AllFreeNovel
Share Us
After checking the vehicle identification number, he stumbled back to his squad car and called dispatch. The answer was brief. It was the type of news he never wanted to hear.
The car had been stolen four days earlier down in Minnetonka. The cell call reporting the accident had been traced to Nina Olson from Hawthorne, who’d said she was giving the driver a lift.
Now Nina’s body had been found in a roadside ditch ten miles away, with one neat .45 caliber bullet wound at the back of her head and most of her face blown away.
And the white Ford Explorer registered in her name was missing.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
AFTER CONSIDERING the situation carefully and discussing it with Allen on the phone, Sara planned to tell Nathan tonight about her undercover operation.
It had been a hard secret to keep from him as they’d grown closer. Now she needed to let him know before he found out on his own, and so he’d be prepared when the big drug shipment came through and other agents arrived.
There were cases where local law-enforcement officials weren’t told about an operation until after a raid went down, but she wouldn’t let that happen this time.
She’d expected Nathan at seven. When he called at six and told her he’d be late, she understood that he’d had unexpected developments on a case.
There were no guarantees of regular hours in law enforcement. A late call at the end of the shift, complications during a traffic stop, accidents or serving as backup for another officer all meant a ten-hour shift could stretch to eleven or twelve.
When he appeared on her doorstep at ten in a ski jacket, sweater, and jeans, his face drawn and haggard and his eyes weary, she instantly knew he’d faced more than simple complications.
He’d changed, but he hadn’t shaved, and his five o’clock shadow made him look like some renegade rock star instead of the law.
As soon as he stepped inside, she wrapped him in a hug. “You must have had a bad call,” she murmured against his chest. “Anything you can talk about?”
His arms enfolded her in return, and he rested his chin on the top of her head. “No, and it wouldn’t be something you’d want to hear if I could. Sorry I’m late. I’m not sure we can get to any restaurants before closing. The only places we could try would be one of the pizza places in town, or maybe your favorite—the Bait ’n Burger.”
Laughing, she pulled back enough to look up at him. “Let’s skip that one.” She reached over to the kitchen counter, snagged the remote control lying there and handed it to him. “You channel-surf and I’ll make you an omelet. Deal?”
He grinned. “Thanks.”
“Or if you’d rather, go lie down on the sofa and I’ll call you when it’s ready.”
Giving her a grateful smile, he headed for the sofa with Harold at his heels. She assembled the omelet ingredients and then peeked in on him.
He was already asleep, Harold curled up at his feet.
