Game of Fear (Montgomery Justice #3)(39)

He unlocked double mahogany doors. “To keep curious hands off the equipment,” Luke said. He took a seat. Behind him four large computer monitors sat on a huge desk.

“More power to you, bro. That many LEDs would fry my brain.” Gabe hated working on the laptop he had. He was more of a storm-the-castle guy. He’d leave the mousing to Luke.

Of course, his brother hadn’t always spent quite so much time in front of a keyboard. Gabe studied a photo of Luke’s Army Ranger squadron. The picture sat near his desk. All the men in that photo were dead, Luke being the only one to survive the massacre. Barely.

Physically, his injuries had mostly healed after he was discharged. Mentally? It had taken Jazz and Joy to patch the crater-sized hole in Luke’s heart and soul.

Deb had obviously followed Gabe’s gaze. She bent over and studied the picture. “Special Forces to investigative reporter. That’s quite a jump.”

“Not really,” Luke said. “I just battle injustice with a keyboard nowadays, instead of an M-16.”

“I’ve read some of your work,” Deb said. “Impressive. You traveled all over the world for your stories.”

“Not anymore. With my family, it’s better to keep my investigations stateside.”

“Probably a lot less dangerous, too.”

“Not so you’d notice,” Gabe interjected, giving his brother a pointed glare.

Deb looked at Luke in surprise.

“I have trouble ignoring tough issues and topics,” Luke said. “I’ve learned the hard way that can mean that neither I, nor my family, are ever completely out of harm’s way. I’m working on rectifying that.”

“How?”

“Making sure the appropriate parties’ collective asses are thrown in jail for a long, long time.” He leaned back in his computer chair. “So, Gabe, what’s going on that has you back here so soon? What’s in the box?”

Gabe hesitated. “I need some research, Luke. Sensitive research, and I may need details that are not exactly legal to get. Are you okay with working around the system a little?”

Luke raised a brow. “This from a former cop?”

Gabe glanced at Deb. Her face didn’t flinch. She gave nothing away. He shoved the box at Luke. “These are Dad’s unofficial records of the Denver bus station rampage. We think Ashley’s disappearance might be connected to what happened eight years ago.”

Luke opened the box and sifted through it. “There’s a lot more in here than just the bus station. Some of these dated files are later. What’s with that?”

How much should Gabe tell his brother? He knew the answer. Enough for his brother to be on guard, not enough to give the biggest secret of all away. Their sister.

“Dad investigated well beyond the mediocre job then-Captain Tower did. Dad just couldn’t let it go.”

“That’s not unusual. Lots of cops investigate cases for years, even after they retire.” Luke tapped his fingers on his boot. “There’s got to be more to this. How did you get this box?” Luke asked Gabe pointedly.

“Mom. After you discovered he hadn’t told us the whole truth about his time in the military, I started looking into his past. And his death.

“Mom figured out what I was doing. I was still on the force so she gave me this huge accordion folder full of files that she’d found hidden. She recognized Dad’s handwriting and saw the reference to Shannon Devlin. She said I should have them, that the night of the murder had changed me. That maybe someday I would be able to see things with fresh eyes. Whatever that means.”

No new look would change the facts. His father had betrayed the woman who’d loved him her whole life. Still did. The kid inside Gabe would never get over it. The man found betrayal inevitable.

Deb laid a soft hand on his arm, cutting off his thoughts. She’d shown nothing but loyalty—to her sister, to her family. A small spark of hope flickered inside of him.

Luke pulled out a file and thumbed through it. “But Shannon Devlin was murdered eight years ago. Dad died five years ago. How could any of this be connected to your sister?” His questioning gaze focused on Deb.

“The game,” she said, her tone certain. “Too many kids are missing, and they all played Point of Entry.”




The Warden looked through the windows lining his office at the flurry of work. The faces of his charges held terror.

Good.

His newest acquisition, Ashley Lansing, had shown herself to be a troublemaker. But he couldn’t deny her brilliance.

He had uses for her once he quashed her spirit. She was one of the few he might take with him once they completed the job here. He pulled out the plans of the bunker. The demolition would be total. There would be no trace of what had happened here.

The bodies would never be identified.

A knock came on the door.

“Enter.” He folded the plans.

Niko entered, his face carefully masking any emotions. His protégé had been acting stranger than usual. That never sat well with the Warden. He tapped his fingers on the destruction plans, but didn’t open them. Normally he would have given the task to Niko.

Not this time. A shame, really.

Niko approached the desk. “I finished the last job. The new recruit is here . . . in the infirmary. He put up a fight. Is there something further I can do for you?”