Read The Code Within: A Thriller (Trent Turner Series) for Free Online Page A

he felt was sharp. His limits were being tested like never before. After a couple of deep breaths, he regained his composure.
    “It’s my fault, Mom.”
    “Listen to me, Trent. You and your brother had your problems, but you can’t try to put this on—”
    “No, Mom, you don’t understand,” Trent insisted in a measured tone. “It’s my fault. I can’t really explain it, and I know that’s not fair, but I promise you, this was about me, not Ryan.”
    He thought intently about how much he could share with his family. Things were complicated, and he knew they could also be in danger. The fact that his brother had been compromised meant the killing could continue, unless he worked fast. He wasn’t sure who the next target might be, but he needed to find some