Brian lifted his open palms, then dropped them again. “Since he’s underage, I couldn’t question him until you got here. What I repeated to you was stuff he said on his own...” He scowled at Andy. “...despite being told several times to be quiet, as I brought him up here from booking. That was for your own good, kid. I didn’t want you to say anything that might incriminate you. If you did, it would’ve been on the record even though I wasn’t interrogating you and hadn’t read you your rights. So—God forbid—something like this happens again, keep your trap shut until your sister or a lawyer gets here.”
His gaze softened as it returned to Tess. “I’d like to ask him some questions, with your consent, and then you get to take him home. As I said, he’s not being charged with anything, so it would be an interview, not an interrogation.” That was another relief to hear. “You can also tell me to stop at any time. I’m not trying to pin anything on him, so no trick questions. I actually believe he’s not in with those idiots, but I’d like to hear if he knows anything about them that we haven’t come across yet. We’ve been trying to get them off the streets for a while now, but we haven’t been able to get hard-core evidence on some of them.”
Tess appreciated how straightforward the man was being. She’d learned some of the state’s criminal procedure law through her job, but it was nice that he made certain she understood everything. “Okay. You can ask him questions.”
Andy frowned at her but didn’t object. Good—because she was interested in hearing his answers as much as Brian was.
Chapter 3
Watching Tess escort her younger brother to the parking lot, Brian tried to keep his gaze off her ass. It was difficult to do because it was almost made for his big hands to cup and squeeze. Damn it! Why did he suddenly feel attracted to her? He’d known her for a few years, but only on a professional level. Now, out of nowhere, he was interested in getting to know her on a personal one.
It appeared she was doing her best to raise Andy. The kid might be going through the usual teenage crap like getting into trouble at school—Brian found that out during the interview—but it was evident he loved and respected his sister.
“Wow, is that Tess? I never knew she had such a hot body under those loose scrubs.”
Pivoting, Brian glared at his partner, who’d come from behind and stopped next to him. “Knock it off.”
Pulling his gaze from Tess, Rafe laughed when he noticed Brian’s annoyed expression. “Hmm. When did you start getting a hard-on for her? Not that I want to look down to confirm it or anything.”
He growled, then headed back toward the bureau’s bullpen. Fortunately, Rafe didn’t keep razzing him. If he had, all Brian would need to do was bring up Dr. Suki Ralston, the FBI psychologist, and that would’ve shut the dark-haired man up.
“So, the kid’s not involved with the Crew?” Rafe asked, following Brian into the bureau.
“No, thank God. Tess has got her hands full raising him, but after talking with him, I’m convinced he’s got nothing to do with them. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
After asking Andy a bunch of questions for over half an hour, Brian hadn’t gotten any intel he hadn’t been aware of already. The Devil’s Crew was your typical street gang—territorial drug dealers, car thieves, burglars, and robbers. Some members were serving short sentences in the local county jail for misdemeanors, while others were doing hard time in prison. But like he’d told Tess, plenty of gang members were still out there, being menaces to society. Andy said he knew who they were through other students in his high school but avoided them whenever possible because they were bad news. Andy wasa computer geek, not a hardened criminal in the making.
As Brian sat at his desk to work on a few reports and cases, his cell phone rang. Glancing at the screen, he smiled and then answered the call. “Hey, Moriah. How’s my favorite sister-in-law?”
Her laughter rang out. “I’m your only sister-in-law, Bri. At least until Grace and Sean get married in September.”
“True. So, what’s up?”
“KC and I are bringing Megan down to the beach house for the weekend for Uncle Dan’s birthday. I wanted to know if you needed anything from the NEX? I already spoke to Sean and got his order.”
Living just off the naval base in Little Creek, Virginia, Moriah taught elementary school while KC worked as a SEAL instructor. With access to the NEX—a tax-free department store on base offering everything from household goods to clothing at discounted prices—she’d gotten into the habit of asking family if they needed anything whenever they made a trip. When they visited Whisper, they stayed at Uncle Dan’s beach house, since he’d moved into the apartment above his hardware store a few years earlier.
“Um, I’m sure I need a few things. Can I text you a list later after I get home?”
“Of course. Oh, and by the way, we picked up the portrait. It came out amazing! Dan is going to love it.” The Malone brothers had been wracking their brainstrying to think of a birthday present for the amazing man who’d adopted his brother’s children as his own after their parents’ deaths. If it hadn’t been for Dan, the siblings would have ended up in foster care.
They’d almost run out of ideas for a special gift when Moriah suggested a painted family portrait. The last time she and KC had brought Megan for a visit, she’d taken a photo of Dan, KC, Sean, Brian, Megan, and Dan’s dog, Jinx, posing on the beach. She then gave it to an artist friend on the Navy base to recreate the image on a canvas. When Brian had asked why Moriah, Grace, and Bonnie Whitman, Dan’s girlfriend and Grace’s aunt, hadn’t joined in the picture, Bonnie responded that they’d be added after Brian found the woman he would marry one day.
His response had been, “Well, that’s never going to happen, so get in the damn photo.”
The women had all scoffed and rolled their eyes. No matter what Brian said, he hadn’t been able to convince them he was a bachelor for life. When Sean, KC, and Dan told him to shut the hell up and let them take the picture, he finally surrendered.
Brian was happy his brothers and uncle had fallen in love with their women, but he’d never met someone who made him think about settling down and having kids someday. He liked living alone and didn’t want some woman moving in, redecorating, and messing with his routines. And don’t even get him started on the idea of kids. Yeah, he loved Megan, but he’d beenscared as hell to hold her when she was an infant, terrified he would drop her. Although he would admit to being in awe watching KC with his daughter during the first few times they visited Whisper after the little girl was born. The big, bad Navy SEAL had changed her dirty diapers, fed her, and carried her around like he’d been doing it all his life. He hadn’t even blinked when she’d puked formula all over his new shirt. It took everything in Brian not to barf up his own dinner after seeing that. He’d grown much more comfortable around Megan since her first birthday rolled around two months earlier, but he couldn’t wait until she was a little older and not so fragile.
After finishing his chat with Moriah, Brian tossed the cell phone on his desk. He was about to dive into his paperwork when his landline rang. The caller ID read “Coastal District’s Assistant Director,” and Brian picked up the handset. “Malone.”
“Grab Montoya and head out to Highway 344 and Herrington Road. Fatal three-car accident—at least two dead and one critical. A trunkful of narcotics was found in one of the vehicles—the driver is in custody with minor injuries. Troopers secured the scene. SBI was requested for the stash.”
“Shit.”
Sitting at the desk across from him, Rafe set down the report he’d been reviewing and narrowed his eyes at Brian, waiting to hear what had prompted the curse.
“My words exactly,” AD Johanssen replied. “I’ll let them know you’re on your way.”
