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Chapter One
February 13, 2007
“Did you hear what case we’ve been
assigned?”
The file hit his desk with a loud
slap. Marc Garcia glanced up and gazed at his partner
Noah Adams. Marc had transferred out of the NYPD’s drug
unit, and was now working with Noah at the Homicide
Division. It was a personal decision on his behalf. He
was in a rut, and had thought changing divisions would
help.
Raised in the same neighborhood,
they had been close friends growing up and were like
brothers. It eased Marc to know his best friend was
there to help him out.
“I just got in. What’s up?”
“We’ve been assigned to investigate
Scarlet Escort Services. A woman by the name of Sara
Davis was found strangled in one of their rooms this
morning. The owner called the murder in. We have no eye
witnesses. The details are all in here.” Noah pointed to
the files on the desk. “But I haven’t gotten to the best
part of it yet. You’ll never guess who the owner of the
fine establishment is?”
Marc groaned. The way Noah murmured
the words was a sure indication that he wasn’t going to
like what came next. “I have a feeling I’m going to
regret asking this. Who’s the owner?”
“Elena Montes.”
The two simple names were said
softly, but that didn’t stop them from hitting him with
the force of a Mack truck. The memories assaulted him
and he had to breathe past the pain surrounding his
heart as he tried to grab hold of his emotions.
“Dios!
Does the captain know?”
“Not yet. It wasn’t my place to
tell him.”
Marc’s insides twisted into knots
as his mind tried to sort out all the information. Elena
was many things, but she wasn’t a killer. He should have
been upset that she was involved in a murder, but it
wasn’t his top worry. Instead his mind worked on ways he
would make her pay for leaving him.
Marc struggled in an effort regain
his composure. No one had ever made him lose his anger
so quickly. But hearing Elena’s name had that affect on
him.
“You have to take a back seat on
this case, Marc. You have a history with her. If the
captain finds out you took this case, you’ll be writing
parking tickets for a month.”
“That’s why he’s not going to find
out,” Marc gritted through his teeth. “Elena is mine,
Noah, and you will back me on this one.”
“Don’t let your heart cloud your
judgment. You haven’t seen her in years. At the very
least, I should be the doing the questioning.”
“Not going to happen. Elena Montes
has penance to pay.”
“I understand why you want revenge.
But you haven’t seen her in five years. I’m only looking
out for you here, bro. This lady did a real number on
you. I don’t want to see you go through that again.”
Marc opened his mouth to reply, but
snapped it shut as the phone on his desk rang.
“Homicide.”
“I want to see you and Noah in my
office now,” Sergeant Jonah Matthews commanded.
Marc grimaced. The sergeant didn’t
sound happy. “We’ll be right in.” Marc hung up the phone
and rose from his seat. “Matthews wants to see us.
Probably a debriefing on the case.”
“Let’s go,” Noah replied, already
leading the way to the Sergeant’s office.
They entered without knocking. Noah
took the seat across from him, while Marc chose to
stand. Jonah Matthews was short compared to Marc and
Noah. But looks could be deceiving.
“Close the door,” Jonah said.
Without looking back, Marc kicked
the door closed. “What’s this about?
“The Scarlet case. Have you taken a
look at it yet?”
Marc tensed. He folded his arms
across his chest to hide any unease. “I just got the
paperwork from Noah. He brought me up to speed on the
murder. I’ll be leaving to question the suspects
shortly.”
“Before you do, I ran a check on
Elena Montes. You’ll never guess who her stepfather is?”
Could this get any fucking worse?
He had known her for two years, and she’d never
mentioned any living relatives. She’d had him convinced
she was alone in the world.
“Who?” Noah asked.
“Drug trafficker and murderer,
Victor Lang.”
The words stunned him. He was
speechless and that was a good thing. Because if he let
loose the fury coursing through his veins, Jonah would
know something was up, He wasn’t going to let anyone get
in his way of seeing Elena. He shoved the thought back.
Now was not the time to analyze this sudden need to see
her.
“Isn’t that the same bastard who
got off last year with just a slap on the wrist? Rumor
has it he bought the judge on that,” Noah replied.
“I’m inclined to agree with the
rumors on this one,” Jonah agreed. “This Victor Lang
stinks and I want the bastard caught. Investigate Elena
thoroughly. If you find any evidence, I want her
arrested. If Victor’s involved in anyway, I want him to
stand trial.”
“Does she have a mother?” Marc
asked calmly, though he was feeling far from it.
“Her mother died of an overdose
when Elena was seventeen. She has no other siblings or
relatives, so Elena was left in Victor’s care,” Jonah
replied. “Here are the reports I have on her and on
Victor, along with a search warrant. She gave permission
for our officers to search her building, but the warrant
is for her office.”
Marc took the report. “We’ll be in
touch,” he said as he walked out the door.
“What’s the next step?” Noah asked.
“I’m on my way to question Elena,”
Marc answered as he reached his office and grabbed his
coat. “I want you to go and question Victor.”
“No deal. I say I question Elena
and you go to Victor. It’s safer that way.”
Marc holstered his gun, refusing to
be swayed. “Elena is mine to investigate. Find out where
Victor is staying and question him. You can call me on
my cell if you need anything.”
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