Etched in Glass Read online

  “Until then, how about we order a few sandwiches and wait?” I know Miles was just waiting for this situation where I’d be a bitch to decline. I would, except I've got nowhere else to go and I'm going to be leaving with them afterwards.

  I look at Miles, appalled but angry, and he sees it. Hell, he knew I would have ditched him had I driven myself. Damnit, now I've got to socialize while all this goes on. Something I haven’t done in a while, and something to take my attention from the case.

  “No prob. I know your usual, but Vega, what would you like?” A question I'm not accustomed to. My partners leave me out on my own generally. I shake my head. I'm tempted to decline and just go, but Miles tightens his grip on me just enough to push me out of my thoughts.

  He still has his hand on me? What the hell is wrong with me that I didn't even notice?

  “Honestly, I'm not picky. Whatever you two are having is fine with me.” And just like my coffee answer, I have no preference. He nods giving Miles a strange look.

  I did notice that subtle shake of his head like they’re having a telepathic conversation. Great, so he can read minds. He thinks he can force me to do things, or include him in my plan, well he can just fuck off.

  As soon as that thought passed I have to make sure I didn’t verbally say it because he looks at me like he heard that thought. His eyes darkened and hold a lot of frustration.

  “Vega, you know it's okay to have preferences. To not be alone in things. Were you going to let me in on your plan?” Picking up that conversation again. I thought we would just move on.

  He knows I’m not. Doesn't take a mind reader to see my expression when he asked it. I slightly shake my head, sit back down and pick up a file. I can't do this right now.

  He takes his seat across from me again and stares with his arms crossed. Like that's going to make anything better or different. I pretend to read this file, hoping he’ll give up. Reading the same three words over and over trying to avoid his gaze.

  I forcefully slap the file on the table. “What do you want from me? I just want to solve this, and get my sister. I need to do this.” Well, if that isn't aggressive enough to say ‘back the fuck off' I don't know what would.

  “Vega. I want you to allow me to help. Promise I won't stomp all over your plans. I can help keep an eye out for things. It's better to have more than one person on this. Sure. I won't lie. I'd also feel better knowing you were safe too.” That cocky grin isn’t going to work for me. He’s too confident in himself.

  Why must he be nice about this? Why is he being reasonable? Is this normal behavior? Do people normally do this? I know my behavior isn't normal, I don’t know about his. He turns out that captivating voice trying to convince me, it shouldn’t work.

  I knew explaining my situation was the wrong thing to do. The only good thing that’s come out of this is he’s willing to help me search through a mass amount of files for evidence. It’s nice to know that someone else is interested in solving this case. But to intervene in my plans?

  Chapter 11

  Miles

  Just as I thought I was breaking through to her, Red came barging in. She looked relieved too. I can tell she was trying to avoid having other people around.

  When Red offered lunch she looked ready to run out of here. There's something about this woman that intrigues me though. Her attitude is one for sure and I want to know more, but her tendency to withdrawal scares me.

  Red places the food on the table by her and pulls out three large sandwiches. She eyes him up and down uncomfortable as he sits on the corner of the desk. Like he’s too close to her. Not an act from her I want to see, then she looks to the food.

  “You guys can seriously pack that away?” She asks in shock.

  Red laughs and nods. “Yeah, Vega. Us boys like to eat. Are you sure this is what you wanted?” He asks as he hands her the food.

  “I'm not some delicate woman who spends hours on her looks. I eat.” She looks at me. I know she hasn’t been based on her apartment, I understand it's grief from her sister being taken, but she needs to take care of herself. If she won’t, I’ll just have to.

  He laughs and takes a bite. I’m curious if she'd have the same reaction to this as she did the coffee this morning. At least she’s eating and not trying to run away. That's good. Now I hope she can let me in on her plan.

  “So, Vega.” He blurts out around a mouth full of food. “How long you been with the FBI?”

  A harmless question, but she reacted to it like it’s too personal, she didn’t react like that when I asked. Tightening her eyes for a second, taking in a deep breath as she regains composure like she’s trying her best to not say ‘fuck off'.

  “Um.” She puts the sandwich down, wipes her lip with her finger and sucked on it. “A few years. Got stuck with the idiot crew and treated like shit. But whatever gets me on this damn case I'll deal with it.” Her bitterness is definitely there.

  Red nearly chokes on his food when she cursed, guess he didn't expect it. I enjoy it. This attitude is definitely something that catches my attention. I know she’ll never take crap from anyone.

  “Sorry to hear it. I didn't want to say the wrong thing with you here, but hell. They are something alright. Doubted our Examiner’s report, doubted our last victim was connected. Assholes blew me off.” I can see the irritation on his face as he takes another bite.

  “Yeah. Did the same thing when thirty-eight was my sister.” She whispers under her breath. I sit up straight while my muscles involuntarily tighten and I watch her. I didn’t think she’d be that open with him so quick. I suppose it’ll come out eventually that her sister is a victim. Red is going to work beside us, but that was quick.

  I have no idea if she wants Red in on this, or how much she wants him to know. I look at her shocked that she said it easily, so I'll let her lead.

