Protect and Serve Read Online Free Page A

accomplish. It’ll look real good for the department. You and Mr. Hale have history. He trusts you.”
     
    There was an implication there, a subtle reminder that cops who did things to bolster the department’s reputation were always rewarded. Doing this might mean a chance at respect, but could I respect myself for dancing to this white man’s tune by shacking up with some yuppie billionaire and calling myself Lawanda?
     
    But he was right about the Paddies—the gang Wallace headed up with ties to the Irish mob. They had to go, and if this would oust them from the city once and for all, maybe it really was a small sacrifice.
     
    “I get the point, sir. But I don’t know if it’ll be that easy. One of those men who came to Hale’s mansion—he called himself Francis O’Rourke—there was something about him. An air of authority? I think he might have been higher up the food chain than the others. Even with Wallace out of the picture, the Paddies might be able to hold their ground if that man’s been groomed to take over.”
     
    Captain Pierce nodded grimly. “I’ll see if the FBI is willing to let us in on who some of the other major players are. In the meantime, get your things in order and meet me back here in an hour. I want you two moved into the Peachtree Overlook by this evening. The sooner, the better,” he added.
     
    I shook my head. “I still don’t understand why you’ve chosen me, sir.”
     
    The captain sighed. He looked weary. “Do you really want to know?”
     
    I nodded. “Yes, sir. Absolutely.”
     
    I’d been hoping for some speech where Captain Pierce admitted how much the department needed me, how I was an invaluable member of the force, and how handing me this responsibility was just the first step in showing the rest of the boys how capable I really was.
     
    Instead, Captain Pierce spread his hands helplessly. “Mr. Hale wouldn’t agree to our terms any other way. He requested you, personally .”
     
    My heart sunk. Once again, I was Nathan’s pawn, a bargaining chip to ensure he would get what he wanted. I wasn’t a valued member of the team—I was a sacrificial lamb.
     
    I wanted to rage at the captain, and at Nathan, too. I wanted to tell them both in no uncertain terms that I wasn’t there for their entertainment, that I was a cop who had earned her stripes and who deserved better than to play babysitter to an entitled billionaire.
     
    But I didn’t say anything. Instead I let the heat rise in my cheeks, my pulse pound in my ears, and my hands shake behind my back as I held in every ounce of anger surging through me.
     
    For the greater good, I told myself. Once you do this, everyone will look at you differently. You’ll be a hero, Chandra. It all sounded like lies.
     
    “Detective,” the captain said, lowering his voice. “You can say ‘no.’ ”
     
    For a moment, I let my rage get the better of me. “Can I, sir?”
     
    Captain Pierce nodded. “Yes. You can. Mr. Hale strikes me as the type of man who’s used to getting what he wants. He’s playing a game here, and he’s not afraid to make people uncomfortable or unhappy to get his way. We both know he’s not going back to his house after what happened today, whether you agree to this or not. If this is going to be a problem for you, detective, then I wouldn’t hold it against you if you said ‘no.’ ”
     
    That gave me pause. I lowered my eyes, considering the Captain’s offer. If he was right, the absolutely best case scenario was that it wouldn’t reflect poorly on me. I’d go back to my job exactly how I left it, Nathan would become someone else’s problem, and I could refocus on other parts of my life that mattered much more than some billionaire’s welfare.
     
    But an image flashed in my head, or rather a series of them: Nathan’s impossibly green eyes; his lazy, lopsided grin; the way he’d stepped in at the last second and potentially saved me from a thug with a gas can and