The Fractured (A Jonathan Quinn Novel Book 12) by Brett Battles

Author:Brett Battles [Battles, Brett]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-06-04T22:00:00+00:00

Nate and Quinn’s détente persisted during the wait, Nate not demanding to know why his partner was there, and Quinn not offering an explanation. The only time Brian spoke was to ask Nate if he really was an FBI agent. Nate showed him his counterfeit badge.

Twenty-seven minutes after the phone call, a key slipped into the lock on the front door. Nate, who’d been sitting at the kitchen table with Brian, rose, while Quinn turned from the window he’d been staring out of.

Kristina King hurried into the apartment and over to her son. She ran her hands over Brian’s arms and shoulders, her eyes searching him up and down. “Are you all right? You’re not hurt, are you?”

Brian tried to squirm away. “Mom, stop. I’m…I’m okay.”

Her hands still on his shoulders, she looked first at Nate, and then Quinn. “You’re Agent Sloan?”

“I am, ma’am,” Nate said.

“Oh. Whatever you think he’s done, I’m sure there must be some kind of mistake. He’s a good kid.”

“Good kids don’t hang around people like Damon Cruise.”

Her face darkened. “Damon Cruise is an asshole. He trolls for kids like my son so he can groom them for his needs. You should be going after him, not Brian!”

“We couldn’t agree more.”

She blinked. “What’s that mean?”

“Damon Cruise is no longer going to be a problem.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Cruise and his friends were arrested this morning. I believe there is very little chance they’ll see the outside anytime soon.”

She stared at him. “Arrested? Are…are you serious?”

“Ask Brian.”

She looked at her son.

His eyes were aimed at the floor.

“What do you know about this?” she asked.

“Nothing,” the boy muttered.

“He was there,” Nate said. “We pulled him out right before the raid.”

“Raid?”

Nate looked at the boy. “Tell her.”

Brian hesitated, then said in a quiet voice, “It’s like he said. The police were all over the place. They…they shot Jayden.”

“What?” Kristina said, horrified.

“The important thing here is that Cruise is gone and Brian is not being arrested,” Nate said.

She stammered, unsure what to say.

“But even though Cruise is gone,” Nate continued, “someone will move in to fill the void. Someone always does. Which means if you want to be sure Brian doesn’t fall in with the wrong crowd again, you need to get him somewhere he’ll have better opportunities.”

“Excuse me?” Kristina narrowed her eyes. “I appreciate you keeping Brian from being arrested, but I don’t need you lecturing me on how to raise him.”

“I’m not lecturing. I’m simply stating facts. You are a single mother who loves her son, and are doing everything you can to provide for him. But in order to do that and pay off your mother’s medical bills, all your time and energy is sucked up by work.”

“How do you know about my mother’s—”

“It’s not your fault, but you’re caught in a loop that you can’t pull yourself out of on your own.”

“Who the hell do you think you are?”

“The one who can pull you out.”

She snorted. “Right. The FBI’s running a help-the-needy program now, is that it?”

“Not everything I do is related to the FBI.

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