HIS Choice: An H.I.S. Novel (H.I.S. series Book 2) (3 page)

“No. We’re clear so far.” The man sitting next to him stared straight ahead. You couldn’t tell the difference unless you looked for it. The suit fit well and there was no redness on his neck. This was going
to work.

AJ disconnected the call and checked the rear view mirror again. Tight muscles refused to allow him to settle until
this ended.

Exactly forty minutes later they arrived at the Chicago Executive Airport. He and Hank wiped down the SUV before they boarded the Gulfstream G650. The truck would eventually be found. Linking it to today’s activities would
be impossible.

AJ walked aboard and straight to the bar, grabbing a cold beer before he took a seat, fully stretching his legs. It was Tim’s time to
take over.

Tim Treymayne, the team leader, had been entrusted with ensuring the mission went smoothly. He and another man usually drove on the missions, but for some reason they’d asked for him and Hank to take their place today, while they’d remained on
the plane.

AJ figured since this had to be the boldest and highest profile move they’d ever made, Tim wanted sacrificial lambs in case things went wrong. They didn’t realize he wasn’t anyone’
s lamb.

The team bribe guy, Ted Magee, lounged in the back of the plane, a drink in his hand. “
Any problems?”

AJ shook his head wondering how much time went into preparing for a mission such as this, finding the people to blackmail or bribe. Jeremy had regularly bragged, “Almost everyone has skeletons in their closet, and I find them.” Maybe it had been
a threat.

This team’s boss didn’t accept mistakes. Every move was too important, and it took only one small error for the entire mission to fail. They’d done this many times over the past few years with nothing but success. So far, today’s mission was
no exception.

Each secret mission brought in more money than months of drug sales. Only this team, the bosses and now he and Hank knew about this side business of the Magician’s.

His muscles relaxed once they
were airborne.

Tim made a call on the satellite phone. “It’
s done.”

AJ let out a sigh of relief. They had successfully broken Denzel Wilkins, a high profile drug kingpin, out of a
federal prison.

Applause greeted Megan’s arrival at the newsroom. Joy and pride instilled lightness in her step. She’d been the people’s voice in fighting the scum on the streets. She’d made a difference in the world, at least in her tiny part
of it.

In the back corner, her colleagues and friends, Janet, Kelly, Kyle and Victoria congregated around her cluttered desk, each holding the
morning edition.

Sporting a wide, warm smile, Kelly held up the newspaper. “Megan, this is excellent! The photos leave no doubt of his activities.” She swiped a loose tendril from
her face.

Kelly Williams was the most strikingly beautiful woman Megan knew. She loved the straight blonde hair she’d inherited from her mother, but did envy the natural waves in her friend’s
auburn hair.

“How’d you come upon this?”
Janet asked.

Megan removed her coat and shrugged. She sat before her desk, and then placed her purse in the top drawer. “Following Keyshawn was easier than I thought it would be. He didn’t check to see if it was safe before he made exchanges. And Councilman Thomas walked around as if he owned
the street.”

Witnessing that particular exchange had been luck. Now the councilman would be questioned, his reputation besmirched in the media, and she couldn’t be happier. Maybe they’d finally force him to resign from the Baltimore
City Council.

“You have great sources to get you lined up with this dealer,” Kyle said. “I’ve heard of him. He’s notorious for avoiding the police.”

A knowing grin crossed her face. “I have amazing sources.” Keyshawn was only a start. With her sources, she’d catch more than the
little fish.

Victoria grimaced. “I wish some of your sources could help me. I need new ones, the ones I have
are useless.”

She and Victoria had been paired investigating Magic Shop. Megan was on the drug side and Victoria on the
prostitution side.

“What’s next for you, Megan?” The tall red-headed Janet McFarland glowed. She and her husband were expecting a daughter and hoped she’d have her mother’s emerald green eyes. Being six months pregnant hadn’t slowed her down. She still dug into her investigations with full force. The office pool odds favored her dropping the baby during
an interview.

“I had hoped to continue following Keyshawn until he met up with his boss but something happened last night that halted my plans. I do have a couple of photos of suspicious people I’d like you to look at, Victoria.”

The two of them shared photos and notes daily hoping for a link. They were hoping for something that could break
their story.

“Actually, all of you should take a look in case you’ve run across them in your investigations. If you don’t know, I’ll take the photos to my sources. I think two of the men I captured are police officers potentially taking
a bribe.”

The police would want to talk with her. They wouldn’t be happy about her article. It had been worth
it though.

