Defying My Duty – DL Howe

When I get to the back I find her bedroom window wide open, the gauzy curtain flapping in the breeze. I stick my head inside and my mind explodes with horrifying possibilities. Her room is ransacked. Clothes everywhere, her jewelry and perfume bottles broken and scattered. Without a single thought, I hop through the window with the gnawing thought that I should call for back up, but fuck that. This is my girl and no one is gonna stop me from helping her. I want to rage and shout but I force my mind to calm and fucking think.

As I search the room for clues I notice her power is out and poor Sheba is lying in the hall. I’m convinced she’s dead until I fall by her side and see the slow, steady breaths moving her chest up and down. They must have tranquilized her. I war with myself about whether I should rush her to a vet or simply hope that she’ll be okay as the need to find my girl takes over. I know she has a security system so if the power went out the security company would’ve called.

I pull my cell out of my back pocket and search for the company before dialing. After the rigmarole of options, I finally reach an operator. “Hi, someone broke into the residence of 2163 Leander Lane. Was anyone on your end alerted?” “Is this the owner?” “My name is Jack Green and I’m a detective with Piper Falls.” I provide my badge number which seems to do the trick. “I’m afraid we weren’t alerted.”

“How is that possible?” I growl. “The power is completely shut off.” “According to our records, the alarm was shut off at approximately 2:49 am.” Whoever did this knew the passcode or more likely had the knowledge to override it. Shit! This has money and power written all over it. Then, as if they could read my mind a familiar number pops up on my phone.

“Thanks,” I mumble before switching over to the new call. I don’t say anything, I don’t need to. OceanofPDF.com Chapter Eleven Tatum gh, my head feels like it’s stuffed with cotton and my mouth is drier than the Sahara and tastes like a sewer. If that’s not bad enough when I start to move my muscles seize in sporadic cramps.

A Note To My Readers Detective Jack Green was first introduced in my book, More than Meets the Eye. He was the FMC Page’s partner. The prologue is a continuation of that story as it leads to this book. OceanofPDF.com D Prologue Jack ressed in head-to-toe black, my body weighed down with gnawing worry and fear I follow several SWAT and FBI members as we silently move through the elegant beauty of a Catholic Church. If Father Fitzpatrick is correct, we’ll discover this glory is only a cover for horror.

Opulence is slowly replaced with ordinary as marble gives way to dark wood. Down a narrow, rickety set of stairs, we come upon dirt-packed walls and dangling dull bulbs that barely give off enough light to see your hand in front of your face. Soon, even that limitation diminishes to total darkness, making it easier to see that far-away light, like a beacon leading us. The silence is soon demolished by the shouts of my fellow officers, as a handsome priest comes into view. He’s far from pristine, blood and gore splattering his face and hands that grip a horrific spiky rake.

He’s forgotten when my gaze moves to the woman I’ve been in love with for almost a decade. My partner, my best friend, Detective Page Morrison, strapped to a goddamned crucifix, her body covered in pinpricks leaking drops of blood. You see more crimson than skin but it’s nothing compared to her arms that have been ravaged. The skin and muscle are shredded, and I can see bone in some areas. I swallow around a gag, not because the sight is grotesque but because I know what she endured.

I start to go to her but Father Fitzpatrick is already there, pulling her unconscious body into his arms. The devastation is so clearly painted across his austere face, that it’s impossible not to know how much she means to him. This is a man so far in love that he would die if she took her last breath.

Days later I force myself to put one foot in front of the other as I move into the hospital. Nobody pays attention to the youngish-looking black man in street clothes. I thank my lucky stars that I’ve never had to wear a uniform, I’d rather avoid the attention, always wanting to escape under the radar. I know where she is, Ciaran texted me her room number days ago. I simply hadn’t found the courage to visit until now. Too worried about how she’s faring but more so, not wanting to face her after everything that was said between us the last time we spoke.

This is a short excerpt from the opening of “” by Unknown, quoted for review and introduction purposes. All rights belong to the copyright holders.

Book Information

• Unique ID: 5749bdb6cbff20ff
• File Extension: .pdf
• File Size: 1,397,724 bytes (1.333 MB)
• Title: –
• Author: Unknown
• Pages: 126
• Language: English (en)

Reading & Word Statistics

• Estimated Reading Time: 177.4 minutes
• Total Words: 35,480
• Total Characters: 185,461
• Average Words per Page: 281.59
• Average Characters per Page: 1471.91

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