Ford
HAS DETECTIVE BARRERA'S SECRET LEAKED?
That's my initial presumption, and I cast a wary glance at Genevieve to see if she harbours any inkling of what Jax is adamant we need to see. But it's to no avail. We're jogging downstairs to the lounge where all the other guys have congregated. For a split second I indulge my protective side for Genevieve and gauge Harris' reaction for her presence. He seems mildly infuriated by it, but he says nothing.
"What's going on?" I ask.
Wordlessly, Jeremiah holds out the TV remote control and the TV switches on. It's automatically on the news channel and the footage being showcased appears to be some type of hit-and-run car accident. The front of the car in question is battered beyond repair, and though I don't attribute it to an owner I know, I'm aware that the damage is enough to have someone out of action either permanently or for a long-ass time.
It's the words that zoom across the bottom of the screen that have me paralysing, my blood running cold. In my gut, I have a strong suspicion that I do know the owner.
POLICE DETECTIVE 'BARELY ALIVE' AFTER FATAL HIT-AND-RUN CAR CRASH
Genevieve gasps softly.
The footage progresses. The body being transported into ambulance on a stretcher isn't recognisable at all, though I know who it is without the news reporter announcing his name, rank and any known details of the car crash.
Detective Barrera had been hit head-on with so much fucking force from the other car that it's a miracle he's even alive right now. He's going to be recovering for so fucking long that his case will be assigned to someone else, and I can only pray it'll be delegated to another Red Alert member. Otherwise, we're in deep fucking shit. We've been so heavily involved in the investigation, supplied with details that should remain private from the public, that someone else won't hesitate to drop us in the shitter if they're not from Red Alert.
"You know what this means," I declare, and even my voice sounds cold and hard.
Genevieve hovers close to my side, but I can't turn to her yet. I fixate my eyes on the TV and what else may be reported that hasn't already.
Jeremiah's quick to answer. "He was on the right track. He was getting closer to Carson. There's some sort of link to him and Red Alert, and Detective Barrera was so fucking close and Carson couldn't stand his game ending prematurely."
"As soon as Detective Barrera's conscious, we need to find out what he knows. Who in Red Alert he's spoken to and the information he's gleaned from it all. It might be up to us to continue that part of the investigation that he was conducting outside of his work hours. One of his superiors will turn up at the hospital when Detective Barrera wakes and he'll inform him of the new detective in charge, and then we need that information too."
"It could be days before he's lucid," Clark chimes in, voicing what I've been totally opposed to hearing. "By that time, who knows what Carson might have done. Maybe a few days is all he needs to finish something."
My eyes fall to Genevieve where her arm is exposed. The bandages are gone now, and the burn is healing, but it'll leave a nasty scar. And it's because of that motherfucking burn that I know Carson isn't close to the grand finale. There's more before that.
"He's not close," I declare. "Riley Montis had a piece of paper shoved down her throat with Genevieve's name on it." Now Genevieve's gazing up at me, eyes narrowed suspiciously in anticipation of what I'm saying that's spawning from sheer conjecture, but I know in my gut that I'm accurate. And the guys trust my instinct enough to hear me out. "All Carson's done to her is burn her arm and abduct her for a few hours, indulging her curiosity of Carson's history. He wants her for something else."
