Burnout_ A Legal Heat Novella - Sarah Castille Page 0,28
and sighed. “I’m afraid you’re suspended pending a full internal investigation into your connection with your brother. The situation has sounded all sorts of alarm bells, and we can’t have the police force brought into disrepute. If the investigation is clear, you can return to normal duties, but having you involved in a search for your brother would be a conflict of interest. In the meantime, you’ll have to hand in your gun and your badge.”
Numb inside, Sophie pushed her chair away from the table. “So I have to find him on my own.”
Skinner looked up and shook his head. “I’ll caution you not to interfere with any ongoing investigations or to start asking questions in the circles he frequented. You’re a beat cop and a green one at that. His associates are lifers, hardened criminals who have been in and out of jail since their teens. Gangs without morals or ethics or even a shred of human decency. If they think you’re a threat or you’re getting too close, they won’t hesitate to kill you.”
Sophie bristled. “I wouldn’t be much of a police officer if I were scared of the very criminals I swore to bring to justice.”
“Right now, you aren’t a police officer.” Skinner’s face tightened. “Don’t forget it.”
Chapter Seven
What the hell was she doing?
Sophie sat outside the Rogue Riders’ clubhouse, an old armoury near the Burrard Street Bridge, and drummed her thumb on the steering wheel of her Saturn Astra. Finding the clubhouse hadn’t been a problem. Gary had been more than helpful after she told him what had happened yesterday afternoon. Although initially wary, he’d been supportive of her decision to enlist the help of the Rogue Riders MC and had even offered to come with her to the clubhouse. She’d turned him down. Not because of any concern for his safety but because she didn’t know where she stood with Ace.
Still, asking a club of outlaw bikers for help went against everything she believed. Justice and the law were the provenance of the police and the courts, and every citizen in trouble deserved help, even if he walked the wrong side of the line, like Jason. But she was here because the law had let her down. And although she was still angry at Ace for keeping her out of the loop and for walking away and leaving her at Jason’s house, he was her best—maybe only—hope for finding Jason.
A short, stocky man with a shock of black hair and a patch-less vest emerged from the armoury and made a beeline for her car. God, they’d seen her. How embarrassing was that? Heart pounding, she rolled down the window and plastered a smile on her face.
“Hi. What can I do for you?”
“I wanna know how long you’re gonna sit out here, and whether you’re up to no good.” He smirked and her cheeks flamed.
“I…uh…wanted to see Ace. I didn’t have his number.”
His shoulders dropped and he visibly relaxed. “No problem. We always like visits from the ladies.” He opened her door and Sophie slid out of the driver’s seat.
“I’m Mop,” he said. “Prospect, obviously, with a trash road name like that. But I had an incident with a mop and now I’ll never live it down.” He looked back over his shoulder and frowned. “Why didn’t you just come up and ring the bell?”
“I wasn’t sure if anyone was around.”
“There’s always someone around. Can’t leave the clubhouse unguarded.” He gestured her through the barbed wire fence surrounding the property. “We got a lot of enemies.”
“Enemies?”
He chuckled. “Cops, more cops, street gangs, other one-percenter MCs, and… you guessed it, cops.”
“Right. I’ll be sure not to tell any cops where you are.” She followed Mop to the front entrance. He waved at the security camera in the corner. Moments later, Jackie opened the door and smiled.
“Oooh. I love it when the cops come to raid.”
“Shit.” Mop jerked away. “I didn’t know she was a cop. She said she was here to see Ace. I thought she was one of his—”
Jackie’s eyes widened and she cut him off quickly. “Nope. She’s his new sweetie. It seems our Ace has got a kink for law enforcement. Tell Ice to stay out of his way.”
Clearly uncertain about whether Jackie was joking or not, Mop stepped in front of Sophie. “Christ, Jackie. Don’t joke about it. Ryder will kill me if he finds out I let a cop in here.”
Jackie’s smile faded. “Ryder knows about her. I talked to him about