Free Sweet Dreams Boxed Set by Heather Graham, Alex Kava, Brenda Novak, Lee Child, Erica Spindler, Allison Brennan, Theresa Ragan, Carla Neggers, Cynthia Eden, CJ Lyons, Liliana Hart, J.T. Ellison, Tiffany Snow, Jo Robertson

because she was in a unique position to help. “But it’s a long shot.”
    “Matt—you’re not going to like this, so I’m going to be blunt. If we can’t find a solid connection between Hart and Rykov before the primary election, we’re shelving the investigation. I’ve spent far too much time working this case when we have so little evidence.”
    Matt’s jaw tightened. He understood why Dean had to manage his limited resources, but he didn’t like it. “I have one thing that may change your mind,” Matt said.
    “It’s not my mind you have to change. It’s my boss. Our budget is as tight as yours.”
    “I asked to be copied into forensics reports for this investigation, and a couple hours ago the ballistics report came back. The gun used today matches a gun used to kill a Russian prostitute three years ago in the Arden area.”
    “Can you get me a copy of that report?”
    “I’ll email it now. John Black was the lead detective.”
    “Black—good. I know him. Worked with him on a couple of investigations.”
    Matt had known that, but didn’t say anything. He was counting on Black being able to keep the investigation moving forward with or without the FBI. “That ballistics report connects Hart to the Russian community.”
    “It’s tenuous, but it’s definitely better than nothing. I’ll talk to Black tomorrow, check into this Eric Huang fellow, and call you.”
    “Thanks, Dean. I mean it.”
    “Matt—it’s hard to let things go when you know that some bastard is getting away with a major crime and you can’t prove it. But you need to prepare yourself that there might not be enough evidence against Hart.”
    “There is enough on Travis Hart,” Matt said, “the question is, are we good enough to find it.”
     
    ***
     
    Alex was exhausted and sore, but she couldn’t sleep. The digital clock she’d had since junior high glowed 12:17. After midnight and she still hadn’t been able to sleep. The familiar sounds of the old house should have soothed her, but nothing helped. She stared at the ceiling of her childhood room and relived the past. Could she have done anything else? For months she’d wondered where she’d made her misstep, where she’d screwed up, how she’d gotten to this point in her life, but she didn’t see how she could have done anything different. Certainly, she had other options—but every option had its own pitfalls. Blaming Matt Elliott for what happened to her was easy, but it wasn’t his fault. She knew that, intellectually, but she felt like she was stuck, between then and now, not knowing which way to go. Every night she went to bed, hoping the answers would be in her head when she woke up, but every morning she woke up with the same questions.
    If she can’t be a cop, what can she do?
    Being ambushed, in a way, by the hotel interview panel reminded her that her past was public information and would haunt her if she tried to do anything in the security field. It was time to move on. Maybe she should have accepted the job offer Dean Hooper had extended her. But the idea of leaving her family brought tears to her eyes. They’d always been close, but after her mom died they’d pulled together in their grief. She couldn’t imagine moving to another city let alone three thousand miles away. Her grandmother was in her eighties ... Alex would never forgive herself if she wasn’t around to help if Mimi became sick.
    She closed her eyes and hoped for sleep, but only remembered what had brought her to this point.
     
    Two weeks before she’d been shot by her partner, Alex moved out of Jim’s house. They’d been together for just shy of eighteen months, had been living together for half that time, but she knew as soon as she walked out that their relationship was over. There was no fixing this—they’d both said things that couldn’t be taken back, and the guilt that ate at Alex for keeping secrets from her lover haunted her so much she could barely eat or