Tactical Advantage Read Online Free Page A

being safe on Kansas City’s streets.
    But his mother, Trudy Fensom, was equally worried about him once he explained Spencer’s phone call and the need to get some eyes on the crime scene ASAP. “That poor woman. But...tonight? It’s New Year’s.”
    “Mom, I gotta go. The bad guys don’t celebrate the holidays the same way we do.” He leaned in and kissed her cheek. “Don’t worry. I’ll be back for breakfast.”
    “Be careful, Nicky,” his grandmother, Connie, warned.
    She got a kiss, too. “Always am.”
    His dad, Clay, wrapped a sheltering arm around both women and hurried the goodbyes along so Nick could get going. “Keep an eye on the roads, son. Temps are dropping and with this snow there could be patches of black ice.”
    “I’ll watch ’em.” Nick crossed into the dining room and gently squeezed his hands over the shoulders of the silver-haired grandfather whose name he shared. “I’ll be back for a rematch with you, card shark.”
    “Everything okay?” George Madigan, a cop like Nick, who’d been on the force long enough to recently be promoted to deputy commissioner, pushed back his chair. Even though his uncle had been pushing papers at KCPD headquarters the past few years, the detective instincts were still there. “The department’s short-staffed tonight. You need backup?”
    Nick urged his uncle back to his seat. “Just some task force business to take care of,” he answered, keeping the details vague for his younger siblings while dropping enough of a hint to let George know what he was up to. “I’ve got it covered.”
    George’s steely gray eyes narrowed with suspicion. “You’re sure?”
    “Yes, sir. Besides, somebody’s gotta keep an eye on this one.” He patted his grandfather’s shoulder and pointed a warning finger to his brothers and sisters sitting around the table. “You all keep him honest. He’s dealing off the bottom of the deck.”
    Nicolas Fensom snorted at his grandson’s ribbing. “I am not. Fifty years of playing poker just makes me good.”
    And then Nick realized the numbers around the table really didn’t add up. “Where’s Nell?”
    “She got a text from—”
    “Damn it, she’s seeing that boy—”
    “What boy?”
    “She’s in love, Grandpa.”
    “She’s seventeen.”
    “If she snuck out again—”
    “Easy, Dad.” Nick held up his hands to stop his father from charging through the house, and cool the collective concern in the dining room. “I’m sure it’s nothing.”
    “She’s missed curfew more than once because of him. Taking calls at all hours—sending my texting bill through the roof. I don’t like him.”
    The same sense of alarm had already energized Nick. For one night, for family night, she couldn’t give that rebellious streak of hers a rest?
    Nadine jogged back down from a quick run upstairs. “She’s not in her bedroom. But her coat’s still here.”
    Nick nodded to George to keep his brother-in-law in check and sprinted toward the front door. “I’ll find her.”
    The blast of cold air was just what Nick needed when he stepped out onto the big wraparound porch and saw his baby sister leaning up against the fender of a souped-up Chevy Impala parked in front of the house. A young Latino man with his cap on sideways was leaning up against her with their lips locked together.
    Ah, hell. Was that a number 7 inked into the back of his neck? He’d worked gangs before being partnered with Spencer and joining the task force. But he didn’t need that kind of training to recognize the signs of trouble for his youngest sister.
    “Nell?” he shouted, taking the steps two at a time down to the front walk. His sharp voice, his bold stride or maybe the brass badge peeking out from the open front of his jacket, were motivation enough for the young Don Juan to take a step back from his sister.
    “Oh, great,” she moaned, tucking her long brown hair behind her ears. “The cops are here. Did Dad call