Forsaken: A Fallen Siren Novella Read Online Free Page A

your help in finding my son, I better answer.” Maitlan swallows his drink in one gulp. “Robby means everything to me. You have to find him.”
    “We’ll get him back,” Zack interjects, promising something he shouldn’t. This is personal for him, very personal.
    I leave my drink untouched. “The clock is ticking. We need the truth.”
    Zack waves an arm in Maitlan’s direction. “Fire away,” he tells me.
    My first question isn’t for Maitlan. I face Zack. “Explain the connection between the two of you.”
    Zack pauses only long enough to down what I assume to be whiskey. “Maitlan and I met in the Middle East, around the time I was trying to extricate myself from my former employers. They wanted Maitlan to take on a project in Iraq—the kind of project that would benefit them and no one else. The deal had corruption written all over it. Maitlan had a reputation for both being a patriot and being willing to bend the rules, but what these guys wanted was too risky. And had political implications that could come back and bite him in the ass.”
    “Not to mention it was just plain wrong. I turned the deal down,” Maitlan added.
    The sun, pouring in through the windows, is warm against my back. I slide off my suit jacket and roll up the sleeves of my white, cotton blouse. “I take it these men were not used to hearing the word no.”
    Zack’s smile confirms I’ve made the understatement of the year. He continues, “When they saw he wasn’t going to play ball, they asked me to drive him back to the airport. No harm, no foul, right?”
    “Only, that’s not the way the outfit works,” I say.
    His eyes skewer mine. “No. It isn’t. And I’d been in long enough to know that. On the way to the airport, we were attacked. Seems they’d realized I wanted out and figured they’d kill two birds with one stone—get rid of Maitlan and assure my silence.”
    Maitlan breaks in. “Zack fought them. Kicked ass. Killed all three gunmen then managed to get us both to a safe house. I took a bullet in the shoulder. Zack got hit in the leg. At first I thought it must have nicked the femoral artery. There was so much blood.” Maitlan stands and begins to pace, he’s looking a little green around the gills.
    Zack grins. “Sissy passed out.”
    “I’m still not sure how you managed to get me to that safe house.”
    “We laid low for a week,” Zack continued, “then I got us both out of the country and back to the states.”
    At this Maitlan laughs. “He makes it sound so simple. In reality it was anything but.” He looks at Zack. “I owe you my life and now I’ll owe you my son’s.”
    I notice a vintage brass bar cart in the corner. It’s littered with a variety of glasses, an assortment of alcohol and mixers, as well as a variety of soft drinks and bottles of water. I walk over and help myself to one. “Do you think the men who tried to kill the two of you are the same men who have your son?”
    Maitlan shakes his head. “No. The evidence Zack has against them has managed to keep us both safe for this long. I don’t see a reason for that changing. And it’s not just Zack that I want on the case. When he transferred to San Diego I checked you out, Agent Monroe. You’ve made quite a reputation for yourself. I’m used to working with the best. I’m convinced if anyone can get Robby back, you two can.”
    I open the bottle of water and take a sip. “There’s more to it than that. Torres and her team are competent, more than competent. This is about trust.”
    Maitlan passes a hand over his face. It’s a tell that says I’m right. There is more to this story.
    “What haven’t you told Special Agent Torres? What is it you think you can’t trust her with?” I ask.
    “I’ve done some extremely stupid things since Robby’s mother died.” He leans forward, elbows resting on his knees and stares down into his empty glass. Color rises to his cheeks. “It’s complicated.”
    “It always is.” I