Beyond Duty Read online

  Table of Contents

  Excerpt

  Beyond Duty

  Copyright

  Dedication

  Acknowledgments

  Prologue

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Nineteen

  Epilogue

  A word about the author…

  Thank you for purchasing this publication of The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  Riley felt immobilized

  by the significance of the gold glinting under the room’s fluorescent lights. As though on cue, they both reached for the rings. When their hands collided, Chip snatched hers back and balled it into a fist.

  He picked up the smaller ring first, and rolled the smooth metal between his fingers. He strode around the table and stopped in front of the petite lieutenant. She stood her ground.

  Taking her left hand, he heard her draw a breath. His gaze locked on to the violent storm brewing inside her gray eyes. The temperature inside the room increased. His breathing matched the rise and fall of her chest as the room filled with white noise.

  Her slender hand trembled ever so slightly as he slipped the band onto her fourth finger. It fit perfectly. He stared into the dark pools of her eyes, like a man dying of thirst in the scorched desert. Uninvited, the timeless words from the marriage ceremony echoed through his head. “With this ring…”

  Beyond Duty

  by

  Stanalei Fletcher

  Northstar Security Series

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales, is entirely coincidental.

  Beyond Duty

  COPYRIGHT © 2016 by Kim Finnegan

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author or The Wild Rose Press, Inc. except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

  Contact Information: [email protected]

  Cover Art by Diana Carlile

  The Wild Rose Press, Inc.

  PO Box 708

  Adams Basin, NY 14410-0708

  Visit us at www.thewildrosepress.com

  Publishing History

  First Crimson Rose Edition, 2016

  Print ISBN 978-1-5092-1024-4

  Digital ISBN 978-1-5092-1025-1

  Northstar Security Series

  Published in the United States of America

  Dedication

  My life would be pretty dull

  without my sisters and brothers,

  so thank you Wendy, Scott, Wade, Lorna, and David

  for sharing and shaping my life

  with your imaginations and dreams.

  Acknowledgments

  A special thanks to ELF for your dedication and commitment to the quality of this story.

  As always, thanks to my critique partners, Steve, Tracie, Kent, Mary and Lyn for holding my feet to the fire.

  Thanks to Jude, who spent an entire day helping me brainstorm the do-over and selecting character names.

  Lastly, Thank You to my wonderful readers who have championed this series and made it a greater success than I could have imagined.

  Prologue

  No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy.

  The adage almost always came true, but Riley O’Neal forced it to the back of his mind as he bounded up the stairs to the second floor of one of Washington, D.C.’s worst inner-city gang houses. He hated this building-disguised-as-a-youth-home that lured teenagers off the cold streets with the promise of a better life. Hated the gang he’d infiltrated and all the horrible things he’d seen while gathering evidence against them. But he loved working undercover for his father’s Northstar Security firm—he loved the action—knowing he was protecting the innocent. And like it or not, his job required him to live by that adage, or die by it.

  An hour ago, he’d relocated eight of the teenagers to a safe house. They’d be out of harm’s way when the task force raid went down. The house was empty now, except for Riley and Lisa Gannon, a runaway too injured to move under her own power. If he hadn’t been delayed trying to confirm the arrest warrants, he’d have been back for Lisa much sooner. He wanted the girl safely out of the house before the gang returned. His gut churned, hoping the raid would execute without a hitch. There was no time for more delays.

  He reached the top step and turned toward the room Lisa shared with the other runaways. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught movement from the fire escape window at the end of the hallway. He stared in shock at one of the girls sneaking back in. All the kids had strict instructions to stay at the safe house until new living arrangements were made, or family members notified. Yet, right there was a teenager who thought she didn’t have to follow orders. Her unorthodox arrival was about to put a huge snag in his assignment.

  “What are you doing back here?” Riley hoped his tone would scare her back to the safe house. “Did you forget your stash?”

  The girl in jeans and an oversized hooded jacket stopped short in the hallway. Instead of scurrying back out the window, she spun on the threadbare carpet and faced him. Her expression was more annoyed than scared. “Don’t have a stash.” Her voice was low, hoarse, and more than a little hostile.

  He glared at her. “Who are you?” He knew every kid who’d recently been used and abused at this miserable place. This girl wasn’t one of them.

  “None of your business.” The hood shadowed her eyes, but he could tell she was checking out the upstairs rooms.

  “You’re the one sneaking in. That makes it my business.”

  “So you say.” She slouched into her jacket, which made her appear smaller, but if she was going for submissive, she failed. “I’m looking for my friend, Lisa. I heard she was here.”

  “Not a good time for BFFs.” He glanced at his watch. In twenty minutes, the gang would walk through the doors. In twenty-five minutes, the taskforce would storm in. All hell was about to break loose and he had no way to call off the raid.

  “So she’s here?”

  “Not for long. You need to leave, too.”

  Her eyes narrowed with resolve. “I ain’t leaving without Lisa.”

  He stepped closer, hoping his height would intimidate her. “I’m not telling you, again. Leave. Now.”

