Serial Games (Virginia Justice Book One) by K. Victoria Chase

Other men gravitated to that type of woman, but not him. He always preferred a woman whose strength and confidence originated from character. His mouth strained with a polite smile.
    “We’d also like to figure out who Burrows paid to break him out of jail. You have the list of names of those who escaped custody with him?” Doug stepped forward, and although he spoke to Brandon, his hard eyes were on Deckker.
    “We do. The Marshals office in DC is handling their cases.” Brandon held out to him the financial paperwork. “I’ll request a copy of the list and get it to you as soon as possible.”
    “Then we’ll fax them this information and, hopefully, we can uncover some financial transactions we’re not aware of.” Doug took the paper from Brandon. “If we follow the money trail, it should lead to some answers.”
    Brandon agreed. A fairly basic investigative step but usually the most crucial. Burrows’s accomplices would open a world of questions about the extent of his connections. Would any of them know the whereabouts of the bodies of the missing women? How deep would their investigation take them?
    “Have we had a sighting yet? What about any new leads?” Maggie asked.
    Brandon took a moment to allow her voice to dance around in his ears. Her soothing sounds could relax crying babies. His knees softened.
    Emily …
    They’d dreamed of having a family one day: three or four kids, maybe more. He didn’t come from a large family but his heart always yearned to share his life with a few kids. Emily would laugh at the numbers he threw at her and remind him it was her body that would carry the children and give birth. She eventually compromised, promising two children.
    Emily …
    Brandon clamped down on the memories. “Last I heard from the field, the dogs picked up on a scent but had lost the trail. It’s not uncommon for them to lose it and then pick it up again.” He tried not to frown. “Unfortunately, we’ve now lost the daylight, and it does become harder to track in the dark.”
    Maggie nodded and remained silent. He could see she tried to keep an impassive expression as her lips fought a downward turn.
    Brandon ran a hand through his hair all the way to the nape of his neck. He let out a small sigh and looked at his watch. After nine p.m. Bernie wouldn’t be taking over for another three hours. For the first time in a long while, exhaustion overwhelmed him after only forty-eight hours of chasing. He blamed it on the emotional rollercoaster Maggie had him on. Why didn’t he just get off the ride? He threw off his jacket and slung it over the back of a nearby chair. He sat down, locked his hands behind his head, and finished his thought.
    “Also, the owner of the land really didn’t get a good look at him. We could be tracking a teenager for all we know. Burrows would have to travel through that part of town to make it back to his residence, so it’s a possibility.”
    “Word came in on a stolen vehicle he could have used to travel down here.” Deckker stepped closer to Brandon.
    Instantly, the hair on the back of his neck stood up. He found her physically attractive, but worried she wouldn’t get the hint he wasn’t interested, and that was a concern he didn’t need now. He stole a glance at Maggie. She kept her head lowered, her lips turned slightly downward. She was enough distraction, and a far more appealing one.
    Doug snapped his cell phone shut. “It was torched. Nothing left of it. Sheriff’s office called and said the car was abandoned right at the eastern edge of the city limits.”
    Deckker shot Doug a look of annoyance and Doug shot one of disgust right back. Great. I’m in the middle of a tug-of-war . Brandon observed Deckker’s efforts to interact with him irritated Doug. Maggie remained silent and busied herself with the papers in front of her.
    Life would be simpler with her. He spent the past several years running on high octane, a mode of great appeal to him. A slower