Tracking Shadows (Shadows of Justice 4) by Regan Black Read Free Book Online

the damn ferry later tonight.
    And somewhere out there a hitman still hovered like a storm cloud in August, dark and ready to strike.
    If Brian hadn't kept him out of the police station, Micky would have to believe all his luck was gone.
    But luck or not, he wasn't about to roll over for his enemies and leave the team unprotected. He was well educated in the ways of criminal enterprise, but he'd been raised to appreciate the people at the heart of the business. It was a harsh world out there, but he knew how to keep them all in business. As long as they weren't exposed.
    Sis had recruited April, so the girl must have some sense. Sis never brought anyone in out of pity or a sad tale. Which meant there had to be a good reason April brought in a stranger.
    He buzzed his security team. "Have Ben Trumble ready to talk with me in five minutes. If the stray leaves, have her followed."
    It was highly unlikely she'd refuse the life April was surely describing in far too much detail, but assumptions were as dangerous as hitmen in the world of smuggling.
    Choosing the private access route, he headed to his office and was sitting at his desk, a picture of calm when Jim knocked on the door.
    "Enter."
    The door swung open and Jim announced the guest with as much pomp as any London-bred butler, "Ben Trumble, meet Slick Micky."
    Ben just stared, his feet rooted to the floor until Jim shoved him inside and pulled the door shut behind him. Micky could almost hear the kid's knees knocking. If this kid pushed Sis out the window, he was one damned fine actor.
    "You armed?"
    "No. No sir."
    "Didn't try to get anything past my team? Haven't tried to get word to the Reverend?"
    Ben shook his head. "Not since I woke up in Miss Leigh's place."
    "What did you try?"
    Ben took a sudden, keen interest in his shoes. "I tried to slip out of a window."
    "And?" Micky was dying to know how the notorious Cleveland secured his home.
    "Who wires windows with tasers? On the inside?"
    "Nasty. Sit down," Micky ordered. "So what did Leigh tell you?"
    The kid sat like he had a titanium rod in his spine. "She said I could get my sorry self together or she'd take me back to the church and let the Reverend deal with me."
    "He still might deal with you if he finds out you've changed sides. Assuming you change sides."
    "I know that. But Jim says he can teach me things to increase my odds."
    "He can. And he will, if you prove yourself trustworthy."
    "I'll do anything, sir." Ben leaned forward, equal parts earnest and desperate. "This is a nice place you've got."
    "Seen the whole thing already?" Was there a damned open house going on no one thought to mention?
    "No. Just the office and bunkroom. Haven't been allowed anywhere else. Oh. And they let me squat with the guard at one entrance."
    That was something. "Security makes the world go round." And real coffee kept the guards alert. "What do you know about me?"
    "Only that you're the best at what you do, sir."
    "And what do you believe I do?"
    "Run the best of everything anyone wants in the city."
    Good to know the street rep was still solid. "So why do you want to kill me?"
    Ben paled. "I don't sir. I never did. No way. It was an order, that's all. One I didn't want to follow, but I had to. To move up the food chain."
    "What was waiting for you?"
    "Sir?"
    "Up the food chain," Micky clarified, hoping to hell it was only nerves making the kid obtuse.
    "More money."
    Micky waited.
    Ben sighed. "Taking you out gave the Reverend more room on the street. He said bigger territory meant everyone got a bigger cut. I woulda been a legend to make that happen."
    "That's what matters most? You want to be a legend?"
    "Beats the hell outta being a patsy."
    Micky couldn't disagree. "The Reverend's got a nasty reputation. How'd you fall in with him?"
    "My sister came to Chicago a few years back. She said things were good and she sent money home, but there's been no news since January. I came looking for her and wound up at the church when I