Conceal (Omega Sector)

by Janie Crouch

  Juliet’s lungs screamed for air. She bucked and twisted, to no avail, and was giving up hope when she felt Christopher’s body finally—finally—shift away. In the dark water she couldn’t tell what had happened. Had he lost consciousness? Died? Had someone pulled him off?

  Juliet pushed off against the bottom as hard as she could, then kept kicking, but it wasn’t enough. With her hands restrained behind her back and the weight of her waterlogged clothes and shoes, she couldn’t get to the surface. She fought as hard as she could, but couldn’t reach the precious air. Juliet wasn’t even sure if she was heading in the right direction any longer. Blackness surrounded her.

  She wouldn’t give up. She kept kicking, but the need for oxygen overrode everything. Instinct took over and she opened her mouth to breathe, but all she took in was water.

  She stopped fighting as the blackness consumed her.

  * * *

  EVAN DIVED UNDER the water of the harbor again, as did Dylan and Sawyer. All of them screaming for Juliet.

  It had been only moments since Christopher Cady had pulled her into the dark bay. But they were running out of time. Juliet was running out of time. Evan had found Cady in the depths, but hadn’t been able to find her. Evan didn’t even bother dragging Christopher up, just pushed him aside and kept searching for Juliet.

  He couldn’t lose her. Not now, when they’d really just found each other.

  But the black water seemed to swallow everything whole.

  Evan wouldn’t give up. No matter what, he would keep searching for Juliet. He dived again, but in the opposite direction from where they’d been searching. He stretched his arms out as far as they would reach, hoping to feel her, since there was no way he’d be able to see her. He swam around until the need for air once again forced him upward.

  And that’s when he felt something hit against his ankle. He immediately spun around in the water.

  Juliet!

  But she wasn’t swimming. Oh God, she wasn’t moving at all.

  Evan grabbed her lifeless form and began dragging them both toward the surface. As he broke through, drawing in much-needed air, he realized Juliet wasn’t breathing.

  “Sawyer, Dylan! I’ve got her!” They had to get her to shore so they could start CPR. It wasn’t too late. She hadn’t been in there that long.

  It couldn’t be too late.

  Evan dragged Juliet over to the pier, where her brothers had made their way out of the water. He handed her still form up to them.

  Somebody cut the zip tie off her hands so she could lie flat on the pier. Both her brothers immediately began CPR, one giving breaths, one doing chest compressions, as Evan climbed up beside them.

  In the pale light of the poorly lit pier, Juliet’s skin had a horrible bluish tinge to it. He didn’t know if it was from cold or lack of oxygen. Her lifelessness was the scariest thing Evan had ever seen.

  He knelt beside her. “Come on, baby. Don’t you give up. Not now, not when we’ve just found each other.” Evan didn’t care if her brothers heard.

  “Jules, I love you. I always have. Fight, baby. Fight for us.” Evan couldn’t stop the tears that were streaming down his cheeks. “I love you. I can’t live without you,” he whispered.

  Juliet’s whole body seemed to convulse, causing her brothers to stop the CPR and pull back. They turned her to the side as she vomited half the harbor. Finally, she rolled onto her back of her own accord. Although she shivered, her skin had lost much of its blue tinge. Dylan and Sawyer slid her over and began wrapping their dry jackets, which they’d left on the dock before diving into the water to save Juliet, around her for warmth.

  Juliet had eyes only for Evan. “Hey.” Her voice was raspy, strained from the vomiting.

  Evan smiled and pushed a strand of hair out of her face. “Hey, gorgeous.”

  Sawyer slapped him on the back. “Congrats, man. First time I’ve seen a declaration of undying love cause a woman to puke her guts out. Impressive.”

  Evan smiled, but didn’t take his eyes from Juliet.

  “You want to tell me exactly what’s going on with you two?” Sawyer asked.

  “We’ll give you guys a minute.” Dylan cut Sawyer off. “Go call this in. Get Jules a real blanket.” He grabbed his younger brother and start pulling him away, despite Sawyer’s indignant responses.