Victoria nodded. “Good. I haven’t seen anyone interesting. I followed the pimps but they’ve led me nowhere except the brothel. I haven’t been able to sneak in. Their security
is tight.”

Megan nodded. “It’s okay. I think I’ve a good lead
for us.”

“Just be careful. As you’re well aware, the Magician has a reputation for being ruthless.” Kyle moved closer and placed a hand on her shoulder. “I’m just worried about you. We wouldn’t want you to disappear also. We’ve gotten used to our
Southern belle.”

Megan had been raised on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Her friends swore she had a southern accent but she knew better. They had
northern accents.

“What am I, chopped liver?” Victoria asked, her hands on her hips, a silly grin on
her face.

He looked up. “We’ve seen you kick ass so we know you can take care
of yourself.”

“Wait
a second…”

The team broke out in laughter before Megan
could finish.

Kelly smiled. “Megan, you really should have joined us last night. I think I found Mr. Right.”

Kelly’s beauty stopped men in their tracks. They also enjoyed the tight, short dresses she wore. Today’s dress was tangerine, complimenting her figure and complexion. Megan couldn’t understand how her friend could walk on high heels in the snow and ice. And, her legs had to be freezing. Megan wore thick stockings under her slacks and still felt
the
chill.

She swiveled her chair to face Kelly. “Sorry. I didn’t feel like getting out. You know how I am in this weather. I don’t like to drive after dark unless it’s for a story.” Snow and darkness were a bad combination in Megan’s mind. She stressed enough driving during the day in winter weather. Driving at night had her muscles so tight it would take a masseur several days to
unravel them.

“Since you refuse to come out with us, we’ll talk here,”
Janet said.

Four serious looks focused on her. Uh oh. They were ganging up on her. She silently groaned.
Not again
.

“Megan, we’re worried about you. You haven’t dated in months. We don’t like seeing you alone. And don’t say you aren’t lonely because we won’t believe you. It’s worse in winter since you hibernate in your brownstone. It’s time you moved past Marcus and find a man.” Janet was always the spokesman, spokeswoman in her case, for the group. And dang it, she was usually right. Okay,
always right.

Marcus Bryant had been Megan’s fiancé until she’d found him in bed with her best friend, Merissa. He’d had the audacity to tell Megan he still loved her and wanted to work things out. How could he think she’d stay with him after she’d found him in bed with another woman? No matter what he’d said, he hadn’t truly loved her. If he had, he’d have
remained faithful.

“There’s nothing wrong with my not dating. I haven’t met the right man. And I’m not lonely.” She wouldn’t admit it, but she was lonely. Bob, the long-haired cat she’d adopted from the shelter was great, but sometimes she wanted the conversation and closeness her cat couldn’
t provide.

Her belief in men had shattered with her heart. She didn’t trust herself not to choose another cheating useless excuse for a man, or a criminal. When she desired sex, one-night stands were now the way to go. No strings.
No heartbreak.

Victoria cast a withering look. “You don’t even try. When we go out, men throw themselves at your feet, and you send every one of
them packing.”

“It’s time you moved on. We miss the twinkle in your eye you had when you dated,” Kyle added, fidgeting with the yellow smiley face-covered tie his sons bought him for his birthday. He wore it, and the many others his children picked out, proudly.

Megan fought to keep from groaning out loud. They wouldn’t relent. “First of all, men don’t fall at my feet, they fall at Kelly’s. The leftovers come to me. I don’t want a man who speaks to me by default. Being second choice isn’t fun,” she insisted. “What do you expect me to do, drag each man to bed until one sticks?” She’d never let that happen. Not
any longer.

“Being a smartass isn’t attractive on you, Megan. It’s time you at least tried. There are plenty of men who come to you and not Kelly. If you’d try, you might find you have something in common with one of them. You can do things with men without having sex,” Janet
told her.

Megan couldn’t share with her friends that she didn’t want to do things outside the bed with men. They weren’t worth it. She’d tried exposing her heart only to have it crushed, destroyed, left empty. It would not
happen again.

They meant well, but she didn’t want to do this. She didn’t want to have this conversation, particularly not after the elation for exposing Councilman Thomas. “Can we do this another time? I’m not in the mood to talk about my
love life.”

“You never are.” Her pregnant
friend stood.

Before they could depart, Kristen Michaels, their boss and editor, approached her desk. “Megan. In my office. Now.” She turned and
walked away.

This can’t
be good.

Her friends leveled her sympathetic looks before
they scattered.

