Off the Grid (A Gerrit O'Rourke Novel) Read Online Free PDF Page A

people watching us to see if Gregori showed up. Taylor and I didn’t see the tail until it was too late.”
    A smile softened the hard lines around Marilynn’s eyes as she reached for the drive. “Well, this gadget changes everything, sweetheart. This just might buy you a ticket out of the doghouse.”
    Gerrit tightened his jaw. Gregori’s sacrifice seemed lost on her. “Yeah. My ticket almost cost another man his life.” He saw a sudden coldness enter her eyes, a look he couldn’t define. It flickered for a second, and then it was gone as quick as if she batted an eyelash.
    Marilynn edged closer. “Did I ever tell you how much you turn me on when—”
    A fist beat on the door. “Gerrit, you in there? Open up. Now.”
    He pushed Marilynn away, working his way toward the door. He recognized that voice. Trouble just seemed to follow him today. He unlocked the door and grasped the handle.
    Lieutenant Stan Cromwell launched himself into the room, first glancing at Gerrit, then eyeing Marilynn’s jacket still draped across the desk. “What the…?” He wheeled around to face Gerrit. “Taylor tells me you guys are being questioned by…these
feds
?” Each word doused with a heavy dose of contempt.
    “Now, see here, Lieutenant. Gerrit’s assigned—”
    “I’m not speaking to you right now, Summers. You’ll get your chance to flap your gums in a minute. Right now I wanna hear from my detective.” Thirty-five years on the street weathered Cromwell’s face like a desert sun beating down on parched land. He seemed to carry the weight of the department on his shoulder, broad muscular limbs matching his thick neck, fists the size of footballs strong enough to send an all-pro linebacker crashing to the turf but gentle enough to comfort a frightened child. Right know, the lieutenant did not look comforting. His neck swelled over his tight collar, veins pulsating a warning sign to anyone close enough to see.
    Marilynn paused, thin lips pressing back a retort.
    Gerrit faced his boss and filled him in.
    “Where was your backup?”
    Gerrit rested against the desk, his momentary silence making Cromwell’s face turn even more threatening. “We wanted to low-key this. It was just supposed to be a simple meet and talk.”
    “A simple meet? Your informant almost gets blasted, the would-be killer and a couple other bad guys disappear, shots fired into a crowd…and you call this simple?”
    “How were we to—?”
    “You’re expected to think these operations through, O’Rourke. No more of your lone cowboy stuff. That’s what keeps getting you in trouble. It’s why I warned them about letting you…” He stopped, as if suddenly realizing they were not alone.
    Putting on her jacket, Marilynn faced Cromwell. “We picked Gerrit because of his…special abilities.”
    Cromwell watched as she buttoned up the jacket. “He’s special, all right. A special pain in the ass.”
    Marilynn crossed her arms. “You know what I’m talking about, Lieutenant. His language skills, his MIT background. That’s why we went to your chief to ask he be assigned to us. And besides, he and his partner were already working on Nico.”
    Gerrit shifted his feet. “Hey, I’m standing right here.”
    The lieutenant peeled his attention away from Marilynn. “I know you have a lot to offer, O’Rourke. That’s why I let them talk me into creating this specialized unit. But if I feel things are starting to come unglued, I’m pulling the plug. I don’t care how many high-value targets you guys take down. I won’t jeopardize the department, even for you.”
    Almost imperceptibly, Cromwell’s craggy face softened. All the officers knew Cromwell’s rise in rank came at the direction of the chief; each rise up the ladder had been forced on this man. Cromwell just wanted to work cases, to work the street. Respect from the rank and file allowed him to lash out at his officers when they screwed up, where other supervisors might have wound up in