Total pages in book: 117
Estimated words: 111416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 557(@200wpm)___ 446(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 111416 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 557(@200wpm)___ 446(@250wpm)___ 371(@300wpm)
“Distinguished” came to Nova’s mind. But she was damn sure that only applied to his looks, he probably didn’t act that way.
None of them did. That came with the territory of dealing with the dregs of the Earth on almost a daily basis.
Because of that, similar to doctors and nurses, law enforcement had a dark sense of humor to keep their sanity while doing their jobs. Inappropriate, sure. Necessary, absolutely.
“How about we go around the table and introduce ourselves, then we’ll touch on what will be happening from here on out. I’ll start… Colin Crew, senior special agent with the DEA. Crew for short. I’ll be leading group two.” He turned to the man sitting to his left. The one with a face chiseled from concrete.
“Nox. Bradley Lennox. Shadow Valley PD.”
He not only seemed closed off, but a man of little words.
They continued around the table.
“Antonio Alvarez, Southern Allegheny Regional PD. Will answer to either Alvarez or Rez. Or, if you’re my mom, Tony.”
A couple of snorts and snickers filled Nova’s ears.
The redhead to Rez’s right spoke up next. “Daniel Finnegan. Also from Southern Allegheny Regional PD. I go by Finn.”
“Owen Decker—“
“Big Deck!” Finn shouted next to him, slapping him on the back.
“Trooper with PSP,” he finished. “Call me Decker.”
They kept the introductions quickly moving around the large table.
“Luke Rodgers, DEA special agent.”
“Luis Torres. Also a special agent with the DEA.”
Then the door man was next. “Fletch. Full name, Shane Fletcher. State Trooper First Class.”
A groan came from Decker down the table. “Nobody cares about that First Class bullshit, jackass.”
Chuckles circled the table.
Fletch shrugged. “My bank account cares.”
Nova’s eyes got stuck on his very white, very wide grin. When he noticed her staring, he slowly licked his bottom lip.
Jesus.
Luckily, Crew yelling, “Next!” pulled her attention off the man.
You know better than to eat where you shit, Nova. And haven’t you learned your lesson yet about dealing with arrogant, self-centered men?
She jerked her gaze from him and forced herself to concentrate on the next person speaking. “Ian Butler. Corporal with the State Police.”
Then it was Nova’s turn to be in the hot seat. “Nova Wilder. Special agent. FBI. Call me… Honestly, I don’t give a shit what you call me. Wilder. Nova. Doesn’t matter to me. The only thing I care about is you treating me as an equal.”
She expected some ball-busting over that, but surprisingly, the only responses she saw were shared looks and lifted eyebrows.
She could live with that. As a female agent, she always had to work twice as much, twice as hard, to prove herself and get the respect she deserved. She doubted this task force would be any different.
They finished going around the table with introductions from Don Mullins, a narcotics detective with the Pittsburgh Police, Ken Proctor from a police department in Uniontown, Warren Reynolds, another corporal with PSP, and another state trooper named Carl Powers. Rounding out the fifteen member task force was Sam Kruger, a corporal with a local PD in Greensburg.
It was quite a group and she would never remember everyone’s name. At least not at first. But, of course, one name had already stuck with her… Fletch, the cocky cop who greeted her at the door.
The man who mistakenly thought he was “all that” and a bag of sour cream and onion chips.
She would need to steer clear of him as much as she could. Ask Crew for assignments he wasn’t on and make sure she didn’t end up partnered with him.
It would be better for her and, of course, safer for Fletch. She was not only an expert with hand-to-hand combat but usually had the highest score during her quarterly firearm qualifications.
While she might be what most men considered “attractive,” looks could be deceiving. She was far from clueless or weak. Unfortunately, some men couldn’t see past the “pretty.”
Crew swept a hand out in an arc, indicating the space that surrounded them. “As you see, we don’t have all our equipment yet. Hopefully the rest should be delivered this week. I figured today would be a good time to meet each other, discuss the reason why this task force was formed, plus get some ideas and suggestions from all of you. If we’re going to be a team, we all need to be actively involved. If you don’t pull your weight, you’re out. Any suggestion, no matter how small or how simple you think it might be, I want to hear it.
“Everyone not already a fed should’ve already been to the Pittsburgh field office, turned in your paperwork, got sworn in as a federal task force officer and picked up your ID. If you haven’t, let me know. You’ll need those credentials to work outside your normal jurisdictions.
“That said, this might be the only time we’re all together in one spot until we’re done with what we set out to do. Unless, of course, I need to pull you all in for a meeting. However, no matter where you are or what you’re doing, I’ll need updates. Report back to me with anything important. This way anything I need to pass on to the supervising special agent, I can. Don’t fuck me sideways with my superiors because you neglected to tell me something important, no matter how small it is.