A Darker Shade of Dead Read Online Free Page B

happened. They’d have made it impossible.
    Speaking of Xavier, her family didn’t know about him yet, either. Oh, boy.
    She took a deep breath.
    â€œOkay, Dad. I’m sorry. Things happened really fast after the incident, and I wasn’t really hurt anyway.”
    â€œO’Hara told me you’d been hospitalized for nearly a week and he’d been ordered to silence by a bunch of Green Berets who stormed in and took over the morning after you were admitted. Exactly what the hell happened, Sarah?”
    Oh, she knew that tone. Her dad wasn’t only mad. He was hurt as well. She’d really screwed up.
    â€œMy head connected with a concrete floor, Dad. I was out of it for the first few days. And Chief O’Hara was complying with orders from a higher authority to keep it under wraps. I’m sorry you had to hear about this after the fact, but it really was, and still is, a matter of national security.”
    â€œJeez, Sarah. What did you get involved in?”
    â€œYou wouldn’t believe me, even if I could tell you.” She had to chuckle at the bizarre truth of her statement. “Would it help you to know that Johnny is going to be working on the same team? I just found out this morning.” Her brother was a CIA operative and former Marine. Maybe the news they’d be working together would help ease her father’s fears.
    â€œJohnny! Sarah, that’s no comfort at all. Johnny’s line of work isn’t exactly safe. Now I’ll have to worry about both of you. Where are you anyway? I went by your house after O’Hara called me, and it was locked up tight.”
    â€œOn my way to my first assignment.” She hedged, buying time. She’d have to spill the beans. That was what this belated phone call was all about. So much had happened in such a short time. She wasn’t sure where to begin.
    â€œWhich is where?”
    â€œNorth Carolina.”
    Her father breathed a gusty sigh she could hear over the phone. “Thank God for that. If Johnny’s involved, you could’ve been headed for Timbuktu.”
    â€œNo, Dad. We’re strictly stateside.” For now, she added silently. She didn’t know where this new mission would lead and if the problem somehow spread overseas, she’d go where she had to in order to do her job. But her father didn’t need to know that. “In fact, I’ll be on a military base. I’m going to be living at Fort Bragg for a few weeks. My new job is as a consultant to the military.”
    She didn’t specify which branch. He didn’t need to know and the chain of command was convoluted. She reported to Commander Matt Sykes, U.S. Navy SEALs, but she was partnered with her new fiancé, Captain Xavier Beauvoir, a U.S. Army Green Beret. They both ultimately reported to the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) commander—the admiral in charge of joint Special Forces operations—and they were authorized from the highest levels in both the military and civilian government power structures.
    â€œConsultant? I don’t like that word, Sarah. That’s what they call mercenaries, you know.” Her father’s tone was suspicious.
    She laughed outright. “You know as well as I do that I’m not a mercenary. Get real, Dad. The guys I’ll be working with are soldiers, they don’t know much about crime scene investigation. That’s what I’m contributing to the team.”
    â€œAnd they don’t have their own investigators? As I recall, each branch of the armed forces has an investigative service, and there’s always the FBI. I can’t believe a county cop would know more than the federal experts.”
    â€œWell, in this case, I do. I have firsthand knowledge that they need and I’m going to provide it. This really is a national security issue. If I could tell you what it’s all about, you’d understand. Trust me.”
    â€œYou