Random Acts by Alison Stone Read Free Book Online Page A

priorities. And having their sting operation fizzle last night had been a huge disappointment.
    Patrick stopped pacing and his fingers tightened around the phone. “I don’t like it. We should have never allowed Jenny to serve as a drug informant.”
    Silence stretched across the line. This had been a bone of contention between the men. “Jenny Carson made her own choices.”
    “She was backed into a corner.” Patrick bit back his frustration.
    “Do you need an investigative team over there?” Chief Parker cut to the chase.
    “No, I’ve got it covered.”
    “Okay. And Patrick,” Chief Parker said, his tone softening, “we followed protocol last night.”
    “I know.” Patrick replayed the events in his mind’s eye. Last night, from a crowded parking lot across from the bar, he had personally watched Jenny get into her car and drive home. He’d followed at a safe distance. Nothing had indicated anyone had suspected anything. He had made sure she had gotten safely into the house and locked the door behind her. He was a man of his word.
    But how had Jenny ended up in a car accident after she’d made it home? And why did he feel like he had personally let Jenny down? A nagging guilt pricked his conscience.
    “If it makes you feel any better, I’ll have a car go by Billy’s bar, see who’s around.”
    “I’d appreciate it, sir. I want to make sure no one’s targeting Jenny.”
    Something niggled at the back of his brain. Had Jenny somehow tipped her hand and become the target of a ruthless drug dealer? But why break into her home when Jenny wasn’t there? His heartbeat kicked up a notch, the way it did when he was working the elements of a case, much like a puzzle, and the pieces wouldn’t fit. Did Jenny have something the intruder wanted? If there had been an intruder .
    The screen door slammed. Danielle stood in the driveway, feet stuffed in sneakers with the backs pushed down. At his questioning expression, she raised the dustpan in her hand and said, “Cleaning up the glass.”
    “Thanks,” he said to his boss and snapped his phone shut.
    “Everything okay? Is Jenny in some kind of trouble?” The moonlight reflected in her trusting eyes.
    “Let me take this.” He lowered his gaze and took the dustpan from her, his fingers brushing the soft, cool flesh of her hand. He flipped open the blue lid of the garbage tote and dumped the broken glass. It landed with a sharp clatter.
    “You didn’t answer me. What did you mean when you said you wanted to make sure no one was targeting Jenny?” Danielle came up behind him and placed a hand on his back. Its tenderness coiled around his heart, melting his resolve. He was glad his back was to her.
    He straightened his shoulders and slammed the lid shut. He turned around and forced a smile. “It’s standard protocol in a suspected break-in to determine why a certain house may have been targeted.”
    Danielle crossed her arms and lifted her shoulders up to her ears. Her teeth began to chatter. “Do you think this house was targeted?”
    “You never know. Maybe with the accident someone thought the house was empty. An easy target.” He couldn’t reveal Jenny’s involvement as a drug informant for fear of further jeopardizing her safety. Or Danielle’s.
    Why did he feel like a liar?
    Dear God, please forgive me.
     
     
    The Protector lifted his fist and drove it down onto the counter. A red cloud of anger colored his vision. “Do I have to do everything myself?” Spittle flew from his mouth and landed on the boy—not a man, a kid, a failure—standing in front of him.
    “No, sir.”
    “Then where is it? Explain to me exactly why you went into the Carson home like a bull in a China shop? Did you want to get caught?” The Protector curled his fingers into tight fists and ground his teeth, resisting the overwhelming urge to pummel the kid’s face.
    “No, sir.”
    As if of its own volition, his hand came up and punched the kid in the sternum. The