  She shook her head. “Lisa and me will go together.” Folding her arms over her baggy coat, she poked out her chin with an air of defiance.

  Riley held back a groan. “Then you’ll both have to come with me.”

  “I ain’t goin’ nowhere with you, and neither is Lisa.”

  The threat hung in the charged air like the dim lightbulb dangling from frayed wires on the ceiling. He caught a glimpse of stormy eyes as the girl clenched her fists and straightened her shoulders, which made her look taller than her five-feet-something. Even that baggy coat seemed to fit better. Suddenly, she didn’t look so down-and-out.

  He felt a flicker of admiration for this teenager’s commitment to help her friend, and tried a different tactic. “Nothing will happen to Lisa, you have my word. You can come with us.”

  “Y
our word ain’t worth the air you wasted sayin’ it.” She bristled with hostility that surprised him. “I’ll make sure nothin’ happens to Lisa.”

  She started to edge past him, but he stepped in her path. He didn’t know this girl, but she didn’t deserve to see what had been done to her friend. No one should see Lisa in her condition, except a doctor.

  “Move, dumb ass!” The girl put up her fists like a boxer ready to go twelve rounds.

  “Cute.” If the situation weren’t so dire, he might’ve laughed at her feeble attempt to stop him. “You want to fight me?” He didn’t like to use physical force, but he’d do what was necessary to keep this girl safe, too. He took a stance directly in front of the door to Lisa’s room and folded his arms across his chest, pulling his T-shirt taut enough to cut into his biceps.

  “Won’t be much of a fight,” she muttered as her foot unexpectedly shot out.

  The kick swept behind his right leg. What the—? Pain spiked in his knee and his leg buckled. He landed flat on his back atop the stained carpet. “Son of a bitch!” The little spitfire dropped him like a pro. He stared at the ceiling, clutching his knee and stunned from the hard fall. As the girl stepped over him toward Lisa’s room, he snapped out of his daze and cupped both hands around her calf. Holding tight, he angled her away from the door.

  She toppled onto her side with a thud, and immediately started to squirm free. A flailing leg struck a few blows, which surprisingly hurt when they connected.

  Ignoring the pain in his knee, he rolled her onto her back and pinned both legs to the floor, stopping her kicks. Then he scooted forward and straddled her stomach. Before she could take out his nose with a right cross, he grabbed her wrists and secured both arms over her head.

  She fought like Jet Li, driving her knees into his back, and forcing him to scoot farther up onto her chest. Then she changed tactics and tried to buck him off. With his hundred and seventy pounds atop her, that attempt failed too.

  She thrashed harder. “Get off me, you ass—”

  “Shut up.” He silenced her profanity and leaned in. His face was inches from hers as he avoided another kick. His unshaven jaw inadvertently brushed her cheek.

  She froze at the contact, but her gray eyes flashed again, reminding him of lightning over the Potomac.

  At least she didn’t smell as if it had been days since her last bath. Most of the runaways rarely showered and almost none brushed their teeth. Riley straightened a little and winced at the pain in his knee where she’d kicked him. He saw only one way out of this situation.

  “I’ll catch hell for telling you this, but you leave me no choice.” He focused on her furious face. “The gang that runs this place will be back soon, and the cops are moving in to arrest everyone. I relocated the other kids to a safe house about an hour ago. Lisa is the only one left. I’m taking her out of here.” He paused. “And you, too—if you’ll stop fighting me.”

  She pressed her wrists against his palms, testing his hold, but he kept her pinned firmly to the floor.

  “Who are you? I see the mark, but you don’t talk like you’re one of the gang.”

  The mark was a tattoo on the side of his neck proving his allegiance to the gang. He couldn’t wait to have it removed when this assignment was over. “Doesn’t matter who I am. You’ll just have to trust me.”

  Her brows rose in disbelief as she nodded at his hands. “Seriously? Trust you?” Her eyes narrowed with suspicion. “If what you say is true, why didn’t you take Lisa with the others?”

  She would have to ask that question. “I couldn’t.” Earlier in the day, he’d walked in on Lisa’s punishment for trying to escape. He still raged with fury at being unable to stop the beating without blowing his cover. Now that the warrants had finally been issued, maintaining his cover wasn’t as crucial. That didn’t stop the violent thoughts that stirred toward those who’d done the beating. “I came back for Lisa. I’m here to help her.”

  “Help?” Her voice rasped as she wriggled under him, trying to slip free. “You call this helping?”

  He held back a frustrated sigh. “Relax, and I’ll explain.”

  “Why should I believe you?”

  “Because I’m telling the truth. I can help Lisa and you.”

  Caution filled her eyes. More importantly, resistance left her body and she stopped trying to kick him.

  He eased his grip on her wrists, but remained guarded. He still straddled her—knees pressed under her armpits, and thighs hugging her chest. Under the baggy coat, she didn’t feel bony, or like an underfed runaway.

  His brain insisted he was protecting a child, but his body reacted to the sensation of a full-grown woman beneath him. This is a girl, he told himself. A teenager. Possibly victimized by the type of ruthless men he was putting out of business tonight. It sickened him that his arousal made him no better than them.

