Allison Brennan - Killing Fear

“You always play the good cop,” Carina interjected.

“Thing was, I wanted to go for his throat. And Glenn knew that. He understood the game. He had both of us pegged the minute we arrested him. And for the last seven years he’s been planning revenge. He knows how to get under my skin.”

“You know, and that’s half the battle, Will. You’re expecting it, you can stop it. Don’t let him in. Don’t make it personal.”

It’s always personal. While he could distance himself from the suffering of victims and the violence of criminals, when it came right down to it, it was always personal-he was the cop, it was his job to serve and to protect. When he couldn’t, he took it personally.

A door, flush against the wall when closed, opened. Soundproofing had prevented any noise from escaping and Will hadn’t noticed it. A tall, muscular, dark-skinned Cuban exited, followed by Robin. She was smiling, looked stunning in jeans and a soft dark purple sweater. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail, but wisps had escaped. She looked both young and wise at the same time.

Damn, he missed her.

A tightness crossed his chest when she shook hands with the man. Jealousy? What right did he have to be jealous?

“Thanks, Mario. My business is in good hands.” She glanced at Will. “Let me introduce you to the detective in charge of the task force.”

Mario nodded, turned to face Will. Will didn’t recognize him, but Carina did. “Hey, Mario!” She walked over and slapped his hand in a complex handshake usually reserved for use between men. “Good to see you.”

“Cara, how’s it going? Patrick hanging in there?”

Sadness crossed her face. “Hanging in,” she said.

“Ma has a prayer group meeting weekly for him.”

“I know it’s helping.”

Will cleared his throat. Carina made the introductions. “Mario, my partner Will Hooper. Will, Mario Medina is an old-very old”-she hit him in the ribs-“family friend. We went to school together. After a few years in the military, he opened up a private security company.”

“You don’t keep in touch,” Mario said. “My sister tells me you’re getting married.”

Carina grinned sheepishly. “Yeah, I am. Three weeks. I’m sure you’re on the invite list. My mom is inviting the world. They won’t fit in the backyard, I keep telling her.”

“We’ll manage.” He clapped her on the back. “I’ll be there if I’m not working. I’m happy for you.” He looked at Will. “I’m putting a team together to cover the Sin. As long as my men are watching, no one will be hurt.”

Great. Cocky and a friend of the Kincaids.

“I’m glad you hired security,” Will said to Robin.

She stared at him blankly, but her eyes clouded. What was she thinking? Why couldn’t he read her?

“Mario’s the best,” Carina said confidently, smiling at Robin. “Hi, Robin. I’m Detective Carina Kincaid, Will’s partner. Nice to meet you.”

Robin smiled and shook Carina’s hand, her eyes darting between Carina and Mario. Not looking at him .

“What about you?” Will asked, turning to Mario. “What’s your plan for security on Ms. McKenna?”

Mario said carefully, “As long as she’s here, she will be covered.”

“What about her residence? Her free time?”

“One of my team will escort her from the Sin every evening. We’ll make sure she arrives home safe.”

Will frowned. “Robin, what about your loft-”

“You have the cops sitting out front. As long as no one falls asleep, I’ll be safe.”

The jab hit as hard as Robin intended. She hadn’t heard about Frank’s death yet, and Will didn’t say anything.

Will asked through a clenched jaw, “You called the station and said you need to talk to me.”

She reached behind the bar and tossed him a CD encased in a thin plastic case. “Glenn called me. I recorded the conversation.”

Will hid his surprise. “You expected him to call?”

“Yes,” she said, chin up. She glanced at Carina and her confidence wavered a fraction. “He called earlier,” she admitted softly. “I hung up on him. Then I hit myself for being so stupid. It took him fifteen minutes to call back. I had enough time to get it together.”

Will barely noticed Mario and Carina exchange a glance. “Robin, he’s not going to stop until he goes after you.”

“Then I’ll kill him.” Robin turned and lifted up her sweater, revealing a holstered gun in the small of her back. Will didn’t know why it bothered him that Robin was packing, but he was frustrated. Private citizens shouldn’t have to carry weapons to feel safe, but Robin obviously had cause for a CCP.

Will asked, “Do you have a death wish, Robin?”

“What do you want? You came here yesterday, did your duty. Warned me only eighteen hours after I heard about his escape on the TV news.”

Will bit back an argument. “Do you have a CD player?”

Robin held out her hand and he tossed back the CD.

She played it through the bar’s speaker system. Hearing Glenn’s voice coming from all around gave Will the chills. He looked at Robin, saw that she was having a difficult time listening to it again. He marveled that she had the wherewithal to set up the recording in the first place. It took brains and courage. She caught him staring at her, averted her eyes.

Glenn said, “I will kill you, Robin, slowly. And the last thing you see before you die will be my smile.”

“Fuck you!”

“How’s William?”

Will’s jaw clenched tight. Glenn would kill Robin if he had the opportunity, and Will vowed never to give him that chance. Between her private security and San Diego PD, Robin would be safe.

“He’s going to kill you,” Robin said, her voice cracking at the last moment. She cleared her throat. “He killed my friends to hurt me. He thinks killing you will hurt me, too.”

Will’s head spun. Robin was concerned about his safety? Glenn had baited Will by dropping Robin’s name during interrogation, and was now baiting Robin by dropping Will’s name. Theodore Glenn was playing on their personal fears, and doing it damn effectively. Will couldn’t let him in.

Don’t make it personal.

Right.

“What phone did he call you on?”

“My house phone,” Robin said.

“Is it listed?”

“No.”

Mario said, “But that doesn’t mean anything. Unlisted numbers are easy to get if you know what you’re doing.”

“Or he could have help. Someone who’s been keeping an eye on Robin while he’s been in prison.”

Robin sat heavily on a bar stool and Mario took her arm. “Are you okay?” the security expert asked, his voice concerned. Will felt a pang of jealousy. He should be the one consoling Robin.

“Why? Why would anyone want to help a killer?”

“You’d be surprised,” Carina said. “Sometimes they don’t even recognize that they’re aiding and abetting.”

“He’s not going to get to you,” Will told Robin. “I won’t let him.”

Carina reached behind the bar and popped out the CD. “I’m going to call this in, get our people working on tracking down the number he called from. It might take a little time to get the information out of the phone company, but we should have it by the end of the day.” She nodded at Mario. “Let’s check out the security system while I make the call.”

“I already-um, right. Let’s do that.”

They left. Will was alone with Robin. Her chin tilted defiantly up, jaw clenched. “Robin, please. You never let me apologize.”

She blinked rapidly. “You never tried.”

“Hell yes I did!”

Her jaw dropped. “Your idea of a fucking apology was pathetic! You accused me of bringing it on myself, that what I did naturally made you doubt me.”