Deliver Us from Evil Read Free Page B

duty.”
    â€œThis is active. It’s a field assignment, and it’s important. Here’s the case information.” Demott passed him a folder, then glanced at his watch. “You’d better hurry or you’ll miss your flight.”
    Roark grabbed the file and turned to go.
    â€œHolland.”
    He looked back at his boss. “Yeah?”
    Demott held out Roark’s badge. “You might want to take this with you, too.”
    Roark accepted the metal emblem, then clipped it to his belt before marching out of Demott’s office. A heart. His job was to escort a human heart from North Carolina to Knoxville. Any rookie could handle that. But no, they still didn’t trust him enough to handle a real assignment.
    He’d done everything they asked—took a medical leave of absence while Internal Affairs went over every painful minute of his failed mission, saw the shrink they demanded he speak to every week since Mindy’s death, answered their relentless questions. The shrink reiterated he’d been forgiven for acting on his own.
    Maybe one day he’d forgive himself. How many innocent lives would he have to save for his conscience to leave him be?
    Roark slipped into the car, then headed to the airport. But to be assigned a heart transport? Not only was it wrong, it was downright insulting. After almost fifteen years as a marshal, he’d earned the benefit of the doubt from his supervisors. Especially Demott. His boss should know him better, know he’d only disregard orders if it was a matter of life and death.
    But Mindy Pugsley died. They’d all died.
    He pushed the nagging voice from his mind. Even Dr. Martin had advised him not to dwell on the past. On what had gone wrong. On disobeying a direct order.
    If only Mindy didn’t haunt his dreams.
    Roark touched the angry scar that ran along his right cheekbone to his chin. A constant reminder that he’d failed, that he’d made a mistake that took someone’s life. He’d have to live with the pain for the rest of his life.
    He skidded the car into the airport’s short-term parking lot. After securing the car and gathering the case folder, Roark grabbed his coat. Snowflakes pelted downward, swirling on the bursts of wind and settling on the concrete. The purple hues of the setting sun streaked across the mountain peaks beyond the runways, making the January snow grab the last hope of light.
    Yes, he’d handle this mundane assignment, then tell Demott he wanted back on real active duty. Making a difference would be the best thing for him. Would make him feel whole again.

TWO
    Friday, 5:30 p.m.
    Great Smoky Mountains National Park, Tennessee
    THEY WERE FALLING TOO fast.
    The tickling vibration against her palm made Brannon loosen her grip. Wind pushed against the HH-65 Dolphin, slamming the helicopter into more turbulence. The vertical speed indicator dropped a notch. She pulled back on the collective, piloting the helicopter steady over Great Smoky Mountains National Park.
    She kept her gaze locked on the landscape for any unnatural movement. Far below them the mountain peaks jutted out from the snow-covered red maples like a snaggle-toothed beast baring its teeth. The tree canopy blocked most of the ground from their sight.
    â€œIs it always like this?” Jefferson Montgomery, new pilot in the National Park Service, asked over the headset.
    â€œSometimes, but we still have to do flyovers. It’s our job.”
    â€œI know it’s our job. Was just trying to get a feel for what I’ll face every day.”
    For the millionth time in the hour flight, Brannon resisted putting Jefferson in his place. “We’ll head back now.”
    â€œWant me to fly us in?” He rubbed his hands together.
    As if she’d let this newbie fly her baby. “No, just pay attention to the horizon and treetops. Weather like this makes you fly by gauges and instinct.” She pushed the