  All Evan wanted to do was look at Juliet. To touch her. To know she was alive.

  “I heard you, you know,” she croaked. “So did my brothers. No going back now, because I love you, too. You’re stuck with me.”

  Relief flooded Evan, chasing away every last bit of panic. Juliet loved him the way he loved her.

  “I wouldn’t have it any other way.” He took her hand in his. “You’re still wearing Lisa Sinclair’s wedding band, you know.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t have a chance to take it off.”

  “How about if we get a set that’s yours and mine, rather than Lisa and Bob’s?”

  Juliet smiled even though she was shivering. “You’ve got yourself a deal. Although I’m going to make you propose again, properly this time, once you get me a ring.”

  She started to sit up, so Evan helped her. “That would be my pleasure.” He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.

  “But we’ll still get to be Lisa and Bob in the future, right? I want to take Vince Cady down,” Juliet told him from against his chest. A worried note came into her voice. “Do you think we’ve ruined everything with the case? Christopher’s dead, right?”

  “Don’t worry. You and I won’t even be placed at the scene by the time the report gets back to Vince Cady. Bob and Lisa will have their chance to make sure Cady goes down.”

  “Good. I’m ready, not so scared anymore.”

  Evan kissed her forehead. “There will be times when we’re both scared, but we’ll face it together. You and I make a pretty good team.”

  “Both on cases and off.” She pulled his arms more securely around her.

  Neither of them had any doubts about it.

  * * * * *

  TCD team member Aria Calletti is determined to find out why women are turning up dead. The newest victim’s half-brother, Grayson Rhodes, has sacrificed everything to find his half-sister and her son. But can a civilian and a new agent take down a drug kingpin?

  Read on for a sneak preview of

  ROOKIE INSTINCTS by Carol Ericson.

  CHAPTER ONE

  Humming off-key, Aria punched the elevator button with her knuckle and then wiped her clammy palms on the thighs of her black slacks. When the doors whispered open, she stepped inside the car and released a breath as she stared at her mottled reflection on the elevator doors.

  She slid her finger beneath the elastic band that held her hair back and pulled it out. She shook her head to loosen the strands over her shoulders. The ponytail begged, Take me seriously. She didn’t need props to get that message across to her coworkers.

  She shrugged out of her black wool coat, leaving the purple scarf twined around her neck. Squaring her shoulders, she said aloud, “Oh, the scarf? Too busy to notice I still had it on.”

  She snorted and unwound the scarf, leaving two purple-fringed ends hanging to her waist. The elevator dinged and she stood at attention until the doors opened on the seventh floor.

  Hiking her laptop case on her shoulder, she strode down the hallway to the conference room, the heels of her black boots clicking on the floor in a steady, confident beat.

  The door to the conference room yawned open on a large space with a gleaming, oval table in the center and two large video screens on either side of the room. A smaller desk hunched in the corner, overflowing with a laptop, an abundance of cords and a variety of AV equipment. The only other person in the room, a curvaceous bottled-blonde with a colorful clip in her hair, hovered over t
he computer. With a flash of red lipstick, she gave Aria a quick smile and a wink and returned to her work.

  Director Alana Suzuki, smart in a navy pantsuit with a snowy-white blouse, barreled through the door. “You made it.” She thrust out her hand to Aria, her eyes gleaming behind translucent-framed glasses. “Welcome aboard. I’ll do the introductions when everyone gets here. Take any seat around the table.”

  “Director Suzuki.” Aria gripped the older woman’s hand, giving as good as she got. “Glad to be here.”

  “Alana, please.” She ran a hand through her short black hair, unapologetically peppered with gray. “We’re an informal bunch here.”

  The woman tapping away at the computer called out. “Uh, you might want to revise the invitation to take any seat. There’s no assigned seating, but everyone always claims the same spot. Habit or security.”

  Alana waved her hand at the other woman. “Don’t pay any attention to Opaline. She’s our tech guru and her mind works in mysterious ways. Opaline, this is our new team member, Aria Calletti. Aria, Opaline Lopez.”

  Opaline raised her hand and wiggled her fingers, her long nails matching the red of her lips.

