Don't Say a Word by Rita Herron Read Free Book Online

what you’ve been leaving out.”
    Antwaun’s cobalt eyes turned a smoky-gray as he ran a hand through his overly long hair. Damon zeroed in on the scars on his hand. He tried to remember where his brother had gotten the jagged marks but couldn’t place the cause. Not that he knew each incident in his brother’s life. Both of them had been in the military, had been to hell and back.
    â€œI’ve told you everything. If I’d known Kendra was a fucking reporter, I sure as hell wouldn’t have gotten involved with her.”
    Damon hissed. The lieutenant didn’t want the FBI involved, but with Swafford’s connection to Kendra, they already were. “I’ll talk to her boss tomorrow and get a warrant for her files.”
    â€œSomeone I know is setting me up,” Antwaun growled. “You have to get me released so I can track them down.”
    The last thing they needed was to have Antwaun on the streets, out of control, exacting his own brand of justice—revenge.
    â€œI’ll see what I can do,” Dryer said. “But you know it will be morning before I can get a judge and bail hearing set.”
    Antwaun nodded.
    â€œDo you have any idea who would frame you?” Damon asked.
    Antwaun frowned. “I can think of a few names.”
    â€œMake a list,” Jean-Paul said. “We’ll check out the names for you.”
    â€œWhat was your cover with Swafford?” Damon asked.
    Antwaun spoke in a low, gravelly tone. “I played the drug trafficking angle to get in with his organization.”
    â€œDo you think Swafford discovered her identity and killed her?” Damon asked.
    Antwaun shrugged. “It’s possible. When they both disappeared last year, I thought she might have run off with him. I went to her apartment and searched for clues as to where she might have gone but came up empty.”
    â€œWhat about her computer?”
    â€œIt wasn’t there. But hell, I didn’t think she had one. I thought she was a dancer.”
    â€œShe might have left willingly with him at first,”
    Damon said. “He could have found out her identity afterwards and killed her.”
    Antwaun scrubbed his hand over the dark stubble on his jaw. “Swafford wouldn’t have done the deed himself. He has hired minions.”
    Another reason for the feds to be on the case. “We’ll check into Swafford’s organization. I’ll need everything you have on him.”
    Antwaun nodded. “And don’t forget my buddies on the force.”
    Damon grimaced. Antwaun didn’t make buddies.
    If there was corruption in the department, who knew how deep it went, or how far it reached. And Swafford was a slick businessman who said all the right things in public, a smarmy bastard the locals and feds had both been watching for months. A man some citizens protected because he’d helped the economy.
    A man who’d disappeared without a trace.
    But his money might be dirty, might be part of a money-laundering scheme. Men like Swafford thrived on power and would go to any lengths to protect themselves and their investments.
    But if he and his men had killed Kendra Yates, why feed her to the gators?
    To destroy evidence?
    Another possibility reared its head. What if she was still alive?
    They could have cut off her hand just to frame Antwaun.
    â€œYou know Swafford’s body hasn’t been discovered,” Antwaun said.
    â€œYou’re thinking that he isn’t dead?”
    â€œMaybe. What if he disappeared or faked his death, either because of Kendra’s murder, or because he thought she planned to expose him? He could have cut off her hand to make it look like she was murdered, and to set me up and get me out of the way.”
    â€œWe’ll look into that angle,” Damon agreed. “He has accounts set up all over the world. Hidden money, of course.”
    Antwaun looked grim. “With finances like that,