Never Surrender (Task Force Eagle) Read Online Free

Águila.”
    She shouldn’t trust him but she had to know. “All
right. There’s a small sandwich shop a few blocks over on Congress Street. We
can walk.”
     
    *****
     
    Ten minutes later, Rick sat across from Juliana and
facing the entrance in a back booth at Sammy’s Subs Plus. He could observe
every table and booth. College pennants papered the walls. Tables, chairs, and
booths gleamed with the USM blue and white. Except for them and a gray-haired
couple, only fresh-faced students filled the seats.
    Boys with shaved heads and torn jeans. Others in
preppy collars and khakis. Girls in mere scraps of cloth or skirts that swept
their ankles. International students—one in Middle Eastern headgear and a few
Asians. No Hispanics. Not that El Águila’s flunkies had to be Mexican or even
look Hispanic. But no one here paid Juliana and him any undue attention.
    “Order first.” He picked up a menu from the table. “Then
we’ll talk.”
    “You’re not buying me lunch. I’ll pay for my own food.”
She speared him with a glare. “I came with you only because I want to know
about this El Águila.”
    “Up to you.” Rick observed her while she pretended to
study the menu. She’d bound that glorious hair into a ponytail. He’d like to
see it free around her shoulders.
    He had to tread carefully. His cop’s instinct also
told him that Olívas posed an imminent threat to her. The idea of her brother
caught in El Águila’s talons reminded him of Rudy, but he wouldn’t examine it
too closely.
    Removal of her jacket revealed a tiny butterfly tattoo
on her neck. She wore layers of silky tops over her slim jeans. Simple but
sexy. Damn, he had to curb his attraction. Sister of a suspected drug
trafficker, she should interest him only as a lead.
    Once they’d ordered, she said, “I haven’t heard from
my brother, if that’s what you want to know. No letter, no phone call, nothing.”
    “You must be very worried, Juliana.”
    The corners of her mouth trembled. “I have every right
to be.”
    Since she allowed him to use her first name, he
relaxed. Maybe it’d be okay. She’d talk to him. “Tell me about your brother.
Jordan must be a special guy to merit such loyalty. I wonder if any of my
sisters would stand up for me like that.”
    “Sisters? How many?” She closed her mouth as if
regretting the personal question.
    “Four. I’m in the middle, and to hear them tell it,
the bane of their existence when we were growing up.” He folded his hands on
the table. “But we were talking about Jordan.”
    Her gaze slid to the tabletop, then to the throng
around them. He could almost read her thoughts through her animated features
and transparent coloring. He imagined her agile mind analyzing the pros and
cons of sharing family information with him. Fascinating.
    A quartet with physics texts exited the booth behind
Juliana. They had eaten hunched over a laptop and some papers one of them
juggled into a folder.
    The waitress returned with their drinks, and Juliana
peeled the paper from her straw with undue concentration. When she again
regarded him, it was clear she’d answer questions, but would pounce on any
misstep.
    “My dad died when I was fifteen and Jordan was five.
Molly—my mom—wasn’t home much after that. She had to work two jobs.”
    “So responsibility for your brother fell to you?” She
was more a parent to the kid than a sister. That explained her desperate
concern.
    She shrugged. “I went to parent conferences and helped
him learn to read. Jordan struggled in school. He skipped a lot to hang out at
the co-ops and talk to the fishermen. Some took him out on their boats and
taught him. And his girlfriend helped him.” The half smile told him she
relished the reminiscence.
    “Did he get in trouble?”
    “Not the way you mean. No cops.” She could’ve lashed
out at him for that question, but her expression turned wistful. “Jordan’s
basically a good kid. He’s not slow, but he sees things