Free Fatal Secrets by Allison Brennan Page A

had been held, you said that a man left the door unbolted and told you to run when he walked away.”
    Andres nodded, his brown eyes troubled.
    Sonia took a picture out of the folder she’d brought with her. “Is this the man?”
    Andres looked at the photograph of Charlie Cammarata.Riley tensed beside her. Sonia hadn’t told her parents about her history with Charlie, but she kept few secrets from her brother.
    “Si,”
he said. “He said run.”
    Sonia’s chest tightened. Charlie was in the middle of a dangerous game. “Thank you.” Her voice was clipped as she forced a half-smile. She had to find Charlie and talk to him. Something big was going on, otherwise he wouldn’t have sidled up to a known trafficker like Xavier Jones. Charlie would have been more likely to assassinate Jones than go undercover and work for him simply to gather information.
    And, Sonia reminded herself, Charlie was no longer in law enforcement. But that didn’t mean that an agency wouldn’t hire him freelance, even though he was a volatile maverick.
    “I need to go,” she said, standing.
    “I’ll walk you out,” Riley said.
    She wished she could avoid her brother, at least until she had more information, but he’d hound her until she talked.
    She grabbed her lunch and kissed Andres on the head. “I’ll see you later, okay? Have fun at the ball game.”
    Before the front door shut, Riley asked, “What’s that bastard Cammarata doing here?”
    “I don’t know,” she admitted.
    “Dammit, I don’t like this. He almost got you killed, Sonia, because he was a selfish, conniving rogue agent. And he was the one who freed Andres? What about his sister? Did he sell her? So he could track down her buyer?”
    Sonia had always been quick to temper, and herbrother set her off worse than anyone. “That’s not fair,” she said. “Don’t you dare bring that up—”
    “It’s true. He used you, Sonia. And you nearly died. Cammarata should have been put in
prison
, not just lost his badge.”
    “Charlie snapped, but he was a damn good agent for a long time.”
    “Don’t you defend him!”
    “I’m not. I’m the one who turned him in!”
    “And you’ve felt guilty about it ever since.”
    “If the situation was reversed, wouldn’t you? The blue code is just as real to federal cops as it is to you. So don’t tell me you wouldn’t feel exactly like I did when I testified against Charlie, and don’t talk about him like he was a criminal. He made a mistake—”
    “He made
a lot
of mistakes.” Riley ran both hands through his disheveled hair. “Sonia, I’m sorry, but I love you and I hate what he put you through.”
    “I’m okay.”
    Riley put his hands on her shoulders and looked hard at her. “Are you?”
    “Yes
. I’m fine. I can handle Charlie. But I’ll admit this situation has me confused. My boss is trying to find out if Charlie is working undercover—freelance, maybe—for another agency. The FBI is after Jones for money laundering. There’s no trail on where Maya was taken. I’m at the end of my rope and am going to be late for a meeting with the FBI white-collar crimes unit to share notes on Jones. And to be honest, I don’t know what else to do but go along with them.”
    “You can use what they have as leverage, get the information you need.”
    “Absolutely. The thing is, I don’t think they have anythingsolid, either. I think they have what I have: circumstantial evidence that is pointing to Jones, but with no hard facts to haul his ass into an interrogation room. But with Charlie inside—”
    “Who would bring him on? No one trusts him.”
    Sonia straightened. “That’s it.”
    “You’ve lost me.”
    “No one trusts him, but when you’re desperate you will do anything.”
    “Still lost over here.”
    “I know who hired him. Or rather, not who but why.”
    “This dumb cop is still in the dark,” Riley said, irritated.
    Sonia rolled her eyes at him. “Think about it. Charlie is a