Page 161 of Storm Warning

By the time she finished giving her report, Brent had his phone in his hand. “Don’t worry about Abby.” He sent a text to someone, then smiled. “Done. Jon and Eli are on the way to pick her up as we speak. She’ll be debriefed and relieved of duties.”

“For what it’s worth, sir, I don’t think Abby understood the consequences of her actions. She’s never been mean or hateful to me. I think she sees us as friends.”

“That friend betrayed you in the worst way. She put you in harm’s way and nearly got your man killed. I wouldn’t trust her near my family for any amount of money.”

She held up her hand. “Got it, sir. I’m shutting up now.”

“I have four pieces of good news to share.”

Riley’s eyebrows rose. “Don’t keep us in suspense. We could use some good news.”

“Thanks to your research files on Christopher Hatton and his parents, one of our lawyers was able to convince a judge to give me temporary custody of Christopher. According to our lawyer, we have a good case against Ambassador Hatton for child endangerment and abuse.”

“What about Christopher’s mother?”

“Still working on that. We won’t give up until we find her or locate her body.”

Riley’s eyes burned. “Thank you, sir.”

“You followed your instincts, Riley. Because you did, Christopher will have the kind of life that he deserves, one with a family that will love and support him as he grows up.”

Andre wrapped his hand around Riley’s. “What’s the second thing?”

“Harlen Ludlow is dead.”

“How?”

“Made the mistake of holding up a grocery store and shooting the night manager in the leg. The manager on duty used to be a baseball player, so he had a bat handy.” Maddox smiled. “Because Ludlow threatened to shoot a store employee who was pregnant, the manager felt he had no choice. One strike, and Ludlow was out.”

Andre looked stunned. “I don’t believe it.”

“Oh, believe it.”

“What’s the third piece of news?”

“The US Marshals found your friend Jared Brown. He is now safety back behind bars where he belongs.”

Andre blew out a breath. “Thank God. At least I won’t have to worry about him coming after Riley.”

“Last bit of good news.” Maddox turned to Riley. “Kara Street received an anonymous email that contained details of Miles Thomas’ assaults on fifteen teenage girls. Only one of those girls was brave enough to file charges that ultimately sent him to prison. The email was thorough enough that Ms. Street called off the wedding and tossed Thomas out of her home.”

Relief flooded Riley. “That’s excellent news, sir.”

“Oh, there’s one more bit of news. It seems Thomas received a middle-of-the-night visit from five men dressed in black from head to toe.”

Her heart skipped a beat.

“Thomas understands what will happen to him if he comes near you. He’s decided he’ll be better off leaving this area for good.”

This time, Riley couldn’t stop the tears from trickling down her cheeks. Leave it to her boss to ensure his people were safe, even from childhood nightmares. “Thank you, sir.”

He gave a brief nod.

The EMTs arrived, and on their heels were officers from the Hartman Police Department.

Riley sighed and brushed the tears from her cheeks. Let the fun begin.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR