Nowhere To Run (To Protect And Serve) by Mary Eason Read Free Book Online

it go, but I’m not giving up on this one, Frank. I can’t. I made a promise to the sister.”
    Frank studied him carefully for another beat or two. “Okay, partner, now you’re just talking crazy.” When Riley didn’t respond, Frank added, “Riley, I respect the hell out of your determination and you know I thought your old man hung the moon, but I can’t back you up on this one.”
    Burbeck leaned closer and lowered his voice. “I’m sorry, but I’ve only got a few years left before I retire full pension. I can’t afford to lose that.” He narrowed a look at Riley that sent a chill down his spine. “Crossing the Feds is bad business. I say, be glad we got out from under this albatross. Stay out of it, Donovan.”
    Riley didn’t know what to say to the man who’d always been ten foot tall and bullet proof in his mind. So Frank Burbeck was human after all.
    “ Maybe you should take some days off,” Burbeck was saying. “You must have several weeks’ time stashed away by now between vacation and sick time. In the years we’ve worked together, you’ve never taken a single day off. Go visit your old man in Florida for a while. Lay on the beach. Find yourself a woman. Do whatever it takes, but get over this case. Get her out of your head and wherever else she’s hanging out. For all our sakes, bubba, let it go.”
    Riley got to his feet, retrieved his weapon from the locked drawer, and holstered it.
    He understood where Frank was coming from. Not too long ago, his old man had faced the same dilemma. The moment you realize you’re not invincible you become vulnerable. “You may not be willing to go out on a limb to solve a case anymore, Frank, but I am. I plan to work this one until I’m forced off of it.”
    “Where are you going , bubba?” Frank demanded.
    “I ’m going to find out why the Feds are so interested in our case. Then I’m paying the sister a visit -- find out what she knows.”
    “You gonna force her to talk? Or you got other things in mind?” When Riley didn’t answer, Frank push on. “Bubba, don’t do it. You’ll be hindering a federal investigation. They’ll have your badge for this.” Burbeck called after him but Riley didn’t listen.
    He ’d left the squad room and reached his pickup truck before the extent of his actions caught up with him. Frank would keep his mouth shut – at least as long as it didn’t affect his job, but what did he really expect to gain here? Why was he pushing so hard to keep this case? After all, what did he really know about Jordan Scott. beyond a kiss. A look. And what might all add up to just a brief lapse in judgment. Maybe she was involved in whatever trouble had gotten her brother murdered? And if not, even if she knew anything, chances are Santiago would find a way to suppress it. He looked like the type to have his attorney on speed dial. He’d probably spun enough lies by now to convince the good doctor to clam up tight.
    Still that didn’t stop him from trying her cell phone. When the call went straight to voicemail he guessed she’d turned the phone off. He could only imagine what she was going through. He dared not leave a message on the phone in case Santiago were monitoring her calls and he doubted she would want to return home to the apartment she and Jeremy shared. Santiago might be the devil, but even the devil was better company than being alone with memories that had to be unbearable for her.
    Instead, he dialed her office and left his number asking her to call him the moment she got the message.
    While he might not be able to talk to Jordan just yet, he could get some idea why the FBI wanted the case so bad if only for his own peace of mind.
    Agent Debra Martin clearly wasn’t thrilled to hear from him again when she finally answered his call after the sixth ring. Not that he could blame her. They hadn’t left things between them on the best of terms the last time they’d talked. He still remembered that awkward silence