Read Games of Zeus 02- Silent Echoes for Free Online Page A

right?”
    “Who says it’s a murder?”
    “Well, if she’s in jail …”
    Tripp eyed Ian.
    “Okay, so yeah, there are innocent people in jail.” Ian waved a hand through the air and air quoted. “I’ll believe that when I see it. What did you look for, what did you find, and if she’s ‘innocent’, why is she in jail?”
    “I don’t kno—”
    “Fuck that, Fox. This whole marriage thing went and made you soft. If you wanted an answer before, you’d have gone and gotten it.” Frustration ebbed from Ian. “You know what? I’m calling a cab when we get to wherever-the-hell we’re going and getting on the next flight home. This is not a job I signed up for. We don’t do stuff without information. We made a deal twenty-five years ago, and until now, you’ve stuck to it. But I’m not—”
    “You didn’t let me finish, Ian.” Tripp brought them into the jail’s parking lot. “And, you’re not going anywhere.”
    “Watch me.” Ian kept his voice serious, with a hint of ‘don’t fuck with me’.
    The jail, in all its bland glory, loomed ahead of them—a ten story building in sandstone brown. As soon as Tripp pulled into a spot, Ian unbuckled, jumped out and slammed a fist on the roof.
    His emotions went every which way when Taylor became a part of the conversation. He had to get her out of his system—to purge her from his mind.
    Tripp walked around the car and laid a hand on Ian’s shoulder. “Have I ever, in those twenty-plus years you referred to, done anything to steer you the wrong way? Ever?”
    Ian clenched his teeth. Tripp hadn’t. “There’s always a first.”
    From within the car, Tripp withdrew a briefcase and a stack of folders. “And, it’s not now.” He handed Ian the pile. “You get to be my assistant in here. Take copious notes, keep your mouth shut, don’t ask any questions, don’t say a word, and no matter what you do, don’t touch her.” He strode off. “Oh, and I am going to need you to bail her out.”
    “What the—Fox! Have you gone fucking mad, man?” Ian stood, gawking, waiting for Tripp to return. When he didn’t, but drew closer to the building’s entrance, Ian took off after his so-called friend. “You want me to give up my money for a woman I know nothing about. Son of a bitch got balls.” Ian nearly bumped into Tripp as he reached the doors. A grab of Tripp’s bicep had him spinning toward Ian. “Say something … anything … that’ll make me want to walk through those doors.”
    Tripp closed one eye, scrunched his nose and shut the other. “I’ll give you five million dollars if you don’t ask her to marry you by—” He turned his watch toward himself. “—the end of May.” The sliding glass opened on a whoosh, and Tripp slipped inside, leaving Ian standing alone.
    On a deep sigh, and with multiple head shakes, Ian followed.

5
    The buzz of the lock release sounded a moment before Taylor’s cell door opened. “Taylor Marsh?” a guard asked.
    “That’s me.” She held up her hand as if in kindergarten, waiting to be picked by the cool kids.
    “This way.”
    Being escorted by two armed guards to a small, empty, white-walled room had an upside. The claustrophobia Taylor had begun to experience faded.
    The small conference room held one table, three seats and nothing else. Taylor sat when told to sit. Walked when told to walk. Waited when told to wait. If she had a clock, she’d have guessed five minutes passed before the door opened.
    Tripp, in tieless suit, and Ian, in cream slacks and a seafoam green button-down, strode in.
    Taylor’s breath stuck even as her eyes riveted themselves to the second man. Her heart hammered in her chest. She hadn’t expected Ian. Hadn’t he gone to New York? She drew her fingers through her mess of hair as if that would do any bit of good and tucked them below the table, between her knees.
    “How are you, Taylor?” Tripp asked.
    She eyed him before answering, “Peachy.”
    Ian snorted a laugh but