Page 29 of Reid

Jack didn’t beat around the bush. “There was a fire at the morgue where Tina Pugh’s remains were being held.”

Reid knew in that second that the next words out of his boss’ mouth weren’t going to be ones he wanted to hear. “And?”

“Tina Pugh’s body was burned beyond all recognition. There’s no way they can carry out an autopsy on what remains.”

“Just her?” Reid paced, clenching his hands to stop himself from punching something.

“Just her.”

“God dammit.”

“Sit down, Reid.” Reid sat and held Jack’s eyes. “It looks like an inside job.”

“We must be onto something bigger than just a stalker case. Callie is high profile, but this feels like a cover-up to me.”

Jack sat back and placed his hands across his flat stomach. To anyone else, he looked relaxed, but those that knew him knew he was on the verge of going nuclear. “I agree. The fact that Jolie McConnell is the only one with access to that wing at night makes it worse.”

“Worse, how?”

“Because Tina was Commander Helen Pope’s sister.”

“Blake’s old boss?”

“Yes and Commander of the Met Police Force.”

“You think she has something to do with this?”

“I think she has links to the Palace where the threats to our team are coming from.”

“Meaning it’s no accident a stalker targeted Callie.”

“No, I don’t think it was.”

“Motherfucker! I’m going to squeeze the fucking life out of Gunner when I get my hands on him. He’s messing with people I care about now, and I’m not going to stand for that.”

“News flash, Reid, he’s been doing that for months. It’s just now he’s made it personal.”

“Any sign of him in Egypt?”

“No, and I have Alex and Blake headed home. We need all hands here because I think it’s only a matter of time before this shit blows sky high and when it does, I want all my men ready.”

Reid cracked his knuckles as he thought about the fear he’d put in Callie’s eyes. “Oh yeah, we’ll be ready.”

Chapter Eleven

Callie caught Reid’s eye as he left the office at the end of the hall. She saw Waggs follow her gaze as a furious looking Reid walked towards her. Her body stiffened as if waiting for the axe to fall, some ingrained instinct telling her he had more bad news.

She stood and met him halfway across the room. “What happened?” Their earlier sparring match, which she’d enjoyed as much as it had infuriated her, was forgotten.

Reid stopped and angled his head as he watched her, the look on his face unreadable. Without thinking, Callie raised her hand and placed it on his chest somehow needing the physical contact with him to steady her.

This man had become her rock the last few weeks, he grounded her like nobody else except perhaps her brother ever had. Just being around him made her feel safe, not only in the physical sense but in every sense. He made her feel like she was making the right choices without he needing to second guess herself all the time.

“I need to talk to you about something.”

“Okay,” she said, cautiously her heart beginning to pound.

Waggs stood and walked to the door. “Let me give you some space.” He looked at Callie. “And don’t forget what I said. If you ever get to Ohio, then you must visit Decadent Design. They have a wonderful range of local art, and it’s run by a friend of mine.”