A Touch of Malice by Gary Ponzo Read Free Book Online

calling. Matt’s girlfriend was killed in a firefight and soon afterward Nick returned to the bureau. The more things changed, the more they stayed the same. The only consolation for Julie was she got to raise her son in a sheltered neighborhood, while Nick took on the bad guys away from their home.
    A pair of headlights lit up the opaque window above the front door and car tires crunched on the gravel driveway. Julie simply looked up at him with an empty stare. When Nick pulled her back into an embrace, she seemed to have lost the fight and her body hung limp in his arms. It was even more disturbing than when she was clinging to him like a drowning swimmer. As if she’d been dulled into accepting whatever card she was about to be dealt.
    A pair of approaching footsteps chomped at the loose gravel outside followed by a soft tap on the thick wooden door. A moment later the door opened and agent Matt McColm poked his head in. He saw the couple disengage and didn’t hesitate to come inside and grab Julie around the waist to give her a big hug.
    “Hey, sweetie,” Matt said, looking down at her. At his height, he looked down at most anyone, even Nick.
    Julie tried to be brave, but when they separated it was obvious she’d been crying. Matt looked at Nick whose heart sank in his chest.
    “She has a bad feeling about this assignment,” Nick said.
    Julie put her hands on her hips. “All these years, have you ever heard me say that to you two before?”
    Matt shrugged. “Yeah, Jule, I get it. Maybe you’ve never said those words, but are you telling me there’s been an assignment where you were thinking, “I have a really good feeling about this?”
    Julie smiled a crooked smile, while wiping away some moisture from her cheek.
    Matt bent down and grabbed Nick’s duffle bag. He opened the door and gestured for Nick to go ahead of him. Nick, looking a little startled, gave Julie a quick kiss on the forehead and said, “Don’t worry, I’ll be home in a day or two.” He glanced upstairs. Julie followed his gaze.
    “He’ll miss you,” Julie said, using up her last wild card.
    Nick wanted to run up and give his son one last hug.
    “C’mon,” Matt said, tugging on Nick’s sleeve.
    Nick hesitated. Matt grabbed his arm.
    “Sorry, Jule,” Matt said, kissing Julie a brief kiss on the cheek. “We need to go.”
    Once Matt was pulling out of the driveway, Nick looked over at him from the passenger seat and said, “What was that all about?’
    Matt frowned. “You should be thanking me.” He looked at his partner. “That was only going to get messier and messier. You needed to rip it off like an old Band-Aid. One quick pull.”
    Matt drove though the narrow roads of Nick’s neighborhood, lined with treetops which hung over them like an organic tunnel. They passed the house where Matt’s deceased girlfriend, Jennifer Steele, used to live. The outside porch light was on and it seemed to have new residents. Matt appeared to force his attention away from the cabin, his eyes darting back and forth between the side and rearview mirrors. Nick let it go, not wanting to bring up a sensitive subject when they were on their way to another tough assignment.
    Matt drove out of Nick’s neighborhood heading west on the two-lane state road for a mile, then made a quick turn into a sleepy high-end neighborhood without any outlets.
    “We’re going to the hospital,” Nick said. “That’s where the helicopter is waiting for us.”
    Matt gave his partner a sideways glance. “I know,” he said, refocusing his attention on the rearview mirror. “But I’ve got someone following me.”

Chapter 7
    The eastern sky was threatening to brighten, yet morning rush hour traffic in downtown Washington, DC, was still hours away. In nearby Baltimore, the parking lot of the FBI Field Office had a dozen cars all gathered close to the rear employee entrance signifying an emergency situation. Special Agent in Charge Walt Jackson was busy at his