything in there that shouldn''t be?" I say handing the te to Raff.
"Things just got a whole lot shittier," Theo says, his eyes scanning the corridor as if he might spot an impostor wandering around.
"We have failed so many, we should have done intense screening on everyone hired for the Grey assessment Toles," Josiements.
"We will find the mole, and when we do, we will send Archie straight to them. This
is a step in the right direction. We can deal with the restter. Let''s just focus on
the positives of what we have learnt," Mason says, and we all
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nod.
"I''m ready to question the next woman. Hopefully, we can earn even more from
her."
"This way," Raff says, and we follow him to a room a few doors down.
Shit, I know her," Josie curses when we look at the nervous woman through the two-way mirror.