Renewed Faith (CSA Case Files 3 / Military Romance)
Read Renewed Faith (CSA Case Files 3 / Military Romance) Online
Authors: Kennedy Layne
Tags: #Mystery, #Thriller
CSA Case Files, Book Three
Kennedy Layne
Copyright © 2014 Kennedy Layne
RENEWED FAITH
Copyright © 2014 by Kennedy Layne
Kindle Edition
E-Book ISBN: 978-0-9899739-1-5
Cover art by Sloan Winters
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.
Elsie—you will forever be remembered.
Jeffrey, my loving husband…you give me faith every day. I love you.
Prologue
C
rest walked across the living room floor of his penthouse apartment, the dim lamp in the living room casting just enough light to guide him. Satisfaction flowed through him as the warmth of the hardwood soaked into his bare feet. The under floor heating system that he’d had installed last winter was well worth every penny that he’d paid. December had certainly brought with it the colder weather and once again, he questioned his decision to base his investigative agency in Minneapolis. Minnesota was the state he’d been born in, but Florida was sounding better and better.
Walking around the obsidian quartz topped island which separated the kitchen from the living space, Crest opened the refrigerator and steeled himself against the chilly mist-filled draft that wafted over his bare chest. He let the brushed nickel door swing open as he tightened the belt on his favorite luxury men’s robe that had been a present from a woman he’d had a previous casual intimate relationship with. She’d surprised him with an all expenses paid weekend at a Catskills exclusive spa, which included the robe. He still stopped in to see her whenever he was in Washington for business.
Crest pulled a bottle of Lauquen mineral water off of the bottom shelf and then closed the door. He heard the whirl of the coffee grinder echo through the stillness as the five o’clock morning hour struck. The aroma of the rich select Jamaican Blue Mountain ground beans filled the air as they were released into the custom coffee maker. He contemplated waiting for the coffee to brew, but then he heard the distinctive ringtone of his cell coming from the bedroom. He unscrewed the cap of the bottle and took a swill of the chilled water as he walked back from where he’d come from. The uniquely refreshing liquid was exactly what he needed after the last few hours. It was bottled from an aquifer fifteen hundred feet below the Andes Mountains and no purer water existed on the planet.
Crossing the threshold of his bedroom, Crest ignored the rumpled brown Egyptian cotton sheets and matching down-filled comforter along with the various articles of clothing that were strewn across the floor. He made his way to the nightstand and picked up his phone. Seeing Jessie’s name on the display had him tightening his jaw. Her calling him this early was never a good thing. He entered his ten-digit pin along with his index fingerprint for the embedded scanner and answered.
“Has Taryn found something on the search?”
“No,” Jessie replied, the noise of car horns honking in the background almost obscuring the sound of her voice. She was obviously in the vicinity of the office. “Kevin just called me though. He’s been at a murder scene for the past two hours and is requesting that we get in touch with that profiler you worked with on both the Karnes and Sweeney case. I just wanted to run it by you before I placed the call.”
Crest set the bottle of water down on the nightstand and then rubbed the back of his neck, relishing the coolness of his fingers as he tried to knead away the tension that was beginning to mount. The search he’d been referring to was in regards to a freelance contractor that cost a great deal of money in exchange for his services as a hired assassin. An extremely cunning and manipulative man who went by the name of Ryland who was a danger to Crest and his team. Ryland had somehow managed to escape a federal supermax prison six months ago. No one had any indication as to how he’d orchestrated such a feat with regards to his exodus. The safety of Crest’s personnel was essential and this extended pursuit had taken up most of his daily life. Unfortunately, their lives did have to go on in the interim.
His team of six associate members, not including Jessie and numerous support staff on call, had become family over the years. Connor, Jax, Kevin, and Ethan were former Marines that he’d selected specifically to come and work for him. The same could be said of Taryn, with the exception that she was former Navy Intel. Lach was the latest addition to the group, although he’d been a Bureau Hostage Rescue Team Leader before needing a change in pace. Although Crest intentionally kept Lach’s past a mystery to the other team members, they each in turn knew that Crest wouldn’t have selected him to join the agency unless he met his own special list of criteria. It was unfortunate that the past caseloads hadn’t provided much of a change.
“Go ahead,” Crest instructed, his eyes zeroing in on the bathroom door as it slowly opened to reveal a petite brunette wearing nothing but one of his plush terry cloth towels. For a brief moment, he swore it was Jessie standing there with the steam billowing around her feminine form. A flash of embarrassed irritation shot through him. He’d already established boundaries when it came to Jessie. The age difference alone would have been enough to cross her off of his list of potential mates. This reaction hammered home the fact that he was definitely burning the candle at both ends. Something had to give and soon. “I missed that. What did you say?”
“Do you want Fallon Canna flown in or just have the case files sent to her?”
As the lovely brunette sauntered towards him, sliding her fingers underneath the soft fabric, Crest turned away. He clenched his jaw to prevent himself from snapping into the phone when Jessie had done nothing more than ask him a reasonable question. Hell, she’d kept her distance from him since the wedding of one of his team members when he’d basically spelled things out for her. It would be easier on everyone if he just fired her, but Crest couldn’t bring himself to do that. This was his burden to bear and he would damn well man up and be the professional that he was.
“For now, just send Fallon the case files along with Kevin’s AME2000 number. Fallon can contact him directly after she’s written up a profile. Remind me to have Kevin change out his secure phone once the case wraps and have Taryn network update his new number into the other members’ devices.” Crest could hear the sound of the sheets rustling, indicating that his guest was waiting for him. “I’ll be into the office within the hour.”
Crest disconnected the call without waiting to hear if Jessie had anything else to add. He’d originally planned to make his guest breakfast, enjoy the coffee that was now brewing, and return to bed to continue what had been a very pleasurable night. That wouldn’t happen now, for his mind was running at a thousand beats per minute. He also refused to allow something that had little significance to ruin a perfectly good start to the morning. It was still salvageable. He walked back around the bed and placed his phone on the nightstand.
“I think you might have missed a few spots,” Crest murmured, holding out a hand. Her smooth fingers slid into his and her beautiful smile brightened. Pulling her to stand directly in front of him, he allowed her hands to slip under the lapel of his robe. He tried his damnedest to forget everything outside of this room, but staring into the emerald green eyes before him made that difficult. “And I think I have just enough time to make sure every inch of your body is thoroughly washed.”
Chapter One
K
evin Dreier was kneeling in the corner of an abandoned warehouse, observing the crime scene while a forensics team finished processing the evidence. The body of a young woman lay sprawled out on the frigid faded concrete, as if she’d been garbage to be discarded. Her clothes were ripped, her skin had cuts and bruises in every exposed area, her dull brown hair was matted, and it was obvious that she fought like hell. She hadn’t known it was a losing battle and the single bright ligature mark around her pale neck left a blaring message for all to see. The scumbag who did this thought he was entitled. It took time to manually strangle another human being. Their killer had time to consider what he was doing and he had tossed her away, intent on this purpose.