Nowhere To Run (To Protect And Serve) (5 page)

The truth would come out.

She didn’t know how to defend Jeremy from himself. Jordan turned away to stare out the window. The sympathy in Caesar’s eyes appeared genuine. He was so good at making her believe a lie. She no longer knew what was real and what was yet another lie. All she could do now was try to uncover the truth for her brother.

T
he city lights blurred beyond her tears. Jordan tried to hold onto the strength that had gotten her through so many difficult times in the past. She’d learned long ago to shut out weakness. This world was tough. The weak didn’t survive.

Jeremy
had been weak. What was the point in denying it now? In many ways, he’d become the mirror image of their mother. Her unsteady fingers stroked down the material of the lab coat she still wore. She reached inside the pocket and found the business card Riley had left there and clutched it tight. It gave her a small amount of comfort knowing there was someone to turn to. Lean on.

He wanted to talk to her in private
about what had happened between them and yet she couldn’t even begin to explain tonight’s behavior. Had it just been his strength that drew her to him so recklessly. She’d never experienced such an instant attraction before, not even with Caesar. And yet, she couldn’t accept it any more than she could allow herself to consider the possibility of more with him. Not now. Not at the worst possible time in her life.

He
’d urged her not to trust anyone. Especially those closest to her. Especially Caesar.

A shiver slipped
along her spine.
Someone stepping on her grave…

Her glance slid to Caesar
as he maneuvered the car easily through light traffic, his full concentration on the road ahead. God, she desperately wanted to believe his innocence.

Trust no one. Especially
Caesar Santiago…

She thought she knew
everything about Caesar’s family. He’d been honest with her from the beginning, holding nothing back about the business he’d walked away from all those years ago when he left Bogotá and the Santiago’s wealth behind for good. Or so she thought. Had it all been just a lie? Had she been wrong about Caesar from the beginning?

“Jordan?”
Some of the gentleness returned to Caesar’s voice. She realized they were no longer moving. The Mercedes had rolled to a stop in front of Caesar’s Upper East Side brownstone. His dark eyes grew watchful. “I didn’t think you’d want to go back to your apartment just yet.”

Slowly, she nodded.
He was right. As much as she despised
him
, she couldn’t think about returning to the apartment she and Jeremy’s shared for so long.

Jordan got out of the car refusing the hand he offered her for support. She followed him inside, aware of
the anger that raged through him.

Caesar closed the door with annoyance. “
Will you at least trust me to take care of all the necessary arrangements?” The brittleness in his tone forewarned her of the argument that was sure to come if she continued to reject him.

Jordan
turned away. She couldn’t look at him. “Yes. Thank you, that’s very generous.”

“
You’re still my fiancé. Jeremy was family.” Bile rose in her throat. She couldn’t speak. “You must be exhausted,” he tried to excuse her coldness. “Why don’t you get some rest?”

She didn’t look at him.
“I am. Exhausted, I am exhausted. I’ll use the guest room.” She waited for him to argue. After a moment, she left him alone.

She just wanted to wake up and find this was all just a bad dream.

Trust no one.
She couldn’t dismiss Riley’s warning no matter how hard she tried.

B
ut did she believe the unimaginable? Was Caesar a vicious murderer or simply a casualty of injustice? Monster or victim? Angel or devil? The uncertainty would drive her mad.

Caesar might be a cheat,
and a liar, but was he capable of taking her brother’s life?

Chapter Four

“Donovan. Burbeck. In my office. Now.” Riley’d  barely gotten one arm free of his jacket when the  lieutenant poked his head out of the closet he called an office. A single dirty glass window allowed the LT a bird’s eye view of the squad room. The down side being the Lieu didn’t have an privacy.

“Shit’s hit the fan.” Frank murmured as he huffed his bulk from the rickety old chair he’d
finally managed to maneuver into a somewhat comfortable position.

The senior officer had suspected something other than a little interrogation had taken place between his partner and Jordan in that hospital room. After all, he knew Riley well enough to know that flushed expression on his face had nothing to do with his obvious dislike for Santiago. Still, Frank hadn’t pressed for answers. He’d just tossed Riley a half-dozen curious looks on the ride over to the station.

“It doesn’t look good that’s for sure.” Riley eyed the two men standing arrow-straight in the lieutenant’s office. He recognized one of them right away.

Riley
opened the door for Frank, but his partner held back, letting him take the lead.    

“
Detective Donovan, Detective Burbeck, this is Agent Thomas and Agent Ramirez with the FBI.” Lieutenant Sam Parker made the brief introductions.

Ramirez, the younger of the two
, appeared momentarily surprised. “I know the name. Your reputation with at Bureau was legendary. It’s a pleasure to meet you, Detective Donovan.”

Riley knew Thomas only too well
, but he’d never met the younger agent. He thought of Deb and wondered if perhaps she might be the common link.

Ramirez shook their hands. T
homas did not. It was clear Thomas was senior officer. A tall man with a buzz cut and hard brown eyes, Thomas looked as if he still spent most of his time in a gym. Some things never changed. The man was all about appearances. He’d been Riley’s senior officer at the Bureau. They’d butted heads from the beginning. Thomas was a self-important prick, and the worst excuse for a leader Riley’d ever seen. Riley’d had the pleasure of telling Thomas so before he left the Bureau.

Agent Thomas spared them a
brief nod.

“Agent
s Thomas and Ramirez are here about the Scott case.” The LT didn’t really need to add that last part. Riley’d pretty much figured that out on his own.

“Here it comes,” Frank whispered out of the side of his mouth. He
and Riley swapped a quick glance. They’d both known it was only a matter of time before their homicide became part of a bigger federal investigation. It had to with Santiago’s possible involvement. But the kid was barely cold.

