Force of Nature Read Online Free PDF

there, and the next he had Bobby Donofrio up against the wall, his right arm pressed hard against the son of a bitch’s throat. “But the dead kids—Francisco and Jorge Flores,” Ric heard himself snarl as the prick struggled to get free. He held him even tighter. “Them you can throw away. Who the fuck cares—they’re just two more Hispanics who won’t grow up and go to jail, clog the system, right?”
    “Ricky, hey. Hey, hey. You’re choking him, man.”
    It was true. Bobby D’s face was turning even more red than usual.
    And Martell was right behind him. “Ric, come on, brother. This isn’t you. Let him go.”
    Ric exhaled hard. And stepped back.
    Donofrio sucked in a breath and then shoved him hard, pushing him into the lunch table, knocking over chairs. “I’ll kill you, you fuck!”
    Ow. Ric felt his stitches rip as he rolled away, avoiding a full body slam from big boy Bob.
    Johnny had run to get the lieutenant, and she exploded into the room, clapping her hands together as if they were misbehaving lapdogs. “Stop this. Right this minute!”
    “He fucking jumped me,” Bobby D shouted, letting Johnny help him up and hold him back, “out of the fucking blue!”
    “Lieutenant,” Martell said smoothly as Ric pulled himself to his feet. “Ric shouldn’t even be here. He’s on pain meds and his judgment is a little—”
    “I’m not on pain meds,” Ric said.
    Martell shot him an exasperated look. “So much for our defense strategy.”
    “I’m not going to lie,” Ric told his friend.
    “I would never ask you to lie.” Martell was offended. “Although, I suspect that if you took a blood test, we’d find—”
    Donofrio chimed in again: “The cholo fucking jumped me!”
    Martell got big. “Oh,
that’s
nice! You gonna nigger me now,
dude
?”
    “You!” The lieutenant pointed at Ric and Martell. “Out in the hall. You, Donofrio. Do yourself a huge favor and be silent!”
    Martell pulled Ric out of the coffee room. “Ah, man—you’re bleeding.”
    “Yeah, my stitches were…whoa.” The entire side of his T-shirt was soaked with blood. That wasn’t good. Still it was going to have to wait. He had to talk to the lieutenant. “I’m done here,” Ric told his friend.
    “I’ll say.” Martell was looking for something to wipe his hands on, so Ric offered him the clean side of his shirt. “We need to get you back to the hospital and—”
    “No, Martell, I’m done here. Like, done forever.”
    “You know, it’s possible we can argue extenuating circumstances. How long have I known you? Ten years? And how many times have I ever seen you lose it like that? I can probably count ’em on my thumbs, so—”
    “No,” Ric interrupted again. “I mean I’m done.
I’m
done.”
Claim the kill…
Jesus God.
    Martell finally got it. “Wow. This is…new.”
    Ric shook his head. “No, actually, it’s not. It’s been coming for a while.”
    Martell laughed his exasperation. “Did you, like, tell me and I missed it? Studying for the bar exam—I know I was pretty self-absorbed, but…”
    “No,” Ric said. “I didn’t tell you. I didn’t tell anyone. It’s just…” He shook his head. How do you bring up a topic like that?
Hey, man. Wanna beer? Your softball team’s looking good this year. And oh, by the way, I’m feeling more and more dissatisfied with my life and I don’t know why. On the surface, everything looks perfect, but I’m thinking about shaking things up. Quitting the job that I supposedly love…
    The lieutenant emerged from the coffee room, closing the door tightly behind her, looking none too pleased. “Alvarado, what is wrong with you? Get out of here. I don’t want to see you for a full week. And when you do come back, you better be ready to apologize to Bob. That’s the only way you’ll be able to…What’s this?”
    Ric held out his sidearm and badge.
    She took it. Shook her head. “I’m not suspending you.”
    “He’s done,” Martell told her, and