Free InTooDeep by Rachel Carrington

knows this Carley woman. She’s supposed
to be ten times better than her father. I don’t think she’s going to give up.”
    Eyes lighting with an inner spark that
should have scared Franklin, Rena stabbed her cigarette out in a jade candy
dish. “Maybe not, but perhaps we can work this to our advantage. I mean, it
would be positively rude of us not to allow the sisters to see each other one
last time, don’t you think?”
     
    “Great. You’re alive. So what’s the word on
Carley Morgan? Did you find her?” Dave didn’t apologize for the lateness of the
hour once Hunt had opened his front door. Instead he shouldered his way into
the dimly lit foyer.
    “You look like hell.” Hunt played for time
but it wasn’t a lie. With more than a day’s growth of stubble on his face,
red-rimmed eyes and wrinkled clothes, Dave looked like he’d slept in a
cigarette-filled bunker.
    “Funny. You don’t look any better and no
one knows where you’ve been for the last three hours. You weren’t answering
your cell or your radio and, being that I’m your partner, I’m sure you can
understand why I’m here at,” he checked his watch, “one in the morning.”
    Dave circled him once then nodded. “Just had
to see for myself that you’re still alive.”
    “Well now you saw. Can I get back to bed
now? We can cover everything once the sun comes up.” Hunt scrubbed a hand over
his eyes even though his head hadn’t touched a pillow yet.
    Making a rude noise, Dave stormed past him
into the dark living room. “Hell no. I want answers. I deserve answers.”
    Hunt had been debating how much to share
with his partner. He trusted Dave, had looked into the man’s background, his
record, and if his partner was involved in this ring he had nothing to show for
it. Dave wasn’t living above his means and he was as dedicated to his job as
Hunt was to his.
    But the information he could pass along was
limited, even though he’d already spilled most of it to Carley. Carley didn’t
work for the police. She didn’t sit behind a desk under Franklin’s command
every day so the likelihood of letting something slip was limited.
    Dave, on the other hand, loved to talk, but
Hunt had to go with his gut on this one…at least partly anyway.
    “Okay, what the hell is going on? You’ve
got this strange look on your face and I’m beginning to think you’re trying to
figure out a lie to tell me.”
    Hunt let out a heavy breath and pointed to
the sofa. “You’d better sit down. I’m going to put some coffee on because this
is going to take some time.” He stopped on his way out of the room to switch on
the overhead light. “I’m presuming you weren’t in any hurry to go home.”
    “No, I think what you’re about to tell me
is infinitely more interesting than anything I could catch on the TV at this
late hour.”
     
    Sliding beneath the silk sheets, Carley
closed her eyes on a sigh. Staying alert was taxing but, as her father always
said, the payoff was worth it in the end.
    Never let your guard down . His words rang over and over in her head. She’d lived by them from
the moment she’d realized what her family was, what she would become. And once
she’d chosen to follow in the footsteps of her family, she’d gotten the words
tattooed in Latin on the small of her back—a permanent reminder that a thief
who let their guard down was a thief captured.
    “I sure do wish you were here now, Pop,”
she whispered in the darkness. Her father had always believed the justice
system was flawed so he’d made it his business to give it an occasional kick in
the ass when he could without exposing his identity.
    Ben Morgan would have known what to do the
second he’d gotten the call from the kidnappers. There would have been no
hesitation and, more than likely, once he’d found the men who’d taken Dani he’d
have eliminated them. That’s just how things worked with their father. And for
the first time in as long as she could remember,