AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Cain tucked one of his weapons into the gun locker on the back of his pickup. “Jace, get those pictures uploaded and let’s see what we have. Cass, run the plate and see what pops. Cross-reference the names that come up with names of Guardsmen just in case. I don’t think the guy in the pickup was one of us, but you never know. Koa, see if you can find out anything else from your friend who gave you the details of this meet.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Tac, see if you can come up with a best guess of what could be in that square case. I got a bad feeling about that one.”
Dane waited. Cain looked at him. “Go home and take care of your back.”
Fuck.
“I need you in the best shape possible. Figure out what you have to do to get yourself there and do it. That’s an order.” Cain tapped into his phone and studied something on the screen. A clear dismissal of the topic.
Dane’s heart thumped like a damn rabbit, and heat crawled up his neck. Cain hadn’t assigned him a task other than “get stronger,” which seemed like an insult. Hell, he was trying. It just wasn’t working out.
“Now, go home. I just got word that the container ship will be available tomorrow for training. See you at oh-five hundred. This opportunity doesn’t come up very often, and I want to take advantage. You’ll be tired and pissed, the perfect way to board suspected drug ships. Dane, it’s your turn to bring the coffee and food.” With that, Cain climbed into his truck.
Dane walked over to his SUV and let out a string of curses as he hoisted himself in. Koa pulled alongside on his Ducati motorcycle. He flipped up his visor.
Dane put down his window.
Koa, true to form, didn’t mince words. “He didn’t give you a job because he can’t have you too closely involved. You have history with Owens and the CGIS. You’re pissed about it. That could affect things.”
Dane paused and stared at Koa. He hadn’t thought of that.Shit.
Did this mean he was going to be detrimental to the unit? He started to say something, but Koa drove off. Typical Koa. A man of few words, but what he did say was usually spot-on. He’d understood what Cain was doing while Dane still had his head up his ass. Ego was blinding him to the realities of life.
Koa was right. He did have history with Owens, and none of it good.
CHAPTERTWO
“Don’t sit down. We have to go,” Tom Rutledge said as he breezed past her desk.
McKenna Rankin had just touched her ass to her seat, coffee in one hand and cranberry orange muffin in the other. Hitting snooze one too many times had cost her the time she’d budgeted for breakfast. Instead, she’d hustled through her shower and then driven into the Coast Guard Investigative Service where she worked, only stopping at the cafeteria downstairs to get the muffin and second cup of coffee.
“Seriously? Can it wait, like, five minutes so I can eat?” she asked as she looked down longingly at her muffin. It smelled divine, and it would taste even better because she was starving.
“Cross called a meeting. All agents,” he said over his shoulder as he walked away.
“Damn,” she mumbled as she got up from her seat and followed in his wake.
Since moving to Oahu six months ago, life had finally settled down a bit. She loved her new job with CGIS far more than she’d enjoyed her seven years with the Minneapolis Police Department. Thanks to the NCIS TV show, people understood what she did, and she didn’t have to explain all the time like she thought she might have to. She was a civilian as most of the other CGIS agents were. A background in law enforcement and investigation were the job requirements but it helped to know more about the Coast Guard. She’d been learning lots since she moved here and last night she’d stayed up late reading some old cases, which was her excuse for oversleeping this morning.
It was odd that Cross would call an all-agent meeting. It had only happened once before, and it was at Christmas to tell everyone how well they were doing and to wish them happy holidays. Today wasn’t a holiday as far as she was aware. They’d missed April Fools by a couple of weeks.
At the elevator, several other agents walked up, including her direct boss, Senior Special Agent Quinten Lawrence, AKA Casper, because of the long white hair he always wore pulled back in a ponytail.
“Casper,” she said.
“Mac, how are you doing today?”
She just nodded. Casper wasn’t her favorite person. There was something off about him, something she couldn’t pin down. He was too cagey for her. Rutledge, on the other hand, she had liked immediately even though she was sure he was keeping secrets as well. He was just a nicer person. Casper was…slimy. It was the only word that suited him.
She nodded to two other agents, Barnes and King, and they all got onto the elevator together. The ride was short, only one floor up. The doors opened, and they walked into the main hub of the CGIS.
Two agents stood just outside the elevators with boxes filled with cell phones. Dumbarton said, “Put them in here.” His partner, Cutler, held out another box for King and Barnes.
Mac cocked an eyebrow. Dumbarton met her gaze but didn’t say anything.The plot thickens.She tossed her cell in the box.
She walked into the space and found a place to stand where she could lean on the wall. There were desks in cubicles, but the barriers were short so people could see each other while sitting. The conference room on the far wall was all glass. It had a great view of Honolulu Harbor and the dockyard next door. To the left of the conference room were the offices of the CGIS head honchos.
John Bishop Cross was standing outside his office. He was the Deputy Director for CGIS for Base Hawai’i. He was from back East, but she couldn’t remember exactly where. Connecticut maybe? She knew he’d gone to Princeton and had been the quarterback on their football team. He had pictures of his university days in his office. She’d gone in to meet him right after she started. He was not her cup of tea, but she could see why others flocked to him. He was good-looking and charismatic. Headed for the top, there was no doubt.
In case anybody didn’t realize his ambitions, he also had pictures of himself with various members of Congress, including senators. Even one Supreme Court Justice. Mac wouldn’t have hung that picture if her life depended on it. The Justice in question was a complete asshole as far as she was concerned.
