Eye of the Sh*t Storm Jackson Ford (detective books to read txt) 📖

do it fast and efficiently. They may not be special forces, but there’s no one better for pulling off intrusion jobs, break-ins, recon. Teagan’s ability, backed up by Annie’s contacts and Reggie’s computer skills, make them uniquely suited to what they do.

The problem is, they are not ready for the current situation.

Reggie doesn’t know why Los Angeles seems to be a magnet for individuals with abilities. The other psychokinetic, Jake, was an anomaly – a one-off, she thought. Coincidence. Matthew Schenke was not. He was sent here, directed, pointed in the right direction by… someone. Whoever runs, or ran, the mysterious School.

And now it’s happening again.

After the earthquake, Tanner should have vastly expanded the team. Added actual military personnel: trackers, snipers, demolitions experts. Operators to back China Shop up when things went south. Why the hell hasn’t Tanner gone that route?

But of course, Reggie knows why. It’s about control with Moira Tanner. It always has been. She doesn’t want more people – more people would mean she’d need to give up some autonomy. And just because China Shop is run from an off-books black budget doesn’t mean that budget is limitless – or that the people who control the purse strings don’t keep a close watch on what gets spent. Just because the budget isn’t run by a traditional senate subcommittee doesn’t mean it’s not tightly controlled.

By keeping it small, Moira Tanner keeps an iron grip on her little project. It’s very easy to see her keeping her superiors in the dark about… well, everything.

“Annie’s down,” Reggie tells Africa.

“What do you mean, down?”

“Her comms are offline.”

Africa is silent for a long moment. Then he says, “OK. Here is what we do. You must connect me with Mrs Tanner. I will keep her updated while you fix the communication with Annie, huh?”

“Excuse me?”

“If there is a technical problem, fixing it must be what you are doing. You must not have to worry about other things. I will keep Mrs Tanner informed while I keep looking.”

China Shop has always been made up of contradictory personalities. Reggie has always prided herself in being the calm voice of reason, the one who kept the team together. She has never lost her temper, never gotten angry, even when stress levels were high. Reggie may be the team’s hacker, but her real role is and always has been as peacemaker.

Which is what makes her next words so surprising.

“Let’s get one thing straight, honey,” she snaps. “This is my operation. All comms go through me, and the Rig.” The Army was a long time ago, but she hasn’t lost the steel voice of command. “You do not get to give me orders, Africa. Are we clear?”

Another long silence.

“Are we clear?”

“… Ya.”

“Good.”

She has never taken that tone with anybody in China Shop. There’s never been any need. What the hell is happening to me?

“I can’t connect you with Annie,” she says, forcing herself to focus. “There’s a technical problem on the Washington side. But it changes nothing: head back to the storage unit, and find me some more bodies to help with the search.”

When Africa speaks again, he sounds resigned. “What did Mrs Tanner say? When she hear about Teagan?”

“She…”

And once more, the lie is there.

Reggie knows she’s going to run with it even before the words leave her mouth. Even though she only digs herself deeper and deeper by telling it. Even though there’s no good reason to do so. She is powerless before the urge, already speaking before she can second-guess herself.

“She wasn’t pleased. But she’s as concerned as we are, and she’s doing what she can to help. Now get going.”

Inwardly, she is stunned at how easily the lie slips outs. Once again, it is not a huge lie. It’s a small one, really, almost inconsequential. Something that could be attributed later to a miscommunication. And in any case, she’s not telling the lie just because. She’s telling it to keep Africa in play. She’s telling it to buy herself time. It’s completely understandable, and nothing she can’t fix.

“Uh-huh,” Africa says, sounding unsure. “OK. Please tell me if she has anything for me, huh?”

“I… Yes, I will. Keep looking.”

EIGHTEENTeagan

My brain short-circuits. Every thought I have stops cold.

Jonas Schmidt isn’t here. He can’t be. This is the meth, playing games with me, making me see things again.

Except: it’s different this time. This isn’t a flicker at the edge of my vision, or the feeling of someone coming up behind me. This isn’t my paranoid, agitated, anxious brain conjuring something out of thin air.

It’s Jonas. He’s real.

Standing right in front of me, wearing a wide smile, the skin around his eyes crinkling and his perfect cheekbones standing out. The German billionaire I’ve had a crush on for the past four months, who I thought I’d only ever see again on his Instagram photos.

“It’s good to see you, Teagan,” he says.

“Wh…?” It’s more a breath than a word.

“It took me quite some time to find you.” He scratches the stubble on his jaw. “I admit, I was not expecting to have to go wading through a river.”

Leo is trying to talk to me. I don’t register his words. I’m barely aware of them.

“Jonas…” I lick my lips. “How did you…? What are you doing here?”

“We’re all waiting for you.” He gestures up river. “Africa, Annie, Regina. All of China Shop. My jet is on the tarmac at Van Nuys. We can get you out of the country.” An urgent look comes onto his face. “But only if we hurry.”

“What about Leo?” I turn to introduce him, which is when the weirdest thing happens.

I can’t turn.

Leo is behind me, standing just off to my left… but I can’t look away from Jonas.

“Oh yes.” Jonas takes a step forward. “We know all about young Mr Nguyen. He can come too.”

Why can’t I look at Leo? Why can’t I turn around?

Jonas’s smile is even wider now. “It’s all right,” he says, patting the air. “You’re safe.”

And I