  He nearly drops his food and looks to me to see if I knew. I won’t show any hint that I’m aware of what she’s talking about. I try to look as shocked as him. Then he turns back to her.

  “I'm sorry, Vega. Did you say your sister? Do-do they know?” He asks quietly as if someone would be able to hear us through the door.

  “Nope. They overlooked that detail, and I'd prefer that they don't. I mean, I called ‘em when it happened, but they blew it off. Which is why I want this case. To catch that bastard.” And there's her aggression from the bar, it catches me instantly. Red looks taken by surprise by the abrasive tone, while I try to hide my smile from it.

  “Understood. And I agree to not let them know. How have you been since she was abducted?” Another harmless question, but this time it is personal.

  Red's always been sympathetic, and yet he's single. Would a woman mind a caring, concerned man who attunes to her needs? Probably not, and that's exactly how Red is. Makes the rest of us men look bad. I can see her questioning thought as she watches him though. Probably trying to determine if he’s able to help. Or, hell, trying to decide if his caring tone is true.

  She looks to me and I have no idea if she's going to let him in on it. Without a word though, I know exactly what she’s asking.

  “We've been partners a long time, Vega. I trust him with my life.” With that comment he looks down right scared at what's going to come next.

  Vega takes in a deep breath and releases it as she nods. “Not good. Who would be though, right? I was at the bar with her and left her unattended, that’s when the bastard got her. Seeing how no one took it seriously, I may have taken things a bit far in my off hours.” She quickly looks to me. There’s a worry in her expression that I want to take away.

  “What the hell does that mean?” He looks at me like I'm going to fill in the gaps. No way. It’s her situation and I’m not going to explain any part of it.

  “It's how I met Mr. Miles here. I was at a bar, alone, with the drink of choice. Asshole over there thought I couldn't handle myself against a drunk guy hitting on me.” She purposefully singles me out, but that slight chuck
le of hers amuses me. Red looks appalled because I never told him about it.

  “To be fair, he was getting rough with you. And I’m not going to sit back and watch a woman be subjected to that.” Hoping my reply is suitable, I lean back in my chair to watch the rest of this conversation.

  “You should’ve stayed out of it. I had it handled.” There’s a slight flare of anger flashing across her face while she stares me down. It doesn’t intimidate me as much as she thinks it will. I find it sexy as hell.

  “Not a chance, Vega.” She huffs and rolls her eyes back to Red.

  “I've compiled information I believe to be relevant to this case that no one else has bothered with. Miles came over this morning and helped me out. I needed more women to investigate. So here I am.” She says as she motions to the files.

  “Well. Miles.” He turns to me. I’m going to hear it. “You never told me about the hottie you 'saved' at a bar.” Then turns to Vega and points a finger at her. “I do not agree with what you’re doing though.”

  Like that’s going to stop her. I’ve been trying to get that through her head all morning. I swear if looks could kill though, I’d be putting red six feet down right now.

  “I said the same thing.” She laughs and looks between us. Didn’t know she could laugh through that aggression. Even though it was a dry laugh, it’s a start. Red and I have been partners for over eight years, this man is like a brother, but we don’t swap every story of our lives. Scratch that, I don’t swap every story of my life.

  “I can handle myself, thank you. I can't let either one of you risk your job for something off record I'm doing. I'd never forgive myself.”

  If I know Red, he's not taking 'no' for an answer on something like this. I agree.

  “Tough, Vega.” Red replies.

  Chapter 12

  Red

  This woman is all bite, no bark. Just lashes out and doesn't care who she insults. No wonder Miles is into her, he likes a challenging woman, and she's not bad if I do say so myself. I watch her devour a majority of lunch and leans back looking satisfied. Hell she's not shy and gets straight to the point.

  “I'll go check on the file coming through.” Miles says as he leaves us alone. With that pissed off, possessive look on his face as a warning, I didn’t think he would chance leaving her alone.

  “You know we aren't going to let you do this by yourself, right? You can protest all you want, it's not happening. I can't speak for Miles, but I won't see you be the next victim.”

  I remain on the desk next to her to stand my ground. I thought I would scare her a little, but she looks at me like it’s a challenge to fight. Crap.

  “Who the hell do you guys think you are? You can't interfere with what I'm going to do.” She scoots closer as her voice gets lower with each word. She’s intimidating, but it won't stop me.

  “Tough Vega. One of us, if not both are with you, or not at all. I'll make sure of that.”

  She scoffs. “Threats? I see. That's how you want to play it? Fuck off Redmond.” She growls just as Miles walks back in. He stops at the door, read the situation and looks down right pissed. At me.

  “What the hell just happened?” He asks as he closed the door.

  “Asshole number three here wants to threaten my job if I don't let you two in. What do I have to tell you guys? I don't give a shit what happens to my career by doing this, I'm getting my only family member out of that situation alive.” I don’t think her teeth could clench any harder with that growl.

  “Asshole number three?” I laugh.

  “I'm two.” Miles says as he waves his hand. This is great. I get the feeling that even if she did lose her job, she'd still do her undercover bit anyways, maybe less methodical too.

  “Damnit Red.” Miles places the file on the table in front of her while glaring at me.

