Shattered Trust (Shattered #2) Read Online Free

me. Who else would it be? Certainly not that idiot ex-boyfriend of Madrigal’s. Brad Holcomb’s as weak as they come, depending on his father’s nonexistent money to bankroll his way through life. “I’d like to think so, yes. After all, I have their best interests in mind.” Eager to get the hit of java in me, I grab the cup off the coffeemaker as soon as it’s done.
    His silence tells me he doubts the wisdom of my reasoning.
    “So, about Mitch. What’s your next step?” he asks.
    I’m glad for the change of subject. Trying to talk me out of anything that affects Madrigal is futile. “Do my best to get him out on bail,” I say, blowing on the steaming coffee to cool it down.
    “I don’t know about that, Chief. If he’s charged with first degree murder, the judge won’t cut him loose.”
    “I won’t know the charge until the arraignment.”
    “Anything else you want me to do?”
    “Yeah, I need you to contact that private security firm you’ve worked with in the past. What was it?”
    “Stone Protection Services.”
    “That’s the one. I need round-the-clock protection for Madrigal and her sister as well as the house. Have them send me the bill.”
    “Have they been threatened?”
    “No. But somebody killed their grandfather. Until we find out who, I’d rather have someone around who knows the business end of a gun.”
    “How soon do you need someone?”
    “Yesterday.”
    A phlegmy chortle rings out. “That soon, huh? I’ll talk to him. See if he can get someone there by this afternoon.” After a pause on Charlie’s end, he says, “You have cleared this with Ms. Berkeley?”
    “We talked about it last night.” Of course, she hadn’t agreed, but I’ll convince her to do the right thing by playing on her weakness—Madison. “Oh, we’ll need at least one person who knows how to ride horses.”
    “Chief, that’s not a skill the typical bodyguard possesses.”
    “Well, see what you can do. Thank you for the file from Detective Collins. Strange he sent it to you and not me.”
    “You really didn’t want that delivered to your office, did you? If your assistant read that file, it could have gotten back to Holden in a flash.”
    And that would have caused Madrigal a world of hurt, since Holden would have gone ballistic over his darling granddaughter’s covert investigation into her parents’ murders. “You’re right. Thanks for looking out for Madrigal. We’ll need to go over the file at some point, but that can wait for now.” Collins had been the police detective in charge of investigating the murder of Madrigal’s parents. He’d kept a secret file on the case that I’d paid to have sent to me. But we’ll need to take a break from that investigation while we deal with the charges against Mitch. As much as I sympathize with Madrigal’s need to discover the truth, Mitch’s case takes precedence.
    “Have you told Ms. Berkeley about that file?”
    “No. And I’m not going to tell her either.”
    He grunts. “Steele, that’s not right.”
    “What she doesn’t know won’t hurt her.” She can’t stand another shock. Not after the way she reacted last night to the news of Mitch’s arrest for her grandfather’s murder. I will bring it up. In time.
    After hanging up, I shower, get dressed, and grab a quick breakfast before heading back to Madrigal’s house. The drive to Loudoun County, Virginia, takes me north to the George Washington Parkway, then west to the Beltway and I-66 before heading to Route 50. The weather is typically hot and humid, one of those sultry summer days that Washington, DC, is famous for. But the AC in the Jag keeps me comfortable. One of the things I’m infinitely grateful for is air-conditioning. When I was little, we couldn’t afford it, so my brother, Reece, and I broiled in the heat of the hellish DC summers. If we were lucky, someone would crack open a fire hydrant. We’d rush out into the street to play in the water spray until some utility