Part 2
"Put the gun down, Sergeant!" The rookie’s voice cracked, but his hands were steady as he unholstered his own weapon, aiming it squarely at Riker’s back. "She's trying to save his life!"
Riker’s jaw ticked. For a agonizing second, the pressure of his 9mm against my temple increased. I shifted my weight, calculating the exact angle to break his...
Part 2
I kept repeating the pickup plate until the ambulance arrived.
Reed wrote it on his glove.
Harlan saw him.
“Give me that.”
Reed hesitated. “Why?”
“Because this is my scene.”
“It’s evidence.”
Harlan stepped closer. “Deputy.”
I looked up from Walter. “He keeps the note.”
Harlan turned on me. “You’re still part of a traffic investigation.”
“And you’re standing in the middle of a crash scene arguing over...
Part 2
Vance expected resistance. He expected me to pull back, to panic, to stumble under the sheer physical force of a man sixty pounds heavier than me. Instead, I used his own violent momentum against him.
As his fingers twisted into my collar, I pivoted sharply on the ball of my left foot, dropping my center of gravity entirely beneath...
Part 2
Drake looked from the monitor to me.
“That’s you?”
“Fifteen years younger and much less patient.”
Nobody laughed.
On the screen, younger me demonstrated the same hip entry I had just used on him.
Briggs folded his arms. “Those recordings were built into the Army combatives instructor package years ago.”
Drake swallowed.
“I didn’t know.”
“That,” I said, “is becoming the theme of your morning.”
His jaw...
PART 2
We didn't wait for the police. The adrenaline was still burning through my veins as I sat on the edge of the worn velvet sofa in Liam’s cramped, dimly lit apartment. The air smelled of old books and faint vanilla. Eleanor was safely tucked into bed in the other room, exhausted from the chaos.
Liam sat opposite me on...
Part 2
“You should go.”
I stared at Daniel across the table.
“We met thirty-one minutes ago.”
“I know.”
“So why do you sound like you’re breaking up with me?”
He rubbed one hand over his face. “Because I know what nine months does to people.”
Evelyn looked between us. “Are you two married?”
Daniel almost laughed. “No, Mom.”
“Then stop arguing like you are.”
That should have ended...
Part 2
The deafening roar of the helicopter’s turboshaft engines swallowed my father's pathetic, stuttering demands for an explanation as the crew chief hauled me up into the cabin. I didn't look back at Arthur or Chloe, who were both cowering on the muddy lawn, desperately shielding their eyes from the brutal rotor wash. The heavy metal door slammed shut,...
Part 2
For several seconds, all I heard was the engine through my headset.
“Why do you have my family’s property records?”
Harris closed the folder halfway.
“Because the parcel borders land being reviewed for a federal communications project. Routine title verification flagged conflicting signatures.”
I looked at the document again.
My grandfather had left the land equally to Lauren and me. Forty acres outside...
Part 2
The fluorescent lights of the Oakhaven Police Department buzzed with an irritating, relentless hum. Thorne dragged me through the back entrance, his grip on my biceps bruising the muscle. My wrists were swollen, purple and throbbing against the tight steel cuffs.
He threw me into a chair bolted to the floor in the main processing room. Across the room,...
Part 2
Vice Admiral Pierce did not raise his voice.
That somehow made the room more frightening.
“Renee, listen carefully. Do not argue with anyone. Do not sign anything. I’m notifying Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the base legal office now.”
Briggs rolled his eyes.
I kept my voice steady. “Understood, sir.”
He hung up.
Briggs took the receiver from me.
“Cute performance.”
Sergeant Ward looked less amused.
“Who...
