Sweet Surrender (Sweet #1)(2)

Gray leaned back, taking deep breaths to calm the rage boiling inside him. He took a long, hard look at Mick. Was he jacking with him? Trying to get him pissed off enough that he’d agree to whatever Mick wanted? He’d never known Mick to be anything but straight up, but losing a son had a way of bending one’s conscience.

Mick propped his elbows on the table and leaned across, staring intently into Gray’s eyes. “You go to your evaluation, son. You talk to Billings. If you think I’m full of shit after you’ve been back at headquarters for a few hours, then by all means, you go back to the job and forget we ever had this conversation. But if you find out I’m right, you give me a call this afternoon. I’ll come over, and we can talk about how we’re going to nail the son of a bitch who killed my son. Your partner. Your brother.”

Mick slid out of the booth and threw a few wadded-up bills on the table before stalking toward the exit.

It had been hard to calmly request a leave of absence when what he wanted to do was put his fist through the wall. Gray had considered tanking the psych evaluation, but that shit went on his personnel record forever, and he didn’t want that to follow him for the next twenty years.

He stood in the living room of his apartment, pacing, too agitated to sit down and wait for Mick to arrive. The old man hadn’t sounded the least bit surprised when Gray had called him. Didn’t even ask what the word around headquarters was.

But then he knew. He’d told Gray, but Gray hadn’t believed him. Gray had gone back fully intending to ignore Mick’s request. No matter what, Gray wanted to be here where he could help with the investigation, not on some wild-goose chase. But Billings had drawn a hard line in the sand. Gray wasn’t allowed anywhere near the investigation. Too close and all that bullshit. Like he needed a bunch of psychobabble when his partner’s killer was on the loose. When he’d point-blank asked about the rumors floating around about Alex being at fault, Billings had flatly denied it, saying the investigation was ongoing and that the department would do everything in its power to bring the murderer to justice. Gray had also asked about Samuels and his possible connection to the murder, but Billings had refused to comment.

He’d left the office frustrated, only to be met with many sympathetic stares from fellow cops. Many murmured their opinion that no way had Alex done anything wrong. But the fact that they had to say it pissed Gray off to no end. There should be no question. It had raised questions in his mind about the direction the investigation was going.

Mick walked in the door, not bothering to knock. Gray met his gaze and found raw determination simmering there.

“So now you know,” Mick said quietly. “Are you going to help me?”

“I arranged for a six-month leave,” Gray said shortly. “Now tell me everything you’ve found out so we can nail this bastard.”

Mick walked over to the couch and sank down on the cushion. He eyed Gray purposefully. “I need you to go to Houston.”

“What’s in Houston?”

“Faith Malone.”

Gray folded his arms over his chest. “What does she have to do with Eric Samuels?”

“Maybe nothing. But she’s the only lead I’ve got right now.”

“So what about her? Who is she?”

Mick scratched at the back of his neck then shifted his head. “Eric Samuels hooked up with her mother right about the time of the shooting. They both disappeared just a few days after Alex got shot. No one’s seen them. I had her investigated. Pretty much a loser like Samuels. Goes through jobs like candy and has a history of drug abuse.

“Her daughter works for William Malone, the man who adopted her. He owns Malone and Sons Security. Top-notch firm. Colors outside the lines. You’d like him.”

Gray waited impatiently for Mick to get to the point. It didn’t much matter if he’d like Malone or not. All that mattered was whether or not his daughter could lead them to Alex’s killer.

“Apparently Faith took care of the mother for most of her life until a few years ago when the mom OD’d, and Malone stepped in and took Faith back to Houston. Since then, Mom has sporadically called the daughter up, mostly wanting money from what I’ve gathered.

“Last time she called her was a year ago. Now, my thought is, if the mom is in the habit of calling up the daughter when she needs money, she might very well start calling her again now that Samuels has entered the picture. Samuels is desperate. He needs money now that he’s on the move. Money that the mother doesn’t have.

“If you get close to the daughter, do some snooping, she might very well lead us to Samuels through the mother.”

Gray nodded. So far it made sense. Mom and boyfriend were on the run. Probably low on cash. She might very well contact Faith and ask for help. For all he knew, the girl might know exactly where her mother was.

“My buddy Griffin is friends with Malone, and Malone owes him a favor,” Mick continued. “I’ve arranged for you to have a job with his security company. He knows who you are, that you’re a cop and that your partner was killed.”

“But nothing else, right?”

Mick shook his head. “What he knows is that you’re on leave while you deal with the death of your partner and make the decision about whether or not you want to return to the job.”

Gray looked sharply at Mick.