Free The Last Execution by Jerrie Alexander Page B

to grind with the judicial system, had been recruited and trained. A few of the weaker individuals were brainwashed into believing they worked for the government.”
    The room had gone still. No one had eaten their pastry. Leigh’s gaze drifted to J.T.’s expressionless face. The hard line of his jaw and scowl over his dark green eyes made her wonder what thoughts ran through his mind.
    “Wasn’t the Angel of Death related to one of our agents?” Olivia’s words broke the silence.
    Leigh turned her attention back to Casey.
    “Yeah. A sister. She visits the sanatorium where her twin’s housed.”
    For one brief moment, Casey’s eyes darkened, and Leigh watched as a myriad of emotions crossed his face.
    “What about the rogue cop?” J.T.’s right eyebrow flexed. Everyone at the table had leaned forward, except him. Still as a granite statue, the intensity of his gaze said he’d immersed himself in Casey’s words.
    “Like I said, he went to the other side after the killer who beat his daughter to death went unpunished.” Casey pushed the thick file in J.T.’s direction. “Doyle Preston faked his own death. He’s alive.”
    “It’s a place to start.” J.T. turned to Romeo first. “Contact your counterpart in the New York office. There’s probably numerous boxes of evidence. Make sure we get everything. Olivia, dig into the Preston family. Look at their finances. See what they have, where it comes from, and where it goes. Leigh and I will look into the man himself.”
    Leigh barely contained herself. Again, J.T. spoke with conviction and in full-blown sentences. To her delight and relief, he’d included her. Shivers raced up her spine. She was working on the case of a lifetime. With the FBI, she had a chance to make a real difference. She followed him out to their work area unable to wipe the smile from her face.
    “You all right?” J.T. asked. “You win the lottery?”
    “Close enough. I feel like Alice in Wonderland. I keep waiting for someone to wake me up.” She laughed at the confused look on his face. “Let me explain better. Being here, with this team, it’s a dream come true.”
    “Good thing you explained, because I don’t know anybody named Alice.”
    He half smiled. Her heart fluttered. Geesh, he was beautiful. He leaned over her as she backed up and sat.
    “However, I know all about the big bad wolf.”
    Holy cow. He was flirting. Did he use his soft and sexy voice on all women? Or did she imagine he’d dropped his tone a decibel and whispered in her ear? She’d bet when he turned on the charm, the ladies lined up to be serviced. Well, she wasn’t a car in need of an oil change.
    “Pass me the folder on Preston. Please.” She intentionally spoke in the same tone she used when Ethan behaved badly. She achieved the desired results. J.T.’s face had the same deflated expression as her son’s after getting himself in trouble. “We should start with his wife.”
    J.T. rolled his chair around beside hers and laid the open file on her desk. He mumbled a string of words to himself. Something about the knot at the back of her head being too tight. He’d spoken more than his usual four-word sentence, but Leigh wasn’t about to ask him to repeat himself. She had her hands full controlling her heart rate when he casually dropped an arm across the back of her chair.
    The phrase “big bad wolf” swirled through her mind. She swallowed, ignored his woodsy scent and body heat, and drilled down into Mrs. Preston’s life.

Chapter Seven
    Thursday, April 29, 2:00 p.m.
    Leigh walked ahead with Olivia on the trip back to work. Romeo and J.T. tagged along behind. Two weeks into the temporary assignment, and if they weren’t in the field looking for a break in the case, lunch at Antonio’s Sandwich Shop was routine because the bistro was next to their parking garage.
    A light breeze ruffled the loose hair around Leigh’s face. Sunshine warmed her. She hadn’t received one anonymous call