Behind His Eyes - Convicted: The Missing Years Read Online Free PDF

done some kind of test and know for a fact that she fired a gun. Luckily, I don’t believe Ms. London is gravely injured. I just wish my sister had had better aim and it was him who was shot.”
    “You don’t have the necessary facts to make the assumptions—”
    “I need to get Nichol fed. I have instructed the police guards as to who may or may not enter her room. Goodbye, Mr. Roach.”
    Clenching his teeth, Phil nodded. Tony had said more than once that he disliked Claire’s sister. Phil concurred.
    If he couldn’t see Claire in person, he’d hack into the hospital’s records and learn about her that way. Turning around, he walked toward Courtney’s car.

Why should we look to the past in order to prepare for the future? Because there is nowhere else to look.
    —James Burke

    Brent Simmons sighed as he settled against the leather airplane seat and enjoyed a minute of relaxation. It seemed that more recently his life was a whirlwind: as soon as he extinguished one fire, another went from smoldering to blazing. Was it his profession? That could be expected with law. Or was it the company he kept? During his tenure with Rawlings Industries, he either spent his time ascertaining whether protocol was followed or steering the offending policy back on an even keel. Brent was a rule follower. He didn’t make waves. No, he was the one who calmed the passengers as the storms of life blew them about. That was probably why his and Tony’s relationship had worked from the beginning. Tony created rules, and Brent followed them. That was until now.
    Closing his eyes, he contemplated his current illegal status. He and Courtney were willingly harboring a fugitive. For the first time in his memory, Brent Simmons was knowingly breaking the law, the same law that he had taken an oath to uphold. He hadn’t stumbled into his new world of law-breaking: he’d volunteered. When Roach informed him that Tony and Claire wanted to return, temporarily, to the United States, Brent suggested without hesitation, that they come to his home. Brent knew without a doubt that Courtney would agree. After all, it wasn’t the first time he and Courtney had risked consequences to help Claire. What made this unique was that now they both also wanted to help Tony.
    Although Brent and Tony had been friends for years, their relationship wouldn’t have been considered equal—perhaps it never will be. But the last time Brent saw Tony, before last night, they’d had words, words that evened their friendship in a way as never before. Actually, that night in Boston, Brent said things he never thought he’d ever say to his friend, and it felt good. Anthony Rawlings had a way about him, an arrogance. It worked for business, but not for his personal life. Being both a friend and an employee, Brent spent most of his life walking a damn tightrope. It had gone on for too long. He’d known about Tony and Claire’s history since before their divorce. When presented with the FBI account of their past, Brent couldn’t—no, he wouldn’t—maintain his silence any longer. He had to lay it on the line.
    Then Tony disappeared.
    In the weeks and months that followed, Brent relived their argument a hundred times. His satisfaction at clearing the air wavered with the reality of never seeing Tony or Claire again. Brent and Courtney talked their way through a million scenarios. They hoped and prayed that both of their friends were safe. The part they weren’t sure about, what neither one knew what to pray for, was if Tony and Claire should be together. Brent knew in his heart that Tony wasn’t injured in an emergency plane landing. He knew that the man he’d worked beside and gotten to know as an esteemed businessman and his best friend was out searching for the woman he loved. Through endless hours of deliberation, he and Courtney debated about the missing piece of the puzzle. Why had Claire left?
    Neither Brent nor Courtney wanted to believe the story Claire’s