Rapid Fire by Jessica Andersen Read Free Book Online Page A

want you to
leave the case alone.” He fixed her with a look. “That’s an order.”
     
    And if I
disobey? Maya almost asked. If she wasn’t on the force—at least
temporarily—then he couldn’t give her orders, could he?
     
    But the
temporarily part was the sticking point, she knew. If she wanted her job back,
she’d have to play along.
     
    As though
he’d guessed her thoughts, the chief scowled. “Don’t cross me on this one,
Cooper. Not unless you want the IA investigation to drag on indefinitely.” He
waited a beat as though he expected her to argue. When she didn’t, his
expression relaxed. “Fine. As long as we’re clear on that.” He waved her out.
“That’s all.”
     
    Thorne
eased away from the door and pushed it open for her, but when he moved to
follow, the chief called him back. As the glass panel closed at Maya’s back,
she found twenty faces staring at her with expressions ranging from curiosity
to distrust. She glared back, telling herself to show a strong front, but
inside she was cringing.
     
    How had
it come to this? She had moved to Bear Claw full of excitement about starting a
new life, a new department with her friends, working under a police chief who
had the reputation of being tough but fair. Now look at her—suspended,
distrusted, disgusted…
     
    She
nearly let out a whimper. She wanted to escape to the basement, to the quiet
corner of the downstairs office where she kept her desk and her things.
     
    Only it
wasn’t her desk anymore. For the time being, it was Thorne’s.
     
    And
later? Who knew.
     
    So she
turned for the back exit, only to hear the door open and the chief’s voice say,
“Cooper!”
     
    She
turned, feeling the sting of not being “Officer” anymore. “Yes?”
     
    Parry’s
expression was blank, his voice carried across the room when he said, “Wait by
the door. I’ll have an officer escort you home. Until further notice, I want
you to take all possible precautions. The bomb threat and the stampede indicate
that our Mastermind has targeted you.”
     
    He could
have said any of that in private. That he’d chosen to broadcast the information
across the packed main room, meant one of two things in Maya’s book. Either he
wanted to warn the other officers to look out for her, or he’d meant to remind
them that she was a civilian.
     
    She had
to assume the latter.
     
    Feeling
the familiar mix of anger and frustration that had dogged her ever since she
woke up in a hospital bed with no memory of attacking Henkes, Maya spun for the
door. She wanted to push straight through, but she waited as ordered.
     
    She
wasn’t an idiot. She knew what the incidents at the ranch meant. She’d been
targeted by a killer, just as Cassie and Alissa had been before her.
     
    Only the
difference was that she knew who was after her.
     
    Wexton
Henkes. Philanthropist. Child abuser.
     
    Their
Mastermind. She was sure of it. But how could she convince the others?
     
    “Come
on,” Thorne’s voice said behind her, startling her. “I’ll follow you.” He
didn’t wait for her, instead pushing past, out of the PD toward the parking
lot.
     
    Maya followed
slowly. “Shouldn’t you sit in on the task force meeting?”
     
    “The
chief will fill me in later.”
     
    As she
climbed into her hatchback and started the engine, Maya tried not to let it
bother her that the other cops were filing into the conference room at that
very moment. Cassie would sit in the corner of the room where the three of them
had always sat, alone most likely, because Alissa would be downstairs working
with the little girl, Hannah, trying to develop a sketch of the ranch man who’d
taken her from her mother and restrained her in the petting zoo as bait.
     
    But bait
for whom? Maya wondered as she pulled out of the PD, aware of Thorne following
too close behind. The Mastermind would have no reason to assume she would go
after the child—any of the other cops would have done the same. So