  She quickly picks it up and reads through it. Looking on the edge of excitement about getting more information.

  “Damn.” She mutters as she continues to read it.

  “What is it Vega?” Miles asks her gently.

  That turn of his tone is interesting, I don’t think I’ve ever heard him speak that gentle to a woman before. Hell, he usually doesn’t have to try too hard to catch the interest of a woman. So this gentle voice is how he's getting her to comply? Got it. I can softly speak to her, and sway her aggressive attitude. Maybe get her to ease up. I’ve never had a problem with that.

  “I was going to hit this bar. I've got to take it out now. He doesn't repeat.” She looks at me. “I need access to her friends. Let's go.” She gets up, grabs the jacket from the desk, and is out the door in a second.

  “Is that your jacket?” I ask as we follow her. He chuckles.

  “Yeah. Lent it to her the other night at the bar.” Well, he’s never left his jacket with anyone before. He must have known he was going to see her again.

  Chapter 13

  Vega

  We're on our way to this small town not far from here. Definitely a place where a missing woman is noticeable, if a body were to show up here we would have known about it.

  “Two friends, went to a bar just outside of town with her. Didn't think anything of it when it was time to go home and they couldn't find her. Made the report when they couldn't get a hold of her the next day.” Miles reads from the file as Redmond drives.

  “Yeah. Been a few months, no leads.” Redmond adds in.

  “No investigations? No one saw anything?” I ask like they have the answers.

  “No. Like most of our other cases, they assume she left on her own with a man, nothing related to this case. We'll pass by the bar before we get to the station. Get a glimpse before we get to it.” Redmond replies like that matters.

  “I've not had the pleasure of speaking with these witnesses before. Should be fun. Just the two?”

  “Just the two. Longtime friends, they came out here while on break from college.” Redmond replies.

  “Any mention of evidence?” Miles asks. I’m hoping someone picked up a glass. Redmond shakes his head to his question.

  “No. No one saw it, and they thought she was goin’ for a one nighter, didn't take evidence because they didn't think it was important.” He adds in.

  “I'm going to talk to that manager.” I say as we pull up to the station, I hesitate on that fact. I’m not going to talk to him, I’m going to interrogate him to see what he knows.

  “Vega, we need you. Flash that badge and get us access to what we want.” Miles winks as he opens my door.

  “Using me for my credentials. I see.” I walk by him and chuckle.

  “You think your partners will want in on this?” Redmond asks while we wait to be helped. Like those idiots think anything I do is relevant to the case. I scoff.

  “No.”

  Miles stands close to me. Close enough that I can feel his heat, which makes me nervous. It’s too close for comfort. After a few minutes of flashing that badge these boys wanted, the officer who was in charge of this case took us to a back room to talk.

  “FBI? Why is the FBI involved in this case?” This man’s voice is apathetic, obviously he has no interest in going back through this case.

  “Quite simple Officer. We've connected her to other abductions similar to this, her disappearance is just as odd as those. Oh. Yeah, and the fact that we found her naked body in a park with a number branded into her body like she was fucking cattle. So tell me. Why wasn't this case taken seriously? A more thorough search possibly? A woman disappears and nothing happens?” I inch closer with every word until I’m against the desk. It's people like him in this line of work that gives victims and their families no hope. I’d fix that if I could too. Make an example out of people like him.

  “Why wasn't the FBI involved when she went missing?” Oh, this son-of-a-bitch. I move my arms onto the desk. Miles put his hand on my shoulder, gently tugging me back as he clears his throat. Like I’d listen to him. I ignore the warmth and warning from him and did my best to not
lunge at this officer’s throat.

  “Because your crap department didn’t feel it was important enough to call us in. How’s that?” Miles tries to rein in my aggression again, but it’s not going to work.

  “We would just like to let you know we are going to interview the witnesses, and take a look at the bar. Is there anything on this case that isn't in the file?” Miles asks.

  He’s aggressive with his reply too. At least I'm not the only one, or my aggression is just contagious. I can see Redmond's expression matching both our tones. This Officer doesn’t know what he’s up against.

  “What are you implying?” His defensive tone kicks in quick. That's making me question his role in all of this. Hell, everyone who took to this case uninterestedly is a suspect in my eyes.

  “Nothing. Thanks for your help, we'll get on with our investigation.” Miles replies.

  “Did you notify the victim's family or do you need us to do that for you?” I say while I hit Miles' attempt to refrain me away. This officer looks a bit frightened, and he should be.

  “When we got your call, we notified them.” So now he’s upset? Now he looks remorseful about this woman’s death. Only because he had to do his job and notify her family. Seeing their faces, and witnessing their tears must have been the breaking point for him.

  “We'd like their information as well. May need to talk to them. Thank you.” Redmond demands as he gets up. These men are right along with me in the aggression factor. Maybe having them around won’t be so bad.

  We get into the car and head out to the first witnesses' house. I’m trying to prepare myself for grieving loved ones. It’s the hardest part. On them and on me.

  “Damn Vega. Tear the guy a new one.” Redmond laughs.

  “Would have done worse if Miles would decide to let me fight my own battles, and keep his hands off of me.” I look to him. “Second warning.”