  Aria cleared her throat. “Nice to meet you.”

  With Opaline’s words about the seating hanging in the air, Aria folded her arms across her bag and wedged a shoulder against the wall. She didn’t want to ruffle anyone’s feathers on her first day.

  As long as you played by the rules, went by the book, you’d fit in. She’d discovered that as a beat cop on the mean streets of Detroit. Go along, get along and do your job.

  The other team members started to filter into the room, a few in pairs, a few on their own. As Aria glanced at each person, his or her name flashed into her brain. She’d done her research on the Tactical Crime Division team when Director Suzuki—Alana—had invited her to apply for it. And apply she did.

  She’d given up her job with the Detroit PD and hit the ground running at the FBI Academy in Quantico. Five months later, she’d taken the assignment with the TCD and was ready to hit the ground running again.

  A few of the team members nodded at her as they grabbed seats. Aria had pretended to be looking through her bag to explain her delay in taking her place at the table—with the big boys and girls. When everyone seemed settled in, she slid into a seat next to Supervisory Special Agent Axel Morrow, his large frame dwarfing the chair.

  His blue eyes assessed her as she scooted her chair forward, making her glad she’d opted for slacks and a jacket but regretting the loss of her ponytail.

  Alana stood at one end of the table and commanded the room. At just over five feet tall, her physical stature was not responsible for the snap to attention, all eyes on her, conversations dying out. The woman had a presence—an erect, military bearing that radiated confidence and demanded respect.

  She had Aria folding her hands on the table in front of her like a schoolgirl.

  “Welcome back, everyone. I want to congratulate you on the successful completion of Operation Lollipop. A job well done.”

  The room erupted in applause and Aria joined in. She’d read the files on the human trafficking case and couldn’t wait to be part of this team that did so much good.

  “Okay, okay.” Alana held up her hand. “Don’t get too carried away. We have the next case on our plate. Before I get into that…we have a new team member I’d like to introduce Aria Calletti. She can say a few words about herself and then we can go around the room and you can tell her who you are. Try to keep it under a minute, Opaline.”

  The other team members chuckled, as Opaline tapped a finger to her chest, her heavily mascaraed eyes wide.

  As she took her seat, Alana nodded in Aria’s direction. “Tell us a little something about yourself, Aria.”

  Aria cleared her throat. “I grew up in Holland, Michigan, and joined the PD in Detroit. Due to my age, I did a lot of undercover work in narcotics, especially at the schools, and worked dope as a beat cop. While working as a cop, I put myself through Wayne State, criminal justice major. Got lucky on a big case and helped bring down a drug kingpin. That’s when Director Suzuki invited me to apply to the FBI with this division as my goal.”

  Axel, Alana’s second-in-command, held up a finger. “That’s ‘Alana’ to you. We’re not into formalities.”

  Selena Lopez, the K-9 handler, her dark hair in a sleek chignon, nudged Axel in the shoulder. “And don’t you dare call Axel ‘Supervisory Special Agent Morrow.’ He hates that.”

  “She’s right. We’re on a first-name basis around here.” Axel rubbed his arm. “Impressive stuff, Aria.”

  Alana took off her glasses and hunched over the table. “Yeah, that was a little more than luck, Aria. Her investigative work was instrumental in bringing down that dirtbag. That’s why she’s a perfect fit for this team. Anything else you want to tell us?”

  Anything else…such as how she felt as if her entire career hinged on her ability to pull her own weight on this team? Such as how she felt like an imposter? That her real self was that distorted image in the elevator door?

  “That’s it.” Aria pressed her lips together and eked out a small smile.

  “You, go.” Alana leveled a finger at Opaline in the corner.

  “We met earlier because I was the first person here, as usual.” Opaline wiggled her fingers in the air. “I’m the tech support for this motley crew. They’d fail miserably without me. Oh, and I heard you had a bunch of brothers who are firefighters, so if any of them are single I’m willing and able…and that was well under a minute.”

