Beneath the Surface (A Villain’s Story FBI Mystery Series Book 9) by Mary Stone

Author:Mary Stone [Stone, Mary]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Mary Stone Publishing
Published: 2024-05-03T00:00:00+00:00

22

Eliza slammed her office phone in its receiver and raked her fingers through her hair. Slowly, she lifted her gaze to where her entire homicide department stood across from her on the other side of her desk. They looked like a bunch of hooligans—butterfly bandages holding together big gashes on their faces, their knuckles bloody from beating the hell out of the rioters.

Granted, they weren’t the only ones in the department with bloody knuckles. Her deputies were bruised and battered as well. She couldn’t be sure in all the confusion, but she was almost positive that as soon as the bottle collided with Justice’s forehead, it was Henry who had thrown the first punch.

The annoying thing was how happy they all seemed to be, recounting each of their various exploits in the brawl. Justice stood in the center, with one hand clasping Henry’s shoulder and the other fiddling with the bandage on his forehead.

Just like a pair of mismatched bookends. One all brains and bravado, the other sheer brawn and blissful ignorance. Together, they’re the definition of chaos.

She raked her nails against her scalp again, just enough to cause a bit of pain this time. At this rate, she’d be bald by Monday. “That was the mayor on the phone.”

Justice pushed out his swollen bottom lip. “And?”

She gritted her teeth. Though she hated to admit it, he had a very punchable face.

“And he’s furious. Having a brawl at the sheriff’s office is a trigger. And now we’ve had two. This one was caught on multiple news cameras. Plus, the video has apparently gone viral on the internet, circulating all over the country and on cable news. The only saving grace is the internet mob is all siding with us at the moment. I can’t tell you how rare it is for the public to side with the police in these matters nowadays.”

What Mayor Lewis had actually said was that they were siding with Justice.

Either way, lucky break.

Eliza sighed, a sharp pang pounding in her forehead. She looked up at Justice, at the big, weepy gash, and the ache intensified. “You’re lucky that asshole threw a rotten fastball. You could’ve gotten a concussion or worse.”

“Yeah, I feel lucky.” He gave a mirthless chuckle and reached up to touch the gash on his head before stopping himself. “So what’s the plan, Boss? I hope you aren’t thinking of putting me on leave over this.”

Marissa grinned as she held an ice pack to her face. “If he goes, I go. And you can’t put us all on leave. How do you like that for leverage?”

Eliza cast a withering glare in her direction. “Bet me.”

Marissa swallowed. “Just kidding, Boss.”

Flexing her fists under the desk, Eliza scanned the sea of faces in her office again. Without a single word, each of them let her know where their loyalty stood. With Justice.

She had been thinking of putting him on leave, but Mayor Lewis had said that was out of the question. Oddly enough, Justice—who, inadvertently, had caused this whole situation—had also become its only saving grace.

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