Prologue
Liam triedto ignore the annoying pain in his knee and wondered when his brain would start to treat it as a secondary buzz.
The good news was the constant improvement, and, according to the doctor, with steady physical therapy, there was a chance that he could fully recover. Maybe.
At least his captain had allowed him to return for special cases, or more specifically, the Finch case. He was lucky that Liam being the son of a man on the most wanted list hadn’t reached his superiors’ ears. However, fieldwork was still out, but he could live with that for now, especially since his father had transformed into a dangerous ghost, and the situation was bound to get worse.
Chewy pulled on his leash through the snow as they approached the diner. It was their spot, as he couldn’t cook. His coffee resembled tar at best, so that little restaurant was his saving grace. His and Chewy’s.
When he pushed the door open, he was glad to see old Debbie behind the counter. It was against regulations to allow his scraggy mutt inside, but Chewy had charmed the owner better than he would ever be able to.
“It’s my favorite customer! And his tolerable owner.”
“Hello, Debbie.”
“Hello, despicable cop.”
A bunch of customers laughed, but Liam only shook his head. One of his colleagues had given her a speeding ticket the weekbefore, and he was now the devil’s spawn. If she only knew.
“Can this despicable cop have a cup of your amazing coffee, Debbie?”
As usual, she sniffed and picked a scone from the tray for Chewy before pouring Liam a cup. “If it wasn’t for that dog and your gorgeous eyes, I would have kicked you to the curb in an instant, like I did my ex-husband.”
Liam paid and winked at her before heading to his favorite booth. Chewy snuck under the table as Liam gave the mutt his treat.
The restaurant was festooned with garlands of red and gold, and there wasn’t a single space that didn’t remind him that Christmas was just around the corner.
Preferring to ignore it, he opened his backpack and spread his files on the table. It was challenging to focus, especially considering the last few days.
All the brothers were in an uproar. Lazarus had survived the surgery following the firefight but was still in a coma. Archer had arranged for him to be taken care of in a secure location with help from Kai and Sam, a secret place inside the hospital where Finch wouldn’t be able to find him. Sasha had helped tremendously in the medical aspect. She’d canceled all her upcoming contracts as a doctor on the mission field to stay with Lazarus until he recovered. Liam didn’t know if there was something between them, but one look at Sasha’s face when she saw his brother in his hospital bed confirmed that she cared for him as much as all the brothers did.
And now that Izzy had destroyed Jamieson Finch in front of the world, they would have to make sure he never rose again. One of the conversations he’d had with Archer and Aleksei in the waiting room stuck with him. What did Finch have left? Money? And a certain amount of hardcore connections? Connections could be cut, but money was another thing. Slippery to get a hold of, like an eel.
Find the money. An obvious task but far from an easy one.
“Hello, Liam.”
He smiled at that voice that had become so familiar in the last few years. “Hello, Gabrielle.”
The blonde spy slid in the booth in front of him. There was something different about her. For the first time ever, she appeared tired, and sadness clouded her blue eyes. “What’s going on, Gab? Any news on Lazarus?”
“Nothing new if that’s what you’re asking.”
Liam sighed in relief. “Sorry, it’s just you look like someone kidnapped your dog.”
When the most dangerous lady he’d ever seen got misty-eyed, something had to be very wrong.
“You could say that. Bad news comes in pairs. My boss, who was also my best friend, has been murdered. I just heard the news.”
Immediately, his cop instincts perked up. “What happened? Is the killer on the loose? Is it related to Finch?”
She dismissed his questions. “Our team has a strong lead, and I know they’ll find him. But I need to get to them. I’ve always been her second in command, and the organization is shaken. Many of our operatives are currently undercover, and others are deep in dangerous missions. Get there and take care of everything.”
Liam could only nod, understanding her motivation. Until now,Gabrielle Thorne had been one hell of an ally in chasing down Finch.
“Is there something I can do to help?”
“No, unfortunately. The other thing is that I’m leaving all of you in a hot jam, and I don’t know how long it will be before I can help you again.”