“Let me guess,” Frank intercepted
aloud. “We’re off the case.”

Agent Thomas
sized Frank up for a minute. “That’s right, detective. We need all your notes right away.”

“Lieu, you can’t be serious
.” It galled Riley to no end to lose one to the Feds. Mostly because he knew the cavalier attitude that went with the mindset. He and Frank had already begun to examine the evidence from the scene. Trying to link Santiago to the weapon wouldn’t be easy, but this was their investigation. Thanks to Agent Thomas, it probably would end up in some cold case file somewhere.

His thoughts went to the sister.
She hadn’t been faking her reaction to hearing the few sketchy details he’d given about her brother’s murder. No one could fake that much grief. She’d been overwhelmed by it. Jordan Scott wasn’t involved in her brother’s death. He wondered again how she’d ended up engaged to someone of Santiago’s caliber. What had gone wrong between her and Caesar? Whatever it was, he planned to pursue the angle. His gut told him she knew something.

Something important to the case
.

“I am
serious, Donovan. I expect your complete cooperation. The two of you will turn over whatever you have on the case so far to Agent Thomas and Ramirez.”

“L
T, this is
our
case. We’ll solve it. We just need more time. It’s only been a couple of hours.”

“
Detective, the Scott murder is no longer your concern.” Thomas turned to Riley. “You’re off the case. Let it go.”

Riley ignored Thomas’
remarks entirely. “Lieu, since when does the FBI have jurisdiction on a homicide.”

“Lieutenant,” Agent Thomas
exclaimed, clearly infuriated by Riley’s remarks.

Too bad
, Riley thought. He wasn’t about to let Jordan down simply because the Feds wanted to make a name for themselves by nailing a major drug cartel member like Caesar Santiago.

The lieutenant held up a hand anticipating Thomas’ argument. “You’re off the case Donovan and that’s it.
Do as I ask for once.”

Agent Thomas
had a smug look plastered on his face, which could only pass for a smile. He and Ramirez left the lieutenant’s office with a final parting, “I’ll expect the files on my desk today, detectives.”

“Lieu…” Riley
knew it was pointless, but he had to make one final attempt.

“
Donovan, I don’t want to hear it. My hands are tied. This came down from the Chief himself. Get your notes together and whatever you do, don’t use Johnson to deliver the paperwork to the Feds this time. I’m still hearing about his last screw up. ” Lieutenant Sam Parker’s stone cold expression never changed. The man was notorious from breaking down the most hardened perps.

No
one could forget how pissed the LT had been. Johnson was the lucky one. He’d gotten off easy with a few days of desk duty. Riley and Frank had suffered most of the Lieu’s wrath.

It took only a second for
Riley to get the LT’s message loud and clear. He’d just given them the unspoken go-ahead to stay on the case for at least a little while longer.   

“You two have something else to say, Donovan?” the Lieu snapped.

“No. No, we’re good.”
They filed out of the office without another word.

Riley waited until they were back at their desks and out of the
Lieu’s hearing. “How the hell you figure the FBI got wind of this thing so soon.”

“
Are you kidding? They’ve probably been watching the kid for a while.”

“
Yeah? And why would the Bureau be interested in a kid like that. By all practical purposes, he looks like your stereotypical boy-next-door.” Riley slipped into his chair and got out his notes on the case.

“
Except what’s the boy-next-door doing in that neighborhood?”

Riley
scanned his notes. Frank was right. That little detail had bugged him from the beginning. On impulse, he typed Jeremy Scott’s name into the police database. It didn’t take long to find what he was looking for. “The kid got popped six months ago for possession. Funny thing is, the charges just disappeared.”

“
Holy crap.” Burbeck leaned over Riley’s shoulder, squinting as he read the report. “They turned him into a CI? Why? What could he possibly know beyond association that the Feds would be interested in?”

“
I don’t know, but the connection to Santiago is no coincidence.” Riley shut the computer screen off. “Whatever it is, I’m betting it will prove to be the key to solving this case. I know someone at the Bureau. I figure we’ve got twenty-four hours tops before Thomas starts screaming.”  

Frank held up both hands.
“Whoa bubba…I know what you’re thinking, but no way. Forget it. I’m telling you for your own good, let it go.”

To say his partner’s reaction surprised him was an understatement.
Riley expected more from the man. Burbeck had a reputation for being ruthless when it came to ferreting out information. He didn’t care who he pissed off if it meant solving a case. “Frank, we owe it to kid’s sister to do everything we can to bring her brother’s killer to justice.” Riley’d made a promise to Jordan he didn’t intend to break.

“Buddy,
we just caught the case. We don’t even have a single legitimate lead yet other than the kid was probably in the area scoring some drugs. With all due respect, we don’t owe anyone anything.”

Riley
scrubbed a hand over his eyes. Sure, in his head, he knew what Frank said was true. But still…

“
You’re not in the least bit curious why the FBI’s getting involved in this thing? Come on, Frank, that’s not like you. Besides, my gut tells me the sister knows something.”

“You sure it’s your gut talking?”
His partner tossed him a knowing smile. Riley refused to take the bait. “Look,” Frank blew out a frustrated breath then plopped down into his squeaky chair. “I agree with you, bubba, I do. Which is all the more reason why this thing reeks. Something’s screwed up here. Something we don’t need to know about if we wanna sleep at night. You gotta let it go, pallie. Know when you’re beat. Let the FBI handle it.”

It surprised
Riley that his mentor would be willing to give up so easily. “Well, maybe you can let it go, but I’m not giving up on this one, Frank. I can’t. I made a promise to the sister.”