Free Black and Shadow by Caryn Moya Block Page A

everything on her food tray. She liked that he
looked out for her, though she felt a little guilty taking him away
from work. He did have a job with huge responsibilities to
fulfill.
    She returned to the picture of her
brother’s body. Fred’s eyes were closed. If he had been afraid,
shouldn’t it show on his face? He looked like he’d gone to
sleep.
    Jessica shook her head. It didn’t make
sense. The bullet to the heart had to have been shot at point blank
range. The person who killed him stood right in front of him. Why
didn’t he move, turn to the side, or fall to the ground to avoid
the bullet? It seemed almost like he didn’t see the gun.
    Then, like a flash, a thought smacked
her. Fred knew his killer. Whoever walked up to him wasn’t a
surprise and he didn’t see the gun until he or she fired. Fred got
killed by a friend.
    She reached for Joe with
her telepathy. “Joe, Fred knew his killer!
He had to. That’s why they got the drop on him. They were
friends!”
    “I’ll be down in a minute.
I hope you’re resting. I’m thinking we should do a jail break
tonight and get you out of that clinic. I’m sure a nice dinner
would help with your healing.”
    Jessica grinned. “I’m sure you’re right.” The quicker she got out of the clinic, the quicker she could
find who killed her brother.
     
    §
     
    Joe stared at the images that flashed
across his computer. The men who trashed Fred’s apartment had
waited until someone else walked in to grab the gate before it
closed. They both wore dark clothing, but Joe recognized Greasy
Hair as one of the men. He should run their pictures by the
sheriff’s office and see if the guys had a record. They looked like
hired help. Greasy Hair had mentioned “the boss” when Jessica got
shot, so they knew Thanatos’s real identity. If he could find the
men, they could lead him to the drug lord, or with the right
persuasion tell him who it was.
    He copied the file to a thumb drive
and slipped it into his pocket. Then he printed a picture of the
men. He’d promised to show everything to Jessica, but he wasn’t
above getting as much information as he could first. He didn’t want
her going off on her own with a drug lord threatening
her.
    He wanted to keep her safe, and have
the time to leisurely get to know her and every place on her body
that gave her pleasure. His pulse quickened. He adjusted his
position. Dammit, he wanted her. The Shadow Dimension marked her as
his mate. He needed to claim her, soon.
    The phone rang, jarring him from his
thoughts.
    “Running Bear…”
    “Joe. I have the information you
wanted on the DEA agent,” General Holland said.
    The general had recruited the Shadow
Walkers to spy for the government. Several including Derek still
did so, though Raven, chief of their tribe, had told everyone to
terminate their contracts. Raven wanted the men to settle down and
find their mates, so the Shadow Walker Tribe could repopulate their
numbers. The general remained a friend, though, and swapped favors
with the Shadow Walkers. If anyone could find the truth about Agent
Kurt Kramer, it was him.
    “Everyone I talked to said they think
the man is dirty. But they can’t prove it. He doesn’t own anything
except an expensive car. He rents an apartment in Albuquerque. Oh,
and he has a younger sister, though she seems to have disappeared
several years ago. Not sure how that happened. Maybe the guy killed
her. I don’t know, Joe, but I wouldn’t trust him farther than I
could throw him.”
    “Thanks, General. Out of curiosity,
what’s the sister’s name?”
    “Kelly. She went to high school in New
York somewhere. Her records get kind of spotty after that. Looks
like she traveled around a lot, maybe got married. Then around
three years ago, nothing.”
    “Nothing at all? You didn’t find a
death certificate?” Kelly Kramer, why did that name ring a bell? It
couldn’t be the sister if she disappeared three years
ago.
    “Nope. It’s like she fell