Shift by Sidney Bristol Read Free Book Online

out. How long have you known?”
    â€œSince six this morning. I heard a tip yesterday and started digging.”
    That wasn’t that long ago, only a couple of hours. And he must have started digging last night, right after she brought him the necklace. Knowing the way Emery worked, he’d researched all the factors until he had stacks of information. The threat was real. Very real. And she was in it without her sister.
    Roni was safer in Orlando.
    â€œWon’t CJ pull the crew back when he realizes we’re missing for no reason?”
    A family of five passed through their glass fishbowl; all the while, Emery stared at her. Why was he being so strange? It wasn’t a question that needed secrecy.
    Of course he will. Damn it. Why didn’t I think about that?
    More silence.
    The real Emery didn’t echo the one in her head.
    â€œWe should go. I’d like to be settled before they land.” He turned and pushed the door open, his head swinging from side to side, scanning the area.
    She stood rooted to the spot, sifting through the implications. What wasn’t Emery telling her? She watched him cross to the car and unlock it without a backward glance. Last night when she’d gone to him, he’d known, or had an inkling of an idea. He hadn’t told her then. Why?
    If she didn’t follow him, she’d never learn what he knew. She’d be running blind, probably get herself into trouble.
    Tori stalked after Emery. The tree trimmers strolled back to their jobs, leaving them alone.
    â€œI’m not getting in that car. Answer me.” She glared at him. This was her life, her safety he was toying with and she didn’t appreciate the lack of detail. What did he not want to tell her?
    Emery straightened from having deposited his coffee and food in the car. He turned to face her, his lips compressed. Emery’s expressions were a study in the tiniest variation. The difference was in how much he squinted. If one side of his mouth tilted up. Compressed lips could be him deep in thought, angry, irritated, suppressing a chuckle, any number of things.
    CJ would pull everyone back to Miami, wouldn’t he? She desperately wanted him to say yes.
    â€œNo, he won’t. CJ wants it to be business as usual so we maintain the status quo of our operation. This hit team has nothing to do with the Evers investigation that I can tell. His objective is to keep us focused on that.”
    A phantom pain sliced her breast. She felt the stab all the way to her heart. CJ might be her handler and a Fed, but they had a friendship. He was like a father, always telling her and Roni to be careful. Kathy brought them food sometimes when things got so busy they forgot to eat. Tori’s interactions with them were different from the others, because . . . well, she didn’t know why, but Emery’s words were a betrayal of the people she knew. And yet, CJ was the kind of person to make those tough choices.
    â€œHe knows, doesn’t he?” She wasn’t sure what CJ knew, but it was bad enough Emery was avoiding the truth.
    â€œGet in the car and I’ll tell you.”
    â€œNo, you tell me here and now. I have to know I can trust you.” Emery wasn’t her sister. He didn’t get a blanket pass. If Roni said it was time to go, Tori didn’t ask where or when. She went. No one else got her unquestioning loyalty.
    Emery stared at her, one corner of his mouth lifting slightly.
    â€œI told CJ about the threat. You were still asleep, and it was the correct escalation of the situation. If you’re threatened, so is the crew.” She sensed frustration in his voice, but only a drop. He spread his hands and his shoulders dropped. “He knew before I did. He knew and didn’t say anything.”
    CJ was willing to sacrifice her in order for the machine to keep running. But Emery wasn’t. Emery was FBI. And he was essentially going against his boss’s orders.