RunningScaredBN Read Online Free PDF Page B

strangely beautiful landscape. “We’d better get moving. Being in the open like this is making me antsy.”
    “Agreed.” He shot a look at Thorne. “You guys round them up. Ingram and I will head up to the shack. We’ll make sure it’s still empty and report back.”
    “Roger that,” Thorne said.
    Slamming the hood of the truck shut, Justin jumped into the driver’s side. Riley got in on the other side.
    “You ever seen Aidan interrogate before?” Riley asked.
    “No. As far as I know, McCall and Fox are the only ones who have.” He shrugged and then winced. “Whatever he does usually gets results, though.”
    “How’s your shoulder?”
    He moved it again, ignored the deep throb. “It’s fine.”  
    “You ever think about doing something besides LCR?”
    He hid his surprise at the question. Riley Ingram asking a personal question was rare as the Houston Astros winning the World Series. It had never happened. Until last night. Had he finally broken through that impenetrable barrier?  
    He shrugged, regretted the movement. “At some point I’ll probably want to get out of field ops, but I can’t ever see leaving LCR. How about you?”
    Instead of answering, she turned toward the window. He wasn’t having it. She wasn’t going to get away with shutting him out again.
    “I asked a question, Ingram.”
    When she turned to face him, he expected to see anger. Instead, he saw vulnerability and an odd kind of fear. “LCR is my family. Families are forever. Right?”
    “Yeah, they are.”
    They pulled to a stop in front of the shack. “This place looks worse than I remember. Shouldn’t be anyone around, but let’s check it out before we make the call.”
    Almost dizzy with relief, Riley pushed her emotions aside, her do the job mantra back in place. When this op was over and she was alone, she’d have time to sort through her feelings. And question why she was suddenly being so open when for years she’d been as closemouthed as a corpse.
    Guns at the ready, they exited the truck. Justin headed to the front, Riley went around the back. Justin was right. This place was about as ramshackle as they come. The walls were a crumbling mass of clay and rotted wood. It could barely be called a structure, but it would suffice for what they needed.
    She peeked inside a window, spotting a three-legged table leaning against a wall and two rattan chairs without bottoms. In the corner were a couple of soda cans and what looked like a used condom.
    Scrunching her nose up at the revolting reason someone would have sex in such a disgusting place, she turned around and searched the landscape. Nothing but rocky hills and trees.
    “Looks clear,” Riley said into her mic.
    “Yeah, looks good from here, too,” Justin said, then added, “Thorne, bring our guests on up.”
    Riley stepped around front and watched as the truck holding the prisoners headed their way. She didn’t envy them the next few minutes. She might not have ever seen Aidan conduct an interrogation, but one thing she knew for sure, the man usually got the information he was looking for. She had no clue how he did it, but the few times they’d had to interrogate hostiles, Aidan Thorne went in alone and came out with credible intel. And interestingly enough, not once had she seen a mark on anyone he’d questioned. That took some crazy skills.
    Riley didn’t know Aidan’s background, had no clue what he did before he came to LCR, but one thing was for sure—the man knew how to get results. Fast.
    The handcuffed group, four men and one woman, shuffled toward the small structure. Despite her training, Riley shivered. Sometimes evil was concealed behind a façade. Other times, the wickedness was unhidden and apparent. She had seen and experienced it both ways. These people, with their dark expressions and eyes glittering with hatred, weren’t bothering to hide who and what they were.  
    Getting information would not be easy, even for Aidan Thorne.