  Aria shot a quick glance at the K-9 handler, Selena Lopez. She’d read in the bios that these two were sisters. Selena’s tight smile and clenched hands in front of her told Aria nothing…well, almost nothing.

  “I’ll go next.” The tall, cool blonde sitting across from Aria held her up hand. “I’m Carly Welsh. I’ve been on TCD for three years, and before that, I was with the FBI in Detroit. So, we have that in common, Aria. Welcome to the squad.”

  Selena spoke up, her low voice vibrating. “That’s Dr. Carly Welsh. She’s got a Ph.D. in biological warfare.”

  Aria’s gaze darted back to Carly, a rosy hue washing over the blonde’s pale cheeks. The knots in Aria’s gut twisted a little more.

  The brooding man at the end of the table ran a hand over the top of his head. “I guess I’ll go next. I’m Max McRay. Explosives. Did a stint in the Army. Looking forward to working with you, Aria.”

  Axel put a hand over his mouth and coughed. “War hero.”

  Aria nodded at Max. He hadn’t mentioned the fact that he’d lost the lower half of his left leg to a bomb in Afghanistan. Although he’d had a slight hitch in his step when he’d walked into the conference room, if Aria hadn’t read his bio, she wouldn’t have known about his leg.

  “I’m Selena Lopez.” Selena put her long, slender fingers in the air and wiggled them, just as Opaline had done. “My raison d’être on this team is surveillance and tracking. My partner’s a white shepherd named Blanca, and if she doesn’t like you…I don’t know, Aria.”

  “Blanca’s a good judge of character.” Axel tugged on the lapels of his jacket. “She happens to love me.”

  Max shot back. “That’s because you give her treats when Selena’s back is turned.”

  “Busted.” Carly flicked a rolled-up piece of paper at Axel, who caught it easily in one hand.

  Aria’s lips stretched into a smile. The relaxed camaraderie of the team tightened those knots in her belly even more. Would she ever be able to engage in this friendly back-and-forth?

  She’d never been one of the boys on the PD; had always felt like she had her nose pressed against the glass. As the only girl in a family of five siblings, she was accustomed to that feeling. Her brothers loved her, of course, but were overly protective and, like Rudolph, she’d never joined in their reindeer games.

  Axel bobbled the ball of paper Carly had fired at him between his palms, his blue e
yes alight. “I’m Supervisory Special Agent Axel Morrow. You can call me Axel or Axe. I would say that I’m Alana’s right hand, but we all know that honor belongs to Amanda over there, furiously taking notes on her laptop.”

  The cute redhead seated next to Alana peered over the top of her computer and grinned. “You got that right.”

  Aria studied Axel as he reeled off his background—his work background. His gift of gab must be one of the reasons for his top skills as a hostage negotiator. He could probably get anyone to do anything. At the FBI Academy, they’d studied some of Axel’s criminal profiles for their insight and accuracy.

  Now, Aria narrowed her eyes at the good-looking blond and practiced a little profiling of her own. Did he use his charming manner to mask the tragedy of his young life?

  “That’s me in a nutshell, but feel free to ask any of us anything anytime. We’re here to help you.” He flattened a hand over his heart. “Great to have you on board, Aria.”

  “Now, for my true right-hand, last but certainly not least, Amanda Orton.” Alana tapped the redhead on the shoulder.

  Amanda stopped typing. “I’m Amanda Orton. I’m Alana’s assistant. If you want to reach Alana or schedule a meeting with her, you come through me.”

  “And if you want to get to Amanda, you have to go through that massive security guard downstairs, who happens to be her husband.” Axel raised his eyebrows. “You see him? He looks like a linebacker for the Lions.”

  “You do not need to go through him to see me.” Amanda’s lips and eyes turned up at the corners. “You can reach me anytime, Aria, and I’m the keeper of the birthday club so I need to get that from you at some point.”

  Carly rolled her eyes. “As if we need to be reminded of our birthdays every year.”

  “Let me know when you want it, and I’ll give it to you.” Aria tucked her hair behind one ear. “Thanks for introducing yourselves. I’m so impressed with your work, and I can’t wait to be a contributing member of this team.”