  He shifted uncomfortably. “If you promise to stop fighting me, I’ll let you up.”

  She nodded, but the wariness never left her eyes. “Why are you helping us?”

  Relief blew out with the breath he’d been holding. He eased off her chest and reached out a hand to help her up.

  Once on her feet, she rolled a shoulder as if it hurt. She flexed her fingers and rubbed her wrists, but her face remained impassive, except for those expressive eyes.

  Regret shot through him. He hadn’t wanted to hurt her—only get his message across. As a kid from the street, she was probably used to mistreatment, but he disliked adding to her pain.

  “Start talkin’, mister. Or I’m going through that door and nothin’ you can do will stop me.”

  “Right.” He hesitated, unhappy about revealing his identity. The director would have his head. But the timetable was set and he was out of options. “My name’s Riley O’Neal. I’m undercover, sent to infiltrate this gang and gather evidence of drugs and prostitution. Warrants were issued an hour ago, and like I said, a taskforce is waiting to make arrests. If you and Lisa are still here, you’ll be caught in the crossfire.”

  Her face was difficult to read. The hood had slipped off during the scuffle and strings of dull, brown hair fell around her face. She’d probably look cute all cleaned up. He reminded himself that her appearance wasn’t relevant. She had to believe him—trust him.

  Precious seconds ticked by while she seemed to wrestle with his explanation. “I wanna see Lisa. Then you can be a hero.”

  She’d bought his story. Some of his tension bled off. “Okay.”

  Unable to avoid the inevitable, he opened the door to the room where Lisa huddled on a thin, stained mattress. For a moment, he deliberately blocked the view inside. Then he crossed the room and crouched in front of the injured teenager. She was only now waking up. Grimy tears streaked her face and her once blonde hair hung in dirty, matted tangles.

  The girl hurried around him to sit close to her friend. “Lisa. It’s me, Mary. Do you remember me?”

  Riley studied the girl who, only moments ago, had knocked him flat. Her voice was softer, more mature than before. Instinctively he sensed something off about her.

  “Mary?” Lisa struggled to sit. “Of course, I remember you. How did you find me?”

  “That doesn’t matter.” Mary pushed aside a lock of Lisa’s hair. “Can you walk? We’re getting out of here.”

  Lisa tried to move, letting out a groan. Her face twisted in pain. “I dunno. They beat me for trying to escape. I…I’m scared.”

  “I won’t let anyone hurt you now.” Mary wrapped her arm around the other girl’s shoulders.

  Lisa whimpered and Mary’s expression tightened when she saw the dark streaks of raw, red flesh on Lisa’s back. Torn bits of clothing stuck to places where blood congealed on open wounds. Tears filled Lisa’s eyes.

  Mary glared at Riley. “What did you do to her?”

  He raised his hands. “Not me. I’m here to get the mother-fu—the bastards who did this.” He silently swore vengeance on the gang leader who’d done the be
ating.

  “You’d better get them, or so help me—” Mary removed her old coat to cover Lisa’s back and helped her stand.

  As the girls stood side-by-side, he noticed how mature Mary seemed compared to Lisa. “I will,” he promised. “Now, let’s get out of here.” They started toward the door.

  A commotion erupted on the first floor and the sound of raucous voices carried up the stairs. Lisa cried out and buried her face in Mary’s shoulder.

  “They’ve returned early.” He swore. The clock had just run out. Years of training and experience put his instincts on autopilot. “It’s too late to go downstairs and get the car. Come this way.”

  Mary tightened her hold and guided the frightened girl into the hallway.

  “You’ll both have to leave through the fire escape while I stall them.”

  “Lisa needs a doctor. She can barely walk. How is she going to climb down the escape?”

  “You don’t have a choice,” he snapped. If Mary hadn’t been sneaking in, Lisa would already be on her way to a hospital. “Any other exit will put you in the line of fire. I’ll help you onto the landing.” As he lifted Lisa off her feet, she buried her face in his chest to muffle pain-filled cries. He hurried to the window—adrenaline pulsing through his veins and masking the pain in his knee. He set Lisa outside on the landing, and then turned back to Mary. “Now, you.”

  “I’ve got this.” Mary waved him off and started to duck outside.

  “Wait, Mary.”

  She paused with one leg through the window and frowned at him.

  He fished a slip of paper with an address and phone number out of his wallet. “Once you reach the street, go to the corner of Neal and Montello. There’s a safe house at that address. Call that number when you arrive. Someone’ll come and take Lisa to the hospital.” As he handed the paper over, he noticed how trim and almost clean Mary’s fingernails were. Another unusual detail he cataloged for later consideration. “Now, get moving.”

  Mary glanced at the paper, then at his leg, and mumbled, “I’m sorry if I hurt you, Riley. Be careful.”

  Her words surprised him. The last thing he’d expected was an apology. “Careful is my middle name.” With that, he turned and started down the stairway to head off anyone from coming up.