Seductive Reasoning (TASK FORCE HAWAII Book 1) Read Free

hell had she been thinking? Oh, that’s right. She hadn’t had time to think. She’d heard the news and had to rush into work, because she was the red-headed stepchild of the team.
    On top of it, she’d forgotten to finish up her laundry, and she was going commando at the moment—which she did not like to do without a reason. Not the way she wanted to start out the week. On top of it, she had forgone coffee to rush to the office. Definitely not the way to handle a Monday. People ended up bloody when she was low on her favorite drug.
    “Hey,” Drew said, walking into her lab. “Got some samples for you.”
    She nodded but didn’t look around. She had so much to do and little time to get it accomplished. “Thanks.”
    “Brought you a coffee too.”
    She stopped and turned. Sure enough, he had a cup of Kona for her. He truly was the sweetest man.
    “You are a god.”
    He chuckled. “No problem, my ebony queen.”
    The first time he had called her that, she had thought he was hitting on her. She soon found out that was just Drew’s way, and that another team member had his interest. Tall and lanky, he looked much younger than his thirty years. Dorky, but in a sweet way, he had been a good confidant, and helped her as the haole who needed help navigating Honolulu.
    Being the smart man he was, he handed her the coffee first. She grabbed it and smelled the aroma of it. Charity had a love affair with Kona coffee. If it was legal, she would marry it in a ceremony on the beach.
    “So, tell me about this one,” she said, as she took another big whiff of her coffee.
    His smile faded. “Grace Singh.”
    “Oh, damn . I was hoping she had just run away.”
    “I think everyone was. But then, we have a body, so someone was going to be dead.”
    She chugged the coffee, ignoring the burn as it slid down her throat. All she cared about was the caffeine.
    “I know, but it felt like I knew Grace. We kept seeing her picture. I went out weekend before last to help with a search. I even met a few of her students. They are going to be devastated.”
    Drew nodded. “Yeah. And, it is one of the things you will learn about this island. We’re close knit and always have someone we can call on. But, that usually means if someone is hurt, you know them.”
    She grew up in a tiny town in Southern Georgia, so she understood.
    “They found her at McCully?” she asked, as she set down her coffee and took the evidence bags. “How did they miss her all this time?”
    “They didn’t. She was posed, and from her liver temps, dead less than a day.”
    She looked up from her work. The implications sunk in. Two weeks. “Oh, damn .”
    “Yeah. So, Dr. Middleton took swabs. I also sent you some pictures of the markings around her wrists and ankles and her throat.”
    “Damn,” she said again. The thought of being kept for two weeks, tied up...the implications were bad. Really bad. She pushed through that, and moved on. She had to for now. It was her job, and Grace deserved the best.
    “She was left at McCully, so there might be video of the bastard. I’ll start looking through the feeds, see if I can find something. Of course, at night, it isn’t the best resolution, but I might find something. Anything.”
    He nodded. “I’ll let Del know.”
    She smiled. Charity knew the real reason he was going up to the squad room. “Just ask her out already. Quit coming up with excuses to go see her.”
    They really didn’t have to say Cat’s name. He’d been mooning over the woman for months.
    He shook his head. “Not time yet.”
    “You can’t keep waiting. I did that once and ended up regretting it.”
    “It’s all about the timing, Charity. I need to take my time and do it right.”
    “Just don’t wait too long.”
    He smiled and left her alone. With a sigh she looked over her evidence before grabbing her lab coat. There wasn’t much for her to work with, but she hoped to find something for Grace Singh. After taking another healthy