Back from the Brink by Emery Hayes

Author:Emery Hayes
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: CROOKED LANE BOOKS

18

When noon came, Green, as expected, dug in his heels. He postured, hands on hips and his face a florid shade of tomato. He encroached on her personal space, kicked at the damp soil with the toe of his boot, pulled in lungfuls of cool air and blew out tepid breaths that stirred the hair on her head, he was so close, and only capitulated when Nicole warned him, “My next call is the FBI.”

She wasn’t sure who would take jurisdiction over the investigation of the Border Patrol. The agency as a whole had many internal difficulties, but most of those along the Mexican border. Nicole had heard of both the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security delving into the corruption. But her words gave him pause, and that was the reaction she’d been hoping for.

“You wouldn’t.” Because law enforcement agencies didn’t do that to each other. Green was many things, including a complete buy-in on solidarity among the ranks. It was an important piece of the anatomy of a fully functioning, high-achieving force. But not at the cost of integrity. Not at the forfeit of justice.

“I would,” she assured him. “I’m required to. I should have done so already, and so should have you,” she pointed out. “The moment you suspected corruption in your office.”

Green’s eyes turned hard and brittle.

“It’s time you clean house, Green. Focus on that,” she advised.

Lars came up then and stood beside Nicole. He had a way of appearing when the time was right, allowing her to charge forward in the lead, relying solely on the magnitude of her position, and then presenting a united front when the gauntlet was thrown.

He was sensitive to her role as a female sheriff—there weren’t that many of them across the country—and the need for her to maintain the respect of the position. He was also one of the best detectives she’d ever worked with, and she would hate to lose him, or to lose to him, if it ever came to that.

“You going to round up your agents?” Lars asked. “Or would you like us to do that for you?”

As a reply, Green unclipped his radio and brought it to his lips. “We’re pulling back,” he said. “All of us. Meet at center. Five minutes.”

When he was done with the announcement, he found and held Nicole’s gaze. “I did, by the way. I want you to know that. When you’re wading hip-deep through the sewage, you remember that I was the one who brought Internal Affairs in. And on their heels, Homeland Security.”

“You called the dogs in?” Lars asked.

Green turned toward Lars. “It’s like you said. Once I suspected, it didn’t matter I didn’t like it, I had to make the call. And I did.”

Nicole nodded. “Noted,” she said, but she wondered about the timing.

“When was that, Green? Did you make the call before or after evidence went missing?”

“After.”

“How long after?” Lars pressed.

“Months,” he admitted. “December.” And he turned his attention back to Nicole. “It wasn’t an easy call.

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