The Girl and the Unlucky 13 (Emma Griffin™ FBI Mystery) A.J. Rivers (historical books to read TXT) 📖

I don’t believe in the concept of redemption and rehabilitation. Dean is the perfect example to prove that doing bad things doesn’t automatically imply a bad person. He made choices when he was younger that left his life in tatters. But he took those tatters and mended them back together, becoming a special forces veteran and warrior for what is right.

It would be naïve to think that will happen for everyone. Many more will go right back to the illegal activities and the people who got them in trouble. Instead of working harder to be better human beings, they work harder to be better criminals. And that includes burning undercovers. If there’s any way they can recognize an agent, they’ll make sure everyone knows about it.

Since my face has been splashed all over the news at a frankly uncomfortable frequency throughout the last few years, there’s enough risk that some of them could pinpoint me that I have to stay away from those roles.

This case was a risk, but I felt passionate about it. We did enough preliminary work for me to feel confident they didn’t have strong ties to any of the large drug or crime syndicates still being dismantled. Their twisted, disturbing crimes were all their own, which meant I got the distinct pleasure of being here to bring them down.

One day, maybe, I’ll decide it’s time to settle down and retire from the Bureau. My upcoming marriage and my little chosen family’s getting bigger, with the any-day-now birth of Bellamy’s baby girl, have given me a glimpse of another kind of life in my future. But it’s not set in stone. There’s no reason I can’t have both lives for as long as I want. My marriage certificate isn’t going to double as debriefing papers. Having a new baby in my life just means renewed purpose and a stronger desire to make this world safer and more beautiful for her.

I’ll wear my wedding ring and carry Sam with me into battle, work alongside Dean and Xavier on cases that need us all to unravel, help keep down crime in Sherwood, and still be home to bake cinnamon rolls and have Game Night with Paul and Janet across the street. People have doubted me in the past. I’ve doubted myself in the past. But no more. If Barbie can do it, so can I. Bitches, beware.

Two

“You wanted to see me?” I ask, dipping my head into Creagan’s office.

“Griffin, yeah, come in. Sit down.” Creagan gestures to the chair across the desk from him and I close the door before taking the seat. “How are you feeling?”

Shit. It’s never good when he starts down this path. It’s the same one that got me stuck behind a desk years ago after an undercover job almost imploded. It’s the same one that ended with me stretched out on a therapist’s couch picking apart my life when I really didn’t want to. And it’s the same one that forced me into medical leave that nearly led to my losing my mind.

In the end, all of those situations worked out, but I’m not looking forward to what it’s going to lead to this time.

“Doing fine,” I say carefully. “I’ve got a couple bumps and bruises, but nothing serious.”

“Good,” he nods. “You did a great job out there. This whole job. That couple is going to go away for a long time, and their victims are going to have a chance now.”

I give a single nod. “That was the goal.”

“And you did it.”

“Thank you.” Well, this is awkward as hell. Creagan isn’t the best at being loving and supportive. For the most part, he’s a hard-ass who’d rather plow through anything having to do with emotion, good or bad. And I’m feeling on guard. So, I decide to plunge ahead into a conversation I’ve been meaning to have with him anyway. “I’m actually glad you asked, because I have something I want to talk to you about.”

“Oh?” Creagan asks. “What is it?”

“I want Greg’s files,” I say.

It’s blunt and to the point. I already have a feeling this is going to be a bit of a struggle, so I saved my breath and explanations for when he starts being difficult about it.

“Why do you want his files? You already have the information given to you during the investigation.”

“The investigation is still ongoing. We don’t know who killed him or why. And I do have pieces of the case files, but not everything. I want more of the crime scene photos and unredacted reports.”

“You know my feelings on your being involved in the investigation into his murder,” Creagan replies. “Considering your relationship and your inheritance of his estate…”

“Those things are exactly why I want access. And I want to be involved in his investigation. There’s no excuse for our not having solved this by now. Greg was one of our own. My relationship with him aside, he was an agent. A loyal and talented agent who was instrumental in solving several high-profile cases. Including uncovering the depths of Leviathan and ensuring Jonah Griffin never sees the light of day again. He deserves better than to be covered by the energy and effort equivalent of a side chick,” I say.

“A side chick?” he raises an eyebrow.

“A… on the back burner,” I attempt to clarify.

“Griffin, I fully understand the importance Greg had in this organization, and I appreciate your wanting to uncover the truth, but I think you’re way off in your characterization of the work being done to find out who’s responsible. It’s a challenging and complicated case.”

“I know it is. So, let me put an extra set of eyes on it. From the very beginning, I’ve been the one who’s been able to provide the most information. I know you think I’m too emotionally involved, but maybe that’s what this needs. His death makes no sense. You know that yourself. He hated water. He had just started what could have turned into a relationship