Had she lied to him? Told him what he wanted to hear? That they could see each other down the road? Maybe that’s why she was such a good undercover cop. Because Matt didn’t know what was real and what was fake.
Angry, he deleted Kara’s dead number from his phone, left Chris’s office, grabbed another beer and was about to join the birthday party for his goddaughter when his phone rang.
For a moment, he thought it was Kara. He glanced at the number. Tony’s private line.
“Costa,” he answered.
“Enjoying your weekend?”
“Trying to. I’m at Lizzy’s birthday party.”
“Good—you need to unwind.”
“Why do I feel this call is just going to tighten me up again?”
“Hardly. It’s good news, of a sort.”
“I’m all for good news. Shoot.”
“I just got off the phone with Sergeant Popovich with LAPD. I talked to him on Thursday when I sent him the commendation for Detective Quinn’s file.”
“I’m glad. She was an asset.” The commendation from a high-ranking FBI director would go a long way in smoothing things over with the local FBI. Even though Matt was angry at how he and Kara had left things personally, she was an outstanding cop. He would do whatever he could to ensure she didn’t have any FBI trouble in Los Angeles. He owed her that much.
“I don’t know how much you know about her last assignment in LA before her administrative leave.”
“A bit,” Matt said. He had wondered at the time what, if anything, Kara had left out. But he also knew that she wasn’t supposed to talk about her job. “She took down a human trafficking organization that ran sweatshops throughout Los Angeles.”
“Correct. One of the reasons she was on administrative leave was because her boss had intel that her cover may have been compromised. He didn’t tell her that—he wanted the time to investigate the situation without his detective potentially in the line of fire. The other reason was she used deadly force, and LAPD has a mandatory three days paid administrative leave. He extended it because of other circumstances. And apparently his fears were justified. The media exposed her role in the sweatshop takedown and she won’t be able to go back inside—Popovich is concerned about her safety in any undercover operation, at least for the time being. In addition, they need her to testify against the organization—but the AUSA took over the case.”
“We took the case from her?”
“‘We’ is subjective. The LA field office took the case from LAPD. I don’t have a comment on that because I don’t know the details.”
Kara must be livid.
“Is she in protective custody?” Matt asked. She would hate that, too.
“Not at this point. When I talked to Popovich, I thought about how valuable she was to your unit. And after reading her file, I called him to offer her a position on your team.”
Matt leaned against the kitchen counter. He felt hot and cold at the same time.
“Matt?”
“And?”
“I haven’t talked to her yet—she’s flying out to DC tomorrow to meet with me, and you should be there. But she’s receptive. I promised you veto power over any placements, but you also gave me some leeway because we need this team fully staffed. We need someone like Quinn. She’s a local cop—she can easily liaison with local law enforcement. She’s used to working undercover, and there are many times when that skill set will come in handy. Undercover cops are particularly adept at reading people. And honestly—Popovich sent me her jacket, and while I’m only partly through her files, I’m wholly impressed. She is a bit of a hothead and a maverick, but then again, so are you. And for this team to work, we need people who can think outside of the box.” Tony paused. “I read your report, Matt. Was there a problem you didn’t tell me about?”
“No problem. I’m just surprised, that’s all. Kara made it very clear that she loves her job.”
And that was going to be a problem.
“We worked well together,” Matt said cautiously, “and I think she’ll be an asset to the team. But she’s been an undercover cop practically since she got out of the academy. I don’t know how she’s going to adapt to taking orders.”
“Point taken, and I’m sure there will be a learning curve, but Matt, you’ve rejected virtually everyone I’ve sent to you. We had a major win in Spokane, the bosses are happy. We need to fully staff your unit now while everyone remembers what a great job you did.”
“Okay.”
“Okay? You mean it?”
“Yes. When does she start?”
“As soon as I can get her through a two-week FBI training session.”
“What? She’s not going to be an agent?”
“No—she’ll still be employed by LAPD and assigned to the FBI. We don’t do it often, but it’s not unheard of. I’m going to have the AD at Quantico customize a program for her—part physical, part tactical, but mostly legal issues. Federal warrants, rules and regs that differ from LAPD. But if she’s half as good as you say she is, I’m not worried.”
“She is,” Matt said.
He wasn’t worried. Because Kara Quinn could be anyone she wanted—or anyone she thought was needed. And that was the problem.
After eight days of working together, of talking with her, of sleeping with her, Matt didn’t know if he knew the real Kara Quinn.
Or if Kara even remembered who she was.
* * *
Acknowledgments
My family puts up with a lot from me! When I’m writing (which is most of the time) I can be absent-minded. If I didn’t have a calendar on my computer, I would forget the day. My kids, those still at home as well as those making their own way in the world—I would be a lesser human without you all in my life. My mom, who has supported my dreams from day one (literally!)—thank you for being both my mom and my friend. And my husband, Dan, who has picked up the slack when I slack off on day-to-day life—I couldn’t do this without you.
Research is critical, especially when you write crime fiction. I rely on many people to help me get the details right. While sometimes I tweak things for the story, I try to avoid errors. But on occasion, I make mistakes—if you find one, please blame me, not the people who generously gave their time and talent to help me get the facts right.
Retired FBI Special Agent Steven Dupre is always willing to listen to a scenario and if he doesn’t know the answer, he finds someone who does. I don’t think I could write FBI stories with his counsel!
And thank you to Crime Scene Writers, a group of selfless professionals, retired and still working, who answer questions for writers. In particular, I want to thank Wally Lind, Steven Brown, and Dr. Judy Melinek for help on this particular book. I post some odd questions and no one bats an eye.
Writers form an amazing community for other writers, and when we need help or encouragement, writers are there. In particular, the super-talented and generous Catherine Coulter, who has been not just a mentor, but a friend, deserves a big shout-out. And always, J.T. Ellison, who I met at my first ever Thrillerfest, and has been a sounding board ever since. Thank you for all your support over the years, and in particular with this book. I’m excited that we are finally under the same umbrella!
My team at Harlequin/MIRA deserves an extra acknowledgment, especially my editor Kathy Sagan, who loves these characters as much as I do and who really helped make this book shine. The entire team works hard on my books and so many others, especially Vice President Margaret Marbury and Editorial Director Nicole Brebner, who together run an amazing group of talented editors, artists, publicists, and more. Thank you all for believing in this book and this new series.
And a very special thanks to my agent, Dan Conaway, who has stuck with me through good times and bad, who is always thoughtful and willing to listen and discuss anything. But mostly, a big thank you for believi
ng in THIS book, and this series, and finding the best team to bring this story to life. And I certainly can’t forget Dan’s super-capable assistant, Lauren Carsley, who keeps Dan on track and makes both of our lives easier. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
ISBN: 9781488055430
The Third to Die
Copyright © 2020 by Allison Brennan
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, businesses, companies, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
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