Raging Fire (Guarded Secrets Book 4) Read Free

in when two officers lost a fight with a well-known killer, The Shadow Man, who was responsible for multiple family murders in California during a citywide black out last summer. When word of his escape got out, the FBI had to call us in to find him before anyone else was murdered.
    I shuddered at the thought. The last few weeks were spent tracking him down, and getting a few leads on my stepfather. The FBI had a lot of resources, but things only got better when the CIA got involved. Their combined resources had allowed me to learn more than I could have ever hoped, despite my silent prayers that there wouldn’t be anything to find. I was hoping he had died in some gruesome, yet fitting, way years ago. At least then I wouldn’t have to risk my job, my friends, and my life trying to take him down and ruin his pathetic excuse for a livelihood.
    Now, as I walked back into CIRA headquarters, I knew I could only be here temporarily while I worked on a plan. I knew in general where  my stepfather was and what he was doing, but I needed to start thinking like him if I wanted any hope of getting out of this alive. As Camden said, he had become the head of the Cardoza Cartel when Camden was sent to prison to resurrect the cartel. Now, with Camden dead, he would become the permanent leader. Which meant heavy guarding, little to no chance to take him out, and a cluster fuck if I got caught. I’m not Night Stripe; I’m not trained to get out of tight situations if caught. If I get caught, then I’ve failed, and this wasn’t something I could mess up. He needed to pay for what he did to my family and me, but this time, his money couldn’t save him.
    I may be screwed if I get caught, but at least he’d be dead. Just how it should be.
    “Spit Fire, it’s wonderful to see you again!” Before I could look up to see who it was, a body pressed against mine for a hug. I looked over the umber hair, which now covered some of my field of vision, to notice Renegade and Camo standing in front of me. I offered a short smile to them before lightly pushing Night Stripe away. Though the darkness around her had lifted after Ash Crest had died, Night Stripe hadn’t changed much even after being in the agency for over a year. My darkness still hung over me, but not for much longer.
    “Nice to see you too, Night Stripe. Though I haven’t been gone that long.” The last I had seen of her was about three months ago when I left her outside Volodya’s home. I spent my time in Russia tracking down anyone Camden could have told our secrets to, but once I left to interrogate Camden, the mission quickly deteriorated. Night Stripe had been caught, more than once thanks to Renegade going back for her—just as Camden had predicted. Luckily both of them made it out by the skin of their teeth, and from what I heard they were still working out their differences in opinion about Night Stripe killing Ash and keeping it a secret. We all got more than we bargained for, but all’s well that ends well.
    “I know, but it’s always good to have other agents come back after a long mission.”
    “It’s even better when they return in one piece,” Renegade stated, letting the sorrow take over his voice. I knew he immediately thought of the agents we had lost during his most recent mission.
    He and his team had been rounding up everyone involved in a human trafficking ring, which had even extended out of the United States, and ended up losing a few people in a shootout. Since the team had gone in under his orders, Renegade felt responsible for the loss, and from what I heard, he wasn’t handling the weight of those deaths very well. I understood why he felt guilty, but couldn’t have done anything to prevent it. This is a dangerous job and those agents knew it. They risked their lives every day, and it was only a matter of time before death came to claim them. That is the scary part about our job, but the good we did outweighed the potential danger.
    “You