Radiant Surrender (CSA Case Files Book 6) Read Online Free PDF Page B

a chance in hell that Ryland would receive a full pardon, which meant she was fucked ten ways to Tuesday—and not in the way she would have liked to be by Gavin. No, this meant that she would go to prison for the rest of her life for a crime she didn’t commit and there wasn’t a damn thing anyone could do to stop that…not even the great Gavin Crest.

Chapter Four
    C rest had tried his best to remain impartial when he’d walked through the apartment door. He had the intention of treating this as any other case that came through the preprogrammed gristmill of Crest Security Agency. He’d even prided himself on the fact that the four identical apartment buildings that faced each other across one intersection would finally be used for the purpose he’d intended them to be.
    The city of Minneapolis had originally scheduled the buildings for destruction when Crest had stepped in to purchase them as an investment and as a project to pay back the community. The four structures were all interconnected via utility tunnels with each building housing three hundred apartments that varied from one thousand to six thousand square feet. The buildings had originally been built as part of a city reclamation project and cheap federal loans had allowed the developers to turn four city blocks of old crumbling brick tenements into modern, fairly attractive public housing during the late eighties. Over the years the buildings had been mismanaged and a certain criminal segment drove the area into the ground. As each of the buildings began renovations after Crest’s acquisition, security was stepped up considerably and the undesirable element that had previously occupied much of this zone was driven out. Through a series of internal and community policing maneuvers, internal security and city police had made the area just too hazardous for the criminal element to thrive.
    The building complex was located close enough to the downtown area that mass transit was available and now that the drug dealers were forced out, everyday working families had moved into the clean, quiet, and reasonably priced neighborhoods. Crest had reserved numerous apartments in each of the buildings with the intention of using them to house clients who needed a safe place to stay while hiding them among the daily movements of a thousand plus families. The bonus of such an acquisition was that underground utility tunnels connected the buildings’ service garages and the maintenance shops so that a person could be transported without having to be exposed to public scrutiny.
    Crest’s original intention of maintaining a professional demeanor when he arrived went by the wayside as Jessie stood before him and panic appeared in her delicate features. It made his stomach harden into a ball and he stepped in front of her before he thought about his actions.
    “Jessie, I won’t allow you to be a pawn in Ryland’s game with the CIA.” Crest pulled her into his arms and regretted his actions instantly. Her petite body melded against his and for the first time since before she’d left CSA he allowed himself a moment to hold her in a comforting way. The warmth of her was hotter than any sun and as he gently rested his chin on top of her head, he soaked up what he could. “I’ll do what I have to in order to obtain Ryland what he wants.”
    “Ryland doesn’t deserve a pardon and you know it,” Jessie whispered as she slid her arms around his waist. There was a slight tremble in her voice but she refused to break. He felt pride in the strength she was showing. “I know the contacts you have, Gavin, and even you don’t have that type of influence politically.”
    “Don’t underestimate me, Jessica.” Her full name fell off of his lips as smooth as the whiskey he’d downed earlier. The statement came out more of a command and that wasn’t how he’d intended it. With his luck she’d misconstrue what his intentions were. He stroked his hands over her back and then