Allison Brennan - Fear No Evil

Mick Mallory was on a respirator, the monitors tracking his heart and lung function. “Jack said his kidney?”

“His right kidney is gone. Fortunately he can survive with one. He lost a lot of blood. Your brother saved his life. He would have bled to death.”

“Is he conscious?”

“Yes.”

They walked into the room.

Peterson stood next to the bed. “Mallory, wake up.”

The man opened his eyes. He was forty with a short military cut and hard brown eyes. His face had been through an ordeal prior to being shot, but he might have been handsome if not for a three-inch scar across his cheekbone.

“Who are you?” His voice was scratchy.

Peterson flashed his ID. “SAC Quincy Peterson, Seattle. I have a few questions.”

Mallory stared at him. “Did you find the girl in time?”

“Yes,” Peterson said.

Mallory’s entire body seemed to relax. He closed his eyes, let out a long breath. “I’m sorry.”

“When did you go undercover in Scott’s operation?”

“Scott?” Mallory opened his eyes, questioning.

Peterson explained how they had learned Trask’s real identity, then repeated, “When did you join his operation?”

“I’m not allowed to tell anyone but my supervisor.”

“Merritt?”

Mallory nodded. “It’s bad. I know it’s bad.” He looked at Dillon. “Who are you?”

“Dillon Kincaid. Lucy’s brother.”

“I didn’t want to hurt her.”

“But you would have. Had Kate not made the deal with Adam Scott, you would have raped her to protect your cover.”

“Kate? She got my message in time? I was afraid Trask-Scott-had intercepted it and that’s how he knew I was undercover.”

“Kate got your message. Can you explain what led to your being shot this afternoon?” Peterson asked.

Mallory frowned. Sweat formed on his brow, and his heart monitor started beating faster. “He called me off. I…I didn’t want to hurt her. I really didn’t. But if I exposed myself, I would be dead and who would have protected her?”

“But Scott figured out who you were anyway.”

“At first I didn’t know. He said he had a job to do off the island and needed me as backup. I thought, this is my chance. Except he had a fail-safe plan with Roger Morton. If he didn’t check in, Roger was to kill the girl and disappear. I wouldn’t have enough time to get back to her. And I didn’t know if Kate had gotten the message or understood it. So I went with him.

“He told me all about Kate Donovan. How she had put an end to his legitimate business and he had to resort to illegal porn. How he set a trap for her. That no one would believe her anymore because of all the false leads. He pulled Lucy off-camera to entice Kate to come.

“Then he told me that I was the bait. He decked me before I could reach my gun, disarmed me, and then drugged me.”

“Where does Merritt fit in all this?” Peterson demanded. “This was not a sanctioned undercover operation.”

Mallory started coughing. His heart was racing and sweat poured from his skin. Dillon said, “He needs a doctor. He’s going into shock.”

Peterson stopped Dillon from pressing the call button. He leaned forward. “Mick, talk to me. What’s Merritt up to?”

“He…revenge. For Paige. He wanted me to kill him.”

Dillon pulled his arm from Peterson’s grip and pressed the nurse call button. Almost instantly one came in, checked Mallory’s vitals, and paged the doctor.

“You need to leave,” she said.

“Where’s Scott going now?” Dillon asked Mallory.

“I don’t know! I-” Mallory flopped on the bed. Two doctors rushed in and pushed Dillon and Peterson out of the room.

“Shit,” Peterson said, running a hand through his hair.

“Kate’s in trouble.”

“She’s in more trouble than from a killer on the run. I heard from my people in San Diego. Merritt is up here and he’s going to take her into custody.”

“No. She saved Lucy’s life!”

“There’s nothing I can do about it tonight, but tomorrow I’ll call in every favor I have.”

“She didn’t do anything.”

“She needs to answer for her actions, face the Office of Professional Responsibility. They’ll decide whether to prosecute or not.”

“But prison?”

“Merritt is high-ranking. I’ll do what I can. He crossed the line sending Mick Mallory into a deep undercover job. I’ll push Merritt, maybe get something we can cut a deal with.”

Peterson went down and Dillon went up three flights of stairs to where Kate had had her arm sewn up. She sat on the edge of her bed, alone. She was still wearing the white, bloody tank top. Her arm was bandaged. She was dirty, pale, and so tired it was all Dillon could do not to gather her in his arms and hold her.

“How’s Lucy?” she asked.

“Alive. Thanks to you.”

“And you.” She sighed. “No word on Scott?”

“No.” Dillon sat next to her, took her hand. “How are you feeling?”

“I’m fine. The arm was nothing. More messy than anything. I just want to find a place to take a hot shower.”

“I have a hotel reservation.”

“What about Lucy? Aren’t you going back to San Diego?”

“She’s going back in the morning. She’s resting now. Peterson put a guard on her door. My sister Carina is with her now.”

“And you’re not going?”

“I’m going to talk to Roger Morton tomorrow morning. He called for his attorney, but Peterson and I are going to tag-team him. I’ve had experience interviewing killers.”

Dillon took a deep breath. “You need to know something. Your boss, the one you told me about, Merritt, is coming here. He wants to arrest you.”

“I expected it.”

Dillon turned her chin so she was forced to look him in the eye. “I will do everything in my power to make sure you don’t go to prison. Quinn Peterson will call in every favor. My brother Jack seems to know everyone on the planet. I’ll ask him to call the president of the United States if we have to.”

A tear slipped out of the corner of her eye and Dillon wiped it with his thumb. Put his thumb to his lips and tasted her agony.

“I think you should do the right thing, face the board and tell them everything that happened five years ago. Including what you told me on the plane. That your partner wasn’t honest with you from the beginning. I know she’s dead, and she’s not here to answer the charges for herself. But she was your best friend. She would not want you to go to prison for something that wasn’t your fault. You acted to the best of your ability and knowledge. No one can expect anything more.”

“I-”

Dillon put his finger to her lips. “But,” he said, his voice low, “if you think the deck is stacked against you, if you think you can’t face it, I’ll help you disappear.”

“You’d do that for me? Why?”

He didn’t know why. A torrent of emotions assaulted him, feelings he’d never had. He’d never been an emotional man. He was reasonable, intelligent, professional. Reason over feelings, logic over emotion.

But here with Kate Donovan, his feelings refused to remain buried. He just didn’t know what to call them. He’d never experienced them before.

For a person who made his living working with other people’s emotions, Dillon was at a loss to understand his own heart.

“You saved Lucy,” he said simply.

“You’ll help me out of duty,” she said flatly.

“No, not duty. It’s more than that.”

She stared at him. “What? If not duty, why would you break the law to help me?”

“You’ve shown me more about myself than I’ve ever seen. You pushed me. You trusted me. You trusted me even when everyone you’ve trusted has let you down.”