Nowhere To Run (To Protect And Serve) Read Online Free PDF Page B

about Jeremy’s disturbing change in attitude. For months before his death, Jeremy had become withdrawn. Moody. Angry. So unlike the carefree kid she’d help raise.
    Jordan finally confronted her brother, but Jeremy had refused to talk. When she’d demanded to know what was going on in his life, he’d actually laughed in her face. Right before he’d asked her how well she really thought she knew him or Caesar.
    At the time, she’d thought Jeremy’s comments strange considering he all but worshiped Caesar.
    To cover up the doubts running through her mind she as ked, “How could this have happened to Jeremy? The police said they found him in South Bronx? What the hell was he doing there? I don’t understand any of this. My brother’s not supposed to be dead at nineteen.”
    Caesar stopped walking and turned to her. “I don’t know.” He hesitated for a moment. “Jeremy…well he had his demons.”
    S uddenly, she was afraid of what he might say. She forgot all about the courage she’d felt in Riley Donovan’s presence. “What do you mean?”
    “ You honestly didn’t notice the change in him over the past few weeks?”
    Of course, she had. Jeremy had become a total stranger. He rarely opened up to her anymore, which made his sudden urgent need to talk that much more mysterious.
    “You were working such long hours at the hospital after our…argument.” Caesar was saying.
    She didn’t want to discuss their problems tonight. Not now. “No, I did notice. You’re right. He had changed.” Caesar reached for her hand and brought her back into the circle of his arms. For the time being, she couldn’t afford to tip him off. “He wanted to talk to me. He said he had something important to discuss.” Just for a moment, Caesar’s steps faltered. He caught himself, but she’d seen something change in his expression. He looked worried.
    “What did he want to talk about ?” They’d reached Caesar’s car. He studied her expression carefully before opening the passenger door. He waited as she got into the low-slung Mercedes.
    “I don’t know. We were supposed to get together tonight after my shift ended. I never called him or heard from him. Things became so crazy. I lost track of time. I got the page from ER and then--” And then her world had shattered.
    Caesar started the car then turned to her. “We may never know everything that was going on in Jeremy’s life. You cannot torture yourself. Jeremy made his own decisions.”
    “You think this is drug related, don’t you?”
    “Isn’t it obvious? You were too close to him to see all the signs. Your brother’s behavior changed dramatically. And I didn’t want to mention this before, but I’d noticed things missing from the apartment. Valuable, irreplaceable items. Jeremy had begun stealing. All classic signs of someone supporting a drug habit, I believe.”
    Even in death , Jordan wanted to protect her brother. She’d been protecting him most of his life. But the truth would come out no matter how hard she tried to deny it. Of all people, Jordan understood the process. There’d be an autopsy. Her brother’s body would be cut apart.
    The truth would come out.
    She didn’t know how to defend Jeremy from himself. Jordan turned away to stare out the window. The sympathy in Caesar’s eyes appeared genuine. He was so good at making her believe a lie. She no longer knew what was real and what was yet another lie. All she could do now was try to uncover the truth for her brother.
    T he city lights blurred beyond her tears. Jordan tried to hold onto the strength that had gotten her through so many difficult times in the past. She’d learned long ago to shut out weakness. This world was tough. The weak didn’t survive.
    Jeremy had been weak. What was the point in denying it now? In many ways, he’d become the mirror image of their mother. Her unsteady fingers stroked down the material of the lab coat she still wore. She reached inside the pocket and