Chapter TWO
MITCH TOSSEDhis gum in the waste bin under his desk and accepted the brown cardboard cup. Large size, black, perfect. He almost groaned with pleasure as the hot bitter liquid hit his tongue.
“Elixir from the gods?” Ross chuckled as he perched on the edge of Mitch’s desk.
“Fuck yes. If I can’t have the nicotine, I need the caffeine running through my veins.”
“I don’t knowhow you sleep at night with the amount of coffee you drink. It’s amazing you can even function.”
“You shouldn’t be supplying his habit, then.” They both looked as Superintendent Sutherland approached.
“I don’t know about that. Got to keep him happy, boss. You haven’t seen what a moody arsehole he can be when he’s uncaffeinated.”
“Hey!” Mitch punched Ross in the upper arm, then sank into hisoffice chair.
“I need to talk to you boys for a minute.” Sutherland’s tone changed from joking to serious in an instant. He didn’t wait for their response, just turned and headed to the conference room. Mitch raised his brows and stood again. He shrugged at Ross as the two of them followed Sutherland into the room.
The long room had a bank of windows overlooking the city. The view comprisedmultistory buildings topped with neon company names—with the many late nights he’d spent in this very room, he knew they lit up after dark—with a peek of the distant harbor in the gaps. They were too high to see the street, and the view into the adjacent office block was uninspiring.
One of the walls was made of whiteboard. It was covered in hand-drawn diagrams that looked like family trees,dates, and lines. The lines joined squares of paper that were attached by magnets. Mitch hardly spared the busy wall a glance—he’d seen it countless times. Hell, he could probably even draw it in his sleep.
“Take a seat, gentlemen.”
Mitch fell into the faux-leather chair that was a lot more flash than the one at his desk. He took another sip of coffee before placing the cup on the tabletop infront of him. Ross pulled out the chair opposite, and Sutherland paced the room. He finally came to a stop and sat next to Mitch.
“What’s up?” Mitch asked warily. Sutherland was usually pretty straightforward, so his manner seemed off. Something was most definitely up.
“Peter Crowley.”
Mitch bristled at the mention of the name, especially hearing it from his boss’s mouth. He glanced at Rossto see his eyes wide open with surprise. He swallowed heavily.
“You know him?” Sutherland asked.
Mitch sat up straighter. “You know I do.” There was no way in hell Sutherland was mentioning Peter’s name without knowing he was Mitch’s ex.
Sutherland nodded. “Then you know he has issues.”
“I do.” Tension radiated across Mitch’s shoulders. “But what has he got to do with anything?”
“So youareaware that your ex-boyfriend has a drug problem?”
Mitch stood. “Of course I’m bloody aware. It’s the reason we broke up. What’s this all about?”
“Calm down, Mitch.” Sutherland waved his hand, indicating the chair. “Take a seat, and I’ll explain.”
The chair creaked as Mitch sat. He took a sip of his coffee and looked at his boss over the rim. The man was in his midfifties but wore his age well.He didn’t have the appearance of a man about to do any damage, and Mitch thought he could read people fairly well. Sutherland looked more concerned than anything.
“It’s come to our attention that Peter Crowley has recently taken up a new association. He’s been seen with Rocky Cummings.”
Mitch blanched.Fuck!The Soldiers of Fury.His hand shook as he put down the cup.
“Jesus Christ!” Ross lookedat him in shock.
Mitch looked back to Sutherland. “When did you get the intel? How did you link him back to me?”
“A couple of days ago. He was spotted with Rocky in a car. They were driving to the airport to pick up Rocky’s brother.”
“And?”