She rubbed her lips with her pomegranate lip balm before leaving her desk. She walked in slow, small, measured steps attempting to overcome the sudden shakiness in her limbs and her racing heartbeat. Kristen wasn’t happy. What had she done wrong? Had the councilman threatened to sue like he’d said? Surely they wouldn’t hold
her responsible.

Like her journalists, Kristen’s desk stood in disarray, covered in paper and newspaper. She leaned back in her black executive chair. “I’m assuming you saw the police detectives leave my
office earlier.”

Not sure if it was a question or a statement, Megan dropped in a burgundy arm chair and nodded, looking into a pair of sharp, brown eyes. Her boss had a reputation for being tough, but Megan liked her anyway. Kristen played fair and supported her staff even when they came to her with far-fetched ideas
for investigations.

“I kept them from dragging you out of here. They expect you at the station in the next two hours. They aren’t happy that you captured a drug dealer in action, and we published it without informing them. Especially since it happened to be a high profile citizen making the buy. Excuse me, allegedly.” She stressed the last word with a tight grin on her face. “They threatened to charge you with obstruction of justice. I don’t see how they can.” She cleared her throat. “You did an excellent job on the article. You didn’t do anything wrong, or I wouldn’t have accepted it. If you’d reported it to the police before you wrote the article, we wouldn’t have had the exclusive on Councilman Thomas. They would’ve tried to keep it out of the news
all together.”

Megan swallowed the lump in her throat. She’d expected some fallout from the police for not contacting them first, but not a charge of obstruction of justice. She didn’t care to go
to jail.

“Until Kevin convinced me he had a good lead into Magic Shop and pestered me to let him dig further, I only allowed my journalists to report, not investigate them. I consider it too dangerous and that’s saying something. Now I’ve got you and Victoria, who pestered me also about digging into them. Don’t get me wrong. I want to unmask the Magician but not at the expense of another journalist’s life. I’m still not sure I’m doing the right thing, but I know you’d go behind my back. So would Victoria, since she was sweet on Kevin. If it gets too risky, I’m pulling the two
of back.”

“Kristen, I won’t pull back,” Megan responded firmly, her muscles tensing, on alert. She would do it on her own
if necessary.

“I know you have a personal connection to this, Megan. I shouldn’t have allowed you to take it.” Her boss looked pointedly at her. “You can’t cross that line. Keep
it professional.”

“No matter what happened to Kevin, our drug and prostitution problems are out of control. If one of us can find out who the crime boss is; our streets will be cleaner, safer.” At least until someone else stepped into his shoes. Baltimore would never be
drug free.

“If either of you receive even one death threat, you’re both off
this project.”

She would find either her brother’s killer or the Magician, preferably both, death threats or not. She owed it to her family. Nodding, she said, “Don’t worry. I’m sure I’ll
be fine.”

“I don’t like you walking around the west side of Pigtown at night, alone. I know Victoria is covered with her judo or whatever the hell kind of belt she has, but are you taking precautions for your safety? I do want you to
be safe.”

Megan almost snorted aloud. Kristen wanted her journalists to get the story no matter what. The roughest part of Baltimore, a bit too close to the Orioles’ stadium, had been dubbed Pigtown, but it didn’t frighten Megan. Well, not all of the time. Then she realized again that no one worried about Victoria. Did they really believe she wasn’t capable of taking care
of herself?

Clearing her throat, she responded, “I have a carry permit and a thirty-eight in my purse and pepper spray in
my pocket.”

She’d been on several dangerous streets and had yet to have a problem. She dressed to fit in and never identified herself as a journalist, but she’d convinced a few, here and there, to provide her with helpful information, but most people avoided her. Keyshawn had been the exception. He had to have known she followed him. That raised the question of why did he let her continue to do it? She’d ponder that later. The police
came first.

“That’s good. Hopefully, you won’t have to
use either.”

She hoped so also. Shooting a human being was not on her
bucket list.

“What else do you have?”
Kristen asked.

Megan showed her boss a photo, holding the one with her sexy, criminal man back until she decided what to do with it. “I’m almost positive that’s two Baltimore police officers. I’ll find out their identities and see if there’s a story there. Victoria is looking the photo over to see if she’s seen any of them in the Dog Pound.” She grimaced. Street walkers congregated in the area known as the Dog Pound, and she preferred to avoid it. Victoria could have that portion of the Magician’
s business.

“It’d be great if you could prove bribery.” Kristen pushed the photo back across the desk to Megan. “We know many in the police department
are corrupt.”

True. It angered her just to think about it. “If we don’t flush out the officers on the Magician’s payroll before I expose him, it will be my
next project.”