Snake Skin Read Online Free PDF Page A

ten feet away from the van where "Katie"
slept. She opened the rear of the Blazer and sat down on the
running board, her legs wobbly, adrenalin finally abandoning
her.
    With trembling fingers she retrieved her
wedding ring. She brushed it against her lips. Her pulse finally
calmed as she slid it back where it belonged. She reached for her
bag, grabbed a water bottle and took a deep gulp, spilling water
down her shirt and not caring.
    Then she emptied the muck from her boots and
checked her arms and legs again for bite marks. She'd seen guys
shot and not know it because of the masking effects of adrenalin.
Nothing. She wiggled her bare toes in the sun, soaking up the
heat.
    The thought of trying to explain a
rattlesnake bite to her husband, Nick, made her wince. Although it
might finally get her back on Megan's "cool" list—a welcome change
from the cold shoulder her twelve-year-old had been giving her
lately.
    "I can't wait to get my hands on their
computer. See what else they've been up to." Fletcher prattled as
he packed up his surveillance equipment. "Oh, by the way, your cell
phone has been going nuts."
    He handed her the cell and she glanced at
the missed calls. All from Megan. Along with texts asking if they
were going to be late for the doctor's appointment.
    Damn it, she hated leaving, but really all
that needed done here was paperwork and documentation. Nothing Lucy
needed to stay for. In fact, if she wasn't the only woman on her
squad rated for UC work, she wouldn't be here on a Saturday at
all—she'd be home and looking forward to getting back to work on
Monday to shuffle paperwork and review reports.
    Still hadn't gotten used to that part of
being promoted. She wasn't sure she ever would—she loved being in
the field. Used to be she always told fellow agents that
supervisory special agents never made arrests, just supervised and
took all the credit. Now that she held the rank and had her own
team, she was trying to find a way to lead from the front lines and
still get all the administrative work done.
    As always, she wanted it all. Usually she
figured out a way to get it.
    Fletcher re-appeared, a key ring in his
hand. "The van needs to go back. Why don't you take it?"
    Still, she hesitated. Men and women carrying
guns and displaying a variety of law enforcement insignia bustled
around the parking lot in an efficiently choreographed mob. The
FBI's Sexual Assault Felony Enforcement squad was
multi-jurisdictional: ICE agents mingled with her own FBI team,
there were several Staties as well. Back at the office, they shared
space with the High Tech Computer Crime Taskforce, Operation
Predator, the Innocent Images Initiative, and even had a few postal
inspectors and IRS agents working with them.
    To some it might seem like a motley crew,
seasoned street operators working side by side with computer geeks
like Fletcher. But it was her crew and she hated to leave them with
the job unfinished.
    Of course, with this job, there was never
any finishing. Something Nick was constantly reminding her of. But
she'd only been here three months, charged with setting up and
running the FBI's newest SAFE unit, and she hadn't yet figured out
where to draw the line.
    Nick had. That was for sure. After a month
of not seeing her unless she woke him as she climbed into bed at
night, he'd insisted that she establish some kind of routine so
that she could spend time with him and Megan.
    Which sounded great…unless you were the
parent who was constantly delinquent.
    She glanced at the state trooper vehicle
where the twins beamed as they tried on Smokey Bear hats eighteen
sizes too big for them. The breeze carried their burble of
laughter. She smiled.
    "Let the Staties take credit on this one,"
she told Fletcher. "I'll make it up to Walden, clear it with
Greally."
    Fletcher's frown let her know he didn't
appreciate her generosity. Or more likely, he didn't think his boss
would.
    Tough. This morning she was enjoying being
one of the good