Mission: Impossible to Deny (The Impossible Mission Romantic Suspense Series Book 7), Jacki Delecki [polar express read aloud .TXT] 📗

He strode off, not heeding anything she said. How did she miss that he had a gun tucked into the back of his jeans? What the hell? He wasn’t armed when they were on the plane. He must have armed himself when they deplaned. And why was he expecting trouble?

She sprinted after him in her high heels on the gravel. Damn her short legs. Damn her need to impress Richard Dean with her professionalism. With the thirty seconds head start, Reeves was already toe-to-toe with a police officer who didn’t look like any of the men who served under her father. The navy-blue short sleeves of his uniform showed his well-formed biceps and his tan skin. With non-regulation long, blond hair, he looked more like a surfer than a uniform who ate donuts as daily sustenance. His posture was relaxed and non-confrontational in the face of Reeves’s aggression. No need for a display of power or good ole boy swagger or pushing back by the surfer dude.

“I need to get into the house. He’s my friend, damn it.”

“Officer …” Darcy paused to read the policeman’s badge, “Green.” She flashed her CIA badge. “I’m Officer Darcy Wilson. I apologize for my colleague. This is the last known address of his friend and a suspect in our investigation. Can you tell us what happened?”

Officer Green whistled. “CIA? Wasn’t expecting that. Does this mean the FBI is going to show up soon too? Should have known. This has professional hit written all over it.”

“What the fuck? What happened to Tex? Is he dead?” Reeves’s voice cracked.

“There is a thirty to forty-year-old white male with a GSW to his head. We haven’t identified the body yet.”

“I can identify him. Let me in to see him.”

“His face is pretty messed up. It looks as if he was tortured. And the place was tossed.”

Reeves bristled, his muscles bunching and his eyes turning steely—all signs of male violence about to erupt.

“Do you have a time of death yet?” Darcy asked.

It was very convenient for someone to have Thompson out of the picture. Did Reeves alert someone to get rid of Thompson and the evidence before she arrived? She had to search Reeves’s computer. God, she could imagine what the director would do if she tried to get a warrant for Reeves’s computer.

“No, I didn’t order a hit on him.” Reeves loomed over her, all his hostility now focused on her.

His aggression hit her smack in the solar plexus. He was hurting, and she should know by now how men reacted when in pain.

“Officer Green, can you give us a minute, please?” Grinding her teeth together, she smiled pleasantly at the local cop who took the hint and walked off to speak to another officer.

She grabbed Reeves’s arm and pulled him to face her. “What the hell? Why would you say such a thing in front of the police? You’re making yourself look like a suspect.”

“You still aren’t convinced that I’m not. What difference does it make if Officer Stud thinks so too?”

“Because he’s an officer of the law. And despite his hot surfer vibe, he’s paying very close attention to you.” She squeezed her hands together instead of poking him in the chest. “You’re so smug because you have Dean behind you. And you have no idea what I’m thinking. It’s my job to investigate everyone.”

“Go ahead. Waste your time fabricating theories about me. But if you could get past your damn mistrustful attitude, we could work together. We’re in sync, XChoco. Surfer Dude isn’t the only one paying attention to you. Your tell is easy. You fold your lower lip under your top one, and you bring your hands together.”

The breath deflated in her lungs like a flat tire. She had no comeback. All because of this one man who admitted to paying attention to her. Her usual orderly approach to a crime scene was deteriorating right before her eyes.

 “Look. It isn’t necessary for you to go in there. The police can run his prints.”

“Are you kidding? He was my friend, and I’m going to find the fuckers who did this.”

“Keep your voice down. First, implying you might have ordered the hit and then making threats in front of the police isn’t helping anything. And you’re going to explain to me why you’re armed. But not right now. You need to pull it together, or Officer Green isn’t going to believe you’re with the CIA.”

“Don’t treat me like I can’t handle shit. Tex is my friend …” The strong muscles in his throat worked. “Was my friend.”

“I get it. I really do. But there is nothing to be gained from seeing your friend. And you can never take back the image. You don’t want to remember him this way. Trust me. It will haunt you for the rest of your life.”

Damn his perceptive gaze. He knew she was speaking from experience. She still woke up some nights with the newspaper images of her father, gunned down in the center of their small town.

“You realize the longer we’re out here debating this, the local police could be taking Tex’s computer, his phone, gaming devices into custody—everything that may help us—or doing who the hell knows what.”

“I have jurisdiction here. No one is confiscating anything without my permission. And don’t try to change the subject.”

He lowered his voice. “I’m no damn ghoul. I don’t want to see Tex, but I might be able to detect anything that is off. I knew him.”

Why was she trying to protect him? He was a grown man who could handle this in any way he chose.

“Okay. But I swear if you go off or make any threatening comments, I’ll have Officer Green arrest you.”

“You like making threats.” He invaded her space. “You want me in cuffs to have your nasty way? You need to work on your control issues.”

She rolled her eyes. Spare her from arrogant men.

Chapter Five

Reeves would have nightmares for years to come. Tex’s face contorted