Free Devil's Due: A Thomas Caine Thriller (The Thomas Caine Series Book 0) by Andrew Warren Page A

"Pleasantly."
    "We'll see.   I haven't decided if you get to live or not.   What are you doing here?"
    Caine reached into his pocket, noting the way the gunmen surrounding them tensed up.   They relaxed when he pulled out his burner phone.   He had saved digital copies of the pictures Satra had shown him on its memory card.   He called up the pictures, and slowly slid the phone over to Anna.
    "This website.   Thai Angels.   I believe the chao pho are running it.   These girls have been taken."
    The woman picked up the phone and flipped through the pictures.   "Your chances are getting worse, Mr. Waters.   I don't see why I should care about some kidnapped bar girls."
    "I want them back.   That's why I came here."
    The woman put down the phone and squinted at him.   Her face was cold and still.   She gave Caine the impression of a gargoyle statue: cold, lifeless, and eternal.
    "Why?" she asked.   "Why do you want them back?   What are they to you?"
    "That doesn't matter," Caine answered quietly.
    Again, the woman uttered her raspy chuckle.   "I think you will find it matters a great deal."
    Caine leaned back in his chair.   "Anna, obviously you are a powerful woman.   I don't want to make an enemy of you.   I mean no disrespect, but please believe me when I say I have fought my way into and out of worse places than this."
    Anna nodded.   "Yes, yes, you've got balls, and you've got skill--I'll give you that.   You're what, a con man, a smuggler?   Some kind of two-bit criminal, or at least you're pretending to be.   And yet you're risking your life sitting here at my table, looking for these girls.   Girls are a dime a dozen in Pattaya, so I know this isn't a business transaction.   Which means this is personal, isn't it?   You want to save them.   Save them from some horrible fate worse than death, yes?   What are you, some kind of guardian angel?"
    Caine stared at her, but said nothing.
    Anna's voice grew even more dry and raspy.   "But the way you took care of my men, fought your way into this house ... I can see by the look in your eyes, you've watched men die.   It leaves a mark on you.   Blood always stains."
    Caine shifted in his chair.   "I'm sure you've seen your share of blood, Anna."
    The old woman nodded.   "Oh, yes.   Take it from me, whatever your name is.   You can be both an angel and a devil for only so long.   Sooner or later, you have to choose one."
    Caine reached out to grab the phone, and Anna slammed her hand on top of his.   The movement was sudden and powerful, and Caine was shocked the old woman could move so quickly.   Her stare pierced him like icy nails.
    "If you wait long enough, Mr. Waters, one will choose you."
    She released his hand, and he took back his phone.
    "As I said, I don't want to make an enemy of you," Caine replied, "but I warn you not to make an enemy of me.   I'm not looking to save the world.   I just want these girls back.   I'll do whatever it takes to get them."
    Anna nodded.   She turned her attention back to the TV.   "This actress is lovely; don't you think?   She plays the mother of the wealthy businessman.   She's a real dragon lady, the power behind his thrown, so to speak.   He wants to marry the common girl from town, but the mother has already arranged for him to marry his business rival's daughter."
    As Anna rattled on about the plot of the drama, a servant emerged from the house to clear their dishes.   He removed the plate of food in front of Anna's doll and replaced it with a small dish that held a colorful assortment of macaroons.
    "When police tried to investigate this website, your people set off a bomb in the floating market.   How many real children did you kill there?" Caine asked in a cold, flat voice.
    "Oh, bullshit," Anna snapped.   Her nostrils flared with anger and indignation.   "My people didn't set off any bombs.   Whoever led you here is covering their tracks.   You've been played, Mr. Waters.   That