Silent Deceit Read Online Free

us.”
      “Knot
heads like me?” Blue snarled. “Sweet cheeks, the company you keep is nothing like me.”
      “Oh
yeah? Could have fooled me, you big bully!” Rena flounced on the couch. “And I
don’t have to take crap from the likes of you anymore. I did my time.”
      “Sure
you did.” Hands on his hips, Blue did an eye roll. “And then you went to work
for Deuce. Not what I’d call a big step up from your former profession.”
      “Well,
at least I’m not working on my back!” Rena exhaled a breath. “Besides, Deuce
offered me protection from my old life if I tended bar for him at Trailblazer's .”
      “And
who will protect you from him ?” Blue scowled, leaning over Rena. “He
might pay better than the local minimart, but he’s dangerous as hell. Get out
of there while you still can.”
      “Not
until I’ve saved enough to make it on my own. I need money for my taxi license.
Then I’m buying a cab.” She spared Natasha a venomous glance. “That’s if your hotshot detective doesn’t get me killed first.”
      “About
that...” Falcone turned the force of his icy blue gaze on Natasha. “I got word
you’ve been pinging your brother’s cell phone. And I know Zach’s off the grid.
How long has it been since he disappeared?”
      “A
week. He called me from Deuce’s. He was scared about something he saw there.
That’s when his phone died.” Natasha tipped her chin up to stare at her boss.
“I have to find him, Blue, no matter what he did wrong. If you want me off your
team, I understand. But, please, don’t blow my cover at Trailblazer's. ”
      Falcone
stared at her long and hard, as if trying to decide what he should do. Then his
gaze roamed the room and narrowed on Skip, who hadn’t moved from the doorway.
The stare down and barely visible nod between the men unsettled Natasha. They
hardly knew each other, except for when Skip was a person of interest in the
murder inquiry. Was Blue worried he knew too much about their plans?
      Hah,
maybe he’ll stash Skip somewhere to keep him out of my hair. Give me a chance
to find Zach.
     “You want
to find your brother? Fine, but from now on, you’ll do things by the book.”
Blue’s gaze swung back to her as Natasha inhaled a
healthy helping of relief. He wouldn’t block her investigation into
Zach's disappearance after all. “MacQuade’s
in charge, effective immediately. From here on out,
you’ll take orders from him. I forgot to tell you, Nat. Skip is an undercover cop, just like you. He
works for me out of the Edmonton office.”
      Well, hell for breakfast, this was
a fine turn of events. And it didn't look as if she had much of a choice.
Natasha could swallow her pride and let Skip head up the operation, or Blue
would take her off the case. And it would be a frosty day in hell before she'd
let that happen. "Welcome to the team, Skip."

Chapter Four
      S kip sweet-talked his way onto the
construction crew at Trailblazer's the next morning. Low on manpower,
Deuce signed him up with one condition. That he kept his hands off Natasha. No
problem there—like she wanted his hands on her anyway.
      The safety inspector released the
building and renovations got the green light. Skip watched with a wary eye as
he helped shore up the ceiling with steel supports. Until he was satisfied the
roof wouldn’t collapse, he’d keep his gaze heavenward, thank you very much.
Paranoid much? More like a healthy aversion to being buried alive.
      Mining coal as a teenager had done that
to him—the ghosts of dead miners convincing him to switch his college major to
police sciences. Yeah, his dream of being a mining engineer was buried deep,
along with his father and some other good men. Nowadays he focused on catching
badasses. And Kingman had his full attention.
      Natasha hefted a crate of glasses and
carried it out the door. She still wasn’t talking to him. Too damned bad. He
didn’t care whether she was in a snit or not.  Going