Touching Silver by Jamie Craig Read Free Book Online

the LAPD in general, and McGuire in particular, to notice him. A new enemy? An old one? Either way, Gabriel didn’t plan to allow the asshole to get away with it. He would find Ali’s murderer and make him wish his parents had never been born.
    But first, he needed to make sure McGuire wasn’t going to get in the way.
    Gabriel carefully replaced the coin and reached for his phone. The number he dialed came from memory, and the voice on the other end of the phone didn’t seem surprised to hear from him.
    “Bill, it’s Gabriel. How fast can you get surveillance rolling?”

Chapter Four
    “Don’t get the bacon.” Isaac slid onto the bench opposite Olivia and nodded at Kenny behind the counter—their unspoken code for his usual. “They always overcook it.”
    Olivia looked up from her menu as the waitress, Betty, approached. “Can I get the breakfast special with extra bacon and over-easy eggs, please?”
    “Would you like more coffee?”
    “Keep it coming.” She passed the menu to Betty and finally acknowledged him. “Good morning, Detective.”
    He gave her a broad smile. He’d spent the night reading up on her. An exemplary service record. Numerous commendations. Sterling reports from superiors. He could do a lot worse than teaming up with Olivia Wright. Especially if she looked this hot at five-thirty in the morning.
    “Let’s try something new here. I’ll be Isaac, and you’ll be Olivia, and we’ll leave the ‘detective’ to anybody who’s not us.”
    She ran her tongue over her teeth. “This isn’t a date, Detective. Please try to keep that in mind.”
    “There’s always the option I be Olivia and you be Isaac. But your legs are better than mine. Nobody in a million years is going to believe I’m you.”
    “That’s true, but it’s not because of the legs. I’m punctual, professional and considerate. Three things that you are not.”
    His eyes narrowed. Nobody called him unprofessional and got away with it. “I have an exemplary record.”
    “I never said you didn’t. You’re still inconsiderate, unprofessional and…” She looked pointedly at her watch. “Late.”
    “I’m never late to breakfast. Ask anybody.”
    “You are according to my watch.”
    “Your watch is fast.” He turned his wrist so Olivia could see the face of his watch. “I’m never late for breakfast.”
    The corners of her mouth lifted in a small but easy smile. It even reached her eyes. “Fair enough. I guess I shouldn’t give you a hard time. It looks like you’ve been burning the midnight oil.” She sipped her coffee. “I can show you a few tricks to cover those bags under your eyes, though. A little ice and foundation should do the trick.”
    “So would sleep.” He settled in, stretching his arm across the back of the seat. The new light that shone in her eyes made it very hard to look away, so he didn’t bother trying. “But I’ll bet sleeping won’t be a high priority for either of us until we get Gabriel for Stacy’s kidnapping.”
    “It’s rarely a high priority for me. How do you think I learned my ice and foundation trick?” She was still smiling, and he expected her to follow up her rhetorical question with a complaint. Most sane people did when they were low on sleep and high on stress. “Do you keep a change of clothes at the station too?”
    “Two,” he admitted. “But I forced myself to run home for a quick shower before meeting you. I still smelled like smoke from the arson last night.” He smiled up at Betty when she set his coffee in front of him and promptly reached for the sugar. “Things will be tough enough without ruining my appetite too.”
    Olivia tilted her head. “Why are you being called out on arsons?”
    “Because you’re not the only one who recognizes my brilliance. The dead body they found at the fire last night was one of Gabriel’s. Ali Cristó Garcia-Jimenez. A new kid on the block comparatively, which is probably why he was green enough to get caught