Read Online When Passion Lies: A Shadow Keepers Novel by J. K. Beck - Free Book Online

otherwise after what had happened to Giorgio?
    Forcing his hand to remain steady, he lifted the picture, once again looking into her eyes—eyes that now seemed both sad and reproachful.
    His hand clenched, tighter and tighter until the glass cracked under the pressure, and he hurled the frame across the room, then watched as the glass shattered against the wall.
    He dropped his hand.
    He didn’t feel any better.
    Disgusted with himself, he crossed the room, glass cracking beneath his shoes as he reached the mess and bent over to pluck the photograph from the array of shards.
    On the far side of the room, the door clicked open, and Mrs. Todd poked her head in. “I heard a—oh.” She frowned at the mess surrounding him. “Is everything—”
    “It’s fine.”
    “Oh.” She cleared her throat. “There’s a hand broom and dustpan inside your closet. I’ll just go get …” She trailed off, then busied herself with tidying the floor. Tiberius watched, feeling more the fool with each whisk of the broom.
    “Was there something else?” he asked.
    She tilted her head up from where she was crouched on the floor. “There’s someone here to see you.”
    “Mrs. Todd, do you recall me mentioning that I was expecting someone?”
    “Of course, sir.”
    “Then perhaps you could have announced their presence earlier?”
    “Oh. Right. Of course, sir.”
    He forced his temper under control. He was on edge at the moment, and he knew it. It would do no one any good if he took it out on Mrs. Todd. “Who is it?” His voice sounded thick with anticipation, and he could only hope that his secretary hadn’t noticed.
    Caris
, she would say. And he would calmly nod and tell her to let the woman in.
    “It’s Mr. Dragos, sir.”
    An odd mixture of relief and disappointment washed over him. “Fine. Send him in.”
    Luke eased inside and took a seat on the couch. “I’ve got one hour for a briefing, and then I need to be at the airport. I’ve got my plane waiting, and I want to get home.”
    “I don’t blame you.” Tiberius leaned against his desk. “So what’s the news from Zermatt?”
    “They brought in a percipient,” Luke said. “Ylexi, from Berlin,” he added. “The delay in discovering the body worked in our favor. He saw nothing.”
    Tiberius nodded, relieved. “Good.” He needed his own answers as to why she’d killed Reinholt. Answers that would be hard to come by if she was the focus of a criminal investigation. Not to mention that having her executed for murder didn’t sit well with him for a lot of reasons.
    “Any other evidence at the scene that might lead back to her?”
    “Nothing. It looks like we’re good.”
    “Excellent.”
    Luke started to rise.
    “Just one more thing.”
    Luke sat again.
    “Give Koller a call from the airport. I want Division 12 pulled off the case. We’re putting an Alliance task force on it. If Koller has an issue with that, he can call me directly.”
    Luke was watching Tiberius carefully. “I understand the need to deal with her first, to understand what she did and why. But where’s the benefit in a task force?”
    “We got lucky with the percipient. Lucky with the evidence on scene. But a potential Alliance informant was assassinated, and that justifies an Alliance task force. Division 12 doesn’t need to be playing in this sandbox.”
    Luke’s eyes narrowed only slightly. “Why are you protecting her?”
    “I assure you I’m protecting my own interests as well.” It was a testament to their friendship that Tiberius answered at all. As a lieutenant, Luke’s question crossed the line to insolent. As a friend, it was fair.
    Luke stood and headed for the door. “I’ll call if I get any flak. Otherwise, call when you need me.”
    “Give Sara my best,” Tiberius added, referring to Luke’s wife. At her name, Luke’s eyes lit up, his warrior’s countenance softening with a smile.
    Tiberius had to smile, too, as he watched his friend leave. Once, he’d