Hidden Agenda. Maggie Price

Чтение книги онлайн.

СКАЧАТЬ Annie’s snagged an assignment to the new Homeland Security task force. Captain Vincent called me at home this weekend to let me know.”

      Linc ran a hand through his hair. “How long will she be gone?”

      “As long as the task force wants her. You’re teamed with McCall, starting with The Hideaway operation. Bring her up to speed so she’ll be ready by tomorrow night.”

      “You’re the boss.” Linc’s expression might have remained impassive, but his tone rang in Carrie’s ears like cold steel.

      Quintana nodded, then locked his gaze with hers. “McCall, I had a talk with Captain Vincent. He’s studied your file, says he has confidence in your abilities. Which means he doesn’t put much stock in what that patrol cop’s wife accused you of.”

      Heat surged into Carrie’s cheeks while her internal defenses snapped up like a drawbridge. Although the department leaked like a sieve, she had hoped her former lieutenant—who knew she’d been an innocent victim of circumstance—had managed to keep the damn incident under wraps. Apparently not. Great.

      Crossing his arms over his chest, Linc angled his head toward her. Carrie didn’t have to look at him to feel his intense scrutiny. Which made her cheeks burn even hotter.

      “I assure you, Lieutenant, that woman’s accusation was unfounded. I did nothing inappropriate.”

      For Carrie, the knowledge that the wife of one of her fellow patrol officers had stormed the chief’s office to make her unfounded accusations was a continuing cause of mortification. And because her pride was still raw, she added, “I take my work seriously, Lieutenant. The last thing I would do is engage in on-duty lip-lock sessions in the back seat of some patrol car.”

      Despite telling herself not to, she glanced at Linc. He stared back at her. Noncommittal. Cop face. Unyielding.

      Quintana tapped a pencil against his desk in a sharp staccato rhythm. “McCall, the bottom line here is that the mayor’s office has gotten calls from a citizen wanting this crackdown on The Hideaway. That makes it high profile. Lots of media and political attention at the end. Anything gets screwed up, some—maybe all—of the people we collar walk. That happens, there’ll be hell to pay. It won’t go over well if inappropriate action on some cop’s part screws up this operation.”

      Carrie’s nerves tensed. Working an attention-getting case while it was imperative she maintain a low profile was the last thing she needed. But she had orders to get close to Reilly, and The Hideaway was his case. She had no choice.

      “You don’t need to worry about me, Lieutenant.” Years ago she’d gotten involved with another cop. When that relationship ended in disaster, she’d made it a rule to avoid romantic entanglements with all cops. As far as Carrie was concerned, that rule was set in stone.

      “Good.” Quintana plucked a key off his desk then stood. He moved around the desk, handed Carrie the key as she rose. “We had a man retire last month so you get his desk. He cleared out his paperwork, but I’m not sure what supplies he left. You need anything, get with my secretary. Evelyn’s got paperwork you need to fill out.”

      “I’ll see her first thing.” Carrie accepted the key, then picked up the foam cup of coffee she had yet to sample.

      “Reilly, point out the empty desk to McCall.”

      “Sure.” If he had a problem being harnessed with a new partner, it didn’t show in his face as he stepped back to let her pass out of the office ahead of him.

      The squad room was a long rectangle, with a row of grime-streaked windows high up on one wall that let in the gloomy November sunlight. Metal desks stuck out from the walls like boat slips; those placed in the center of the room butted up against each other, front to front. All desks had identical telephones, computers and ancient rolling chairs.

      Carrie noted the room’s backwash of noise changed to a murmur when she stepped into view. She sensed eyes watching her while she followed Linc through the maze of putty-colored desks. Any cop new to a unit was a subject of curiosity. In normal circumstances, she would have had to prove herself before she could expect anything other than surface acceptance. That wouldn’t happen here. She’d be yanked from the SEU the instant she ferreted out the evidence that Internal Affairs needed to file charges against Linc Reilly.

      If the evidence even existed.

      Linc paused at a metal desk as run-down looking as all the others. The nearby wall held a cork bulletin board loaded with yellowed fliers, notes, cartoons and bureaucratic memos.

      “This is it,” he said, then flicked his gaze to the cup in her hand. “Guess you didn’t want coffee after all.”

      “You’re right, I didn’t.” She sat the foam cup aside and met his gaze. His golden-brown eyes looked a little harder than the floor beneath her feet.

      “Look, Reilly, I’m sure you’ve got major concerns over taking on a new partner while you’re involved in a high-profile investigation.”

      A muscle in his cheek jerked, but his eyes stayed level. “That sums it up.”

      “Your concerns are understandable,” she persisted. “I don’t have delusions of grandeur. I’m not supercop, out to prove how good I am at taking down bad guys. The bottom line is, I’ve never worked undercover. I want to learn as much as you’re willing to teach me. All I ask is that you give me a chance.”

      “Fair enough,” he said, his expression impassive.

      “Hey, Reilly, you got a call on line three.”

      The voice that had Linc glancing across his shoulder belonged to a dark-haired detective with a scraggly beard who sat at a paper-piled desk on the far side of the squad room.

      “Put it on hold,” Linc said, then looked back at Carrie.

      “After I take this call, I’ll introduce you around the squad. Then I’ll head to Intelligence to get those photos and tag numbers from The Hideaway. I’ll drop the list of car tags off at dispatch. The run should be ready by early afternoon. We can get together then and I’ll bring you up to speed on what we’ve got so far.”

      “Thanks, Reilly.”

      “Don’t thank me, McCall.” He smiled now, a quick, powerful strike. “You screw up, I’ll be right there in your face.”

      “I don’t plan to screw up.”

      “Then we shouldn’t have a problem.”

      The usual hubbub of ringing telephones, raised voices, rattling coffee cups and clicking computer keys restarted when Carrie settled at her desk. She kept Linc in her sights as he headed across the squad room. His sure, determined walk sent the message he was a man who possessed total confidence in himself and his abilities. Since she was still puzzling over her own reaction to him, she could attest to the power of his physical presence.

      Taking a deep breath, she shifted her thoughts to another aspect of the man. Other officers had told her that in a pinch, he was fearless, the type of partner they wanted next to them when there was trouble. It was rumored Reilly could be as ruthless as the dopers, robbers, gang members and killers who had it in for the cops.

      Nothing wrong with that, Carrie conceded. СКАЧАТЬ