Free Fatal Secrets by Allison Brennan

Sacramento Police Department—four to midnight—and lunchtime was his breakfast. He was a year younger than Sonia, though they’d gone through high school in the same grade because Sonia had had to play catch-up when she came to live with the Knights.
    She affectionately punched Riley on the arm with a “Hey” and hugged her mom.
    “Nice surprise,” Marianne said. “I’ll grill another sandwich.”
    “I don’t have time,” she said as she poured herself a cup of coffee. “I need to talk to Andres.”
    “You can take it with you.” Marianne’s tone said no arguments.
    Riley smirked when Sonia glanced at him. “Don’t fight it, sis. Besides, you can’t live on coffee alone.”
    “I had breakfast.”
    “Ha. Let me guess: drive-through Starbucks, blueberry scone.”
    “They were out of blueberry by the time I got there,” Sonia retorted. “I had to get vanilla.”
    “You slept in so long you missed out on blueberry scones?” Riley teased.
    “I was on a stakeout. Didn’t leave until nine A.M.”
    Marianne frowned as she took a perfectly toasted ham and cheese off the pan. “And you haven’t slept?”
    “Trace drove back,” Sonia lied, only so her mom wouldn’t worry. “I had nearly an hour of sleep.”
    Riley gave her the look that said
bullshit
, and whether Marianne believed her or not, she didn’t let on. “An hour’s sleep isn’t good for your reflexes,” she said. “Be careful today.”
    “Where’s Andres?”
    “At the park with your dad. Owen is teaching him baseball. Andres is a natural, has taken to the sport better than Riley and Max.”
    “Not for lack of trying,” Riley said.
    “They’ll be back any minute,” Marianne said.
    “How’s he doing?” Sonia asked, sitting across from Riley. He gave her a look, obviously curious about her stakeout.
Later
, she mouthed. Riley knew she was going after Jones, but she didn’t want to go into details in front of their mom. It was a clandestine investigation, and she technically shouldn’t have talked to Riley about it, but she had needed his help to find Andres last week after the anonymous email. And she liked to talk to her brother. He was easygoing and smart. He both listened and offered sound advice.
    “As good as can be expected,” Marianne replied. “He’s worried about his sister, of course, but he’s eating well and seems to enjoy going to the park. And before you say it, yes, we’re keeping a close eye on him.”
    “I know,” Sonia said.
    The back door opened and Owen and Andres walked in, all smiles, with balls and bat and a large German shepherd who bounded over to Sonia when he saw her, and sat at attention, his tail barely restrained. She scratched the former police dog between the ears. “Hey, Sarge, I missed you, too.”
    Andres’s smile faltered when he saw Sonia, and she felt awful that he expected bad news from her. “Hi, Andres,” she said in Spanish with a smile. “I hear you’re the next Jose Canseco.”
    He beamed nervously, glancing up at Owen. After family, Owen’s next love was baseball.
    “I have tickets to the Giants game tomorrow,” Owen said, “and I’d like to take Andres if it’s okay.”
    “Sure,” Sonia said. “It sounds like fun.”
    “You can come?” Andres asked hopefully.
    She shook her head. “Sorry, I have to work.”
    “I have the day off,” Riley said. “I’ll go.”
    Andres smiled.
    Sonia glanced at Riley, but said nothing. She knew he didn’t have the day off—he worked Monday through Friday—but their parents didn’t seem to catch on and Riley subtly shook his head at her.
    “Andres, I have a couple questions for you.”
    “Wash up,” Marianne interrupted, pointing them to the sink. “Lunch is ready.”
    Sonia glanced at her watch. Marianne handed her a paper bag. “You can eat in the car, dear.”
    She kissed her mother’s cheek and took the bag. “Thanks, Mom.”
    When Andres sat down, Sonia said, “Andres, when you left the garage where you