Read Online Edge of the Heat 7 by Lisa Ladew - Free Book Online

drove the lumbering, borrowed, government sedan as quickly as he dared up and down the inclines of San Francisco. He ended up being only twenty-five minutes late, which was better than he had hoped for, but since it was after five o'clock, he still wondered if he had missed his chance. Luckily the hop flights ran every hour on the hour until eight p.m. He'd have a good chance of getting home for a late dinner.
    He hurried into the office of the red brick building on Franklin Street. A woman with waist-length, bouncy blonde hair stood with her back to him, locking the glass door that read Battaini Securities. Probably a secretary. Hawk ran up to her and tried to put on a charming smile. "Wait, I have an appointment with Miss Battaini. Is she still here?"
    The young woman turned cold eyes on him and scolded him. "You're late."
    "I know, I'm sorry. Traffic was awful. Is Miss Battaini here?"
    The woman in front of him studied him for a few more minutes and then lightened up. A smile crossed her face, making her look all of twenty-five. She stuck out her hand. "Hi, call me Brindi. You must be Hawk Kincaid with the FBI."
    Hawk smiled back and mentally relaxed. Now he knew why he'd been hearing so much about her. Too many men in law enforcement and security were still old-fashioned, thinking only other men could do the job well, so when a woman did the job as well as they did, it was always news to them. When an attractive woman did it, those same men fell all over themselves trying to work with her.
    Brindi led him inside and sat him down in the chair opposite her desk. Hawk stuttered for a moment, not sure how to proceed. He hadn't spent any time thinking about how to get her to do something that was surely against her ethics and could even make her lose her license if things went bad.
    He would have to explain to her how bad things were for his family right now. How important this information was. He would appeal to her sense of decency, of rightness. Promise her he would never reveal what she said. Something important niggled in the back of Hawk's mind and he reached for it, but he couldn't quite get it. He let his mind work it out on its own and turned his attention back to Brindi.
    "One of your men is following someone and I need to know why."
    Brindi blinked, but didn't respond in any way.
    "JT—Jon Taylor. You have someone following him."
    Brindi leaned back in her chair and put her hands behind her head. Her eyes searched the ceiling and she shook her head slowly. "You know I can't tell you anything about that."
    Hawk pressed his lips together. "And you know I can get a warrant. Make you open the files."
    Brindi sat straight up and faced him openly. "Do you have grounds for a warrant?"
    Hawk stared at her, trying not to challenge her. Slowly, he shook his head no.
    Brindi opened her hands like that explained everything. "Sorry, Hawk. I wish I could help you. But I know you understand my position. I just wish you hadn't come all the way from Westwood Harbor to hear me say no. I could've told you that over the phone."
    Hawk leaned forward, not about to give up that easily. He lowered his voice. "Look, Jon Taylor is my brother-in-law. Our family has been through seven levels of hell in the last forty-eight hours and we need your help."
    Brindi gave him a small smile. "Hawk, you seem like a nice guy and I'm really sorry about your family. But I can't help you. You know the confidentiality rules and ethics. I take them very seriously."
    Hawk felt his heart sink like a stone. "I get that. But let me ask you something. How would you feel if you provided information to someone that caused people to end up dead? Innocent people."
    Brindi narrowed her eyes. "Is that the case?"
    Hawk pressed his lips together. He didn't want to lie, but if she heard his story— what he had been through in the last two days and if she thought those events were related to this...
    Hawk exploded out of his chair as connections formed like a cement wall