Free Carter: The Sinner Saints #1 by Adrienne Bell Page A

hiding somewhere in the office. They didn’t leave happy though. Looks like you’re officially wanted for questioning in two shootings now.”
    “So, no witnesses saw the other shooter at the Weaver’s?”
    “Doesn’t look like it,” Mason said. “From the sound of it Fuller wasn’t just trying to get rid of Ally. He was also looking to pin it on you.”
    “Again,” Carter added. “He won’t get away with it. Fuller can’t keep coming at us this aggressively and not leave a trail of evidence behind.”
    There was a beat of silence from Mason. Apparently, his friend didn’t share his optimism.
    “You disagree?” Carter asked.
    “I don’t know,” Mason said. Carter could almost imagine his old friend shaking his head slowly as he spoke, just the way he used to back when they’d debated tactics at West Point. “Fuller is powerful, well-connected. He’s not known for making mistakes, just like he’s not known for forgiving them. I don’t think we’ll be able to get anyone to turn on him. Right now, everyone is more afraid of him than they are of us.”
    Carter laid his palm against the windowpane. “We’ve dealt with men like him before.”
    “Yeah,” Mason said. “But this one you can’t take out with a sniper bullet.”
    Now, it was Carter’s turn for silence.
    “Wait,” Mason said with more than a hint of anxiety in his voice. “Please tell me that’s not your plan.”
    If only.
    “It’s not my plan,” Carter said.
    “Thank God.” Mason said, letting out a long breath. “Besides, you’d have a hell of a time getting at him.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “Congressman Fuller boarded a flight back to DC this morning.”
    “Before the attempt on Ally’s life?” Carter asked.
    “Exactly,” Mason said. “My guess is he’s betting it’s harder to pin attempted murder on a man that’s nearly three thousand miles away.”
    Carter propped his fist up against the windowpane. “That just means someone else in his organization is running the operation. Any theories?”
    “Well, Fuller’s Communications Director did get a promotion today for ‘his years of loyal service’. He’s now Chief of Staff.”
    “Lucas Addams?” The worm from the party. Carter remembered him well. “That was quick. I take it he didn’t leave with the congressman this morning.”
    “No. It appears he’ll be staying in town to oversee the investigation of last night’s shooting,” Mason said.
    “How convenient,” Carter mused.
    “My thoughts exactly,” Mason agreed. “So, I did a little digging on Mr. Addams, and found out this isn’t his first job with Buck Fuller. He also worked closely with Fuller as a Threat Analyst with the Security Department at Allied Dynamics years ago.”
    Lucas Addams’ job title might have changed, but Carter was willing to bet that his position wasn’t all that different. So, he was the reason that Fuller had remained bulletproof all these years. At least Carter finally understood why he’d disliked the man almost instantly.
    “How close is Charlie on the flash drive?” Carter asked.
    “She’s working on it. Seems Harvey Price was seriously paranoid. She’s having a hell of a time trying to crack the encryption.”
    Was it still paranoia if the man’s fears were justified?
    “Let me know the second she finds anything,” Carter, said.
    “Sure thing,” Mason said. “How’s Miss Weaver doing?”
    Carter slowly turned around to face Ally. A warm feeling spread through him at the sight of her curled up on the bed.
    “She’s holding up.” The truth was, she was doing a hell of a lot better than that. She was tired and she was stressed, but she was far from broken. Not that he would have blamed her had she fallen to pieces. Carter had known lots of strong people who would have cracked under the strain of two attempts on their lives in as many days.
    “She seems like a fighter,” Mason said.
    Carter smiled. His friend didn’t know the half of it.
    He must