Page 17 of Fighting for Tawny

“Yeah, you too, Mack.”

On the hour-long drive down to Laguna Beach, Finn lowered his windows and allowed the cool late fall breeze to wash through the car and keep him alert. The Tylenol did little to relieve his headache, and he regretted losing his self-control last night. Macklin would probably mention his drinking binge to Jadah, who would then inform her twin Jiena, who, Finnigan prayed, would not relay the situation to Tawny. He didn’t want her to know that he’d fallen apart when she counted on him to be a rock for her. Finnigan cursed his helplessness.

The silence of the home he shared with Tawny rang in his ears and oppressed him. He dropped his keys and wallet on an accent table in the foyer and carried his dirty clothes to the laundry niche between the kitchen and the garage. He loaded the washing machine and started the cycle. In the kitchen, Finnigan pulled a bottle of water from the fridge and drained it in several gulps. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. At loose ends, he wandered through the house, looking for something to occupy his mind and his time.

Finnigan’s first inclination was to head to Justice and Brielle’s house, always the hub of their lively gatherings, but it stood as silent and empty as his own home. Justice and Cameron and Brianna were renting an apartment on a short-term lease to be close to her while she remained hospitalized in LA.

After his father, a firefighter, had died on the job, he, his sister, and his mother grew distant from one another. They thought he should abandon his lifelong goal of joining SWAT in favor of following in his father’s footsteps, and he refused. His mother retreated into herself and stopped speaking to him. So did his sister when he voiced his opinion about her career path. The passage of time eased the tension between them but did not repair the damage inflicted on their relationship.

Finnigan considered calling his mother and sister but squelched the impulse and contacted Miguel and Hutch instead. Both were on duty, pulling extra shifts to cover Justice’s absenteeism. About to go stir crazy alone with his thoughts, Finnigan decided to head to the beach for a long run. He changed into sweatpants, an old T-shirt, and running shoes and headed toward the front door. He pulled it open and stared at Jiena standing there with her hand raised to either knock or ring the bell.

“Jiena! Hi.”

“I looked for you earlier this morning.”

Finnigan rubbed the back of his neck with his hand. “Yeah. Um, I’m ashamed to admit I got drunk last night and slept it off at Mack’s place.”

Jiena smiled. “Well, I won the bet. Mack and Jadah didn’t think you’d own up to it. May I come in? I have news about Tawny.”

CHAPTER SIX

“Commander Mattox, please let me go inside the CIFW. I can teach fire classes. My dad taught me everything he knew about firefighting. Then, I can supervise the inmates at fire camp. Trust me, Tawny and I will solve this case together.”

Commander Mattox scowled his displeasure. “Sergeant Finnigan, we’ve been over this. I made myself clear about your going undercover several times. The answer is no. I can’t spare you. Do not bring it up again.”

Finnigan turned toward Jiena, who’d met him at SWAT’s command center. He needed reinforcements to persuade Commander Mattox to change his mind. “A little help here, please?”

“Commander Mattox is right. I’m sorry, Finn, but you’re not the obvious choice.”

Finnigan’s heart rate spiked with ire as heat enflamed his face. “What do you mean? Who’s the ‘obvious choice,’ if not me?”

“I am.”

Finnigan spun around and stared into a face that mirrored his own—same shade of light brown hair, same deep brown eyes, same arrangement of facial features. Finnigan and his sister could have been twins if not for the two-year age difference.

Moira Finnigan stared at him. A tiny half-smile played about her lips. The familiar smirk, the smugness of it, brought him to the boiling point.

“Oh, hell no!” Finnigan exploded. “No way my sister is going undercover instead of me. Moira doesn’t know shit about law enforcement.”

Moira stood ramrod straight. The smirk morphed into an indignant glare. “And you, Marcus, don’t know shit about fighting real fires. Oh, you can teach the science and the physical requirements but not the practical experience. Out in the field, those women’s lives depend on someone who truly understands the danger. My sole focus will be on keeping everyone safe, including Tawny. We’ll protect each other.”

“If that’s not enough to convince you, Finnigan,” Jiena added, “it’s my op, and we’re doing this my way. Moira is the right choice, whether you agree or not.”

There was no point in arguing based on the stubborn expressions on Moira’s and Jiena’s faces. And Commander Mattox’s stern countenance meant he would brook no more protestations from him.

“Okay, I get it. So, what’s the plan?”

“We were able to ascertain the name of the fire instructor and have detained him for questioning. He may or may not be part of Warden Stoltz’s scheme. He contacted Stoltz to tell him he’s ‘sick’ and to expect a replacement. Moira is heading to CIFW now,” Jiena explained.

“What if Stoltz recognizes her name?”

“It doesn’t matter. Your connection to Tawny has been scrubbed from all social media, not only by my cyber tech but by Tex, too. Unless Stoltz’s organization has a tech genius equal to ours, there’s no way he’ll discover the truth.” Jiena spoke with confidence.

“You said ‘organization.’ Is this more complicated than what we originally assumed?”

Jiena tapped a few keys on the computer console, and three faces appeared on the large screen, along with demographic information. Warden Mickey Stoltz. Public Defender Perry Jones. Honorable Judge Harry Cohen.

“Yes. We’re getting a sense of some type of organized network that’s been operating under the radar for months, if not years. While we’ve been concentrating on major crime families like the Finnicelli’s, these criminals have been slinking in the shadows and taking advantage of the downfall of the larger drug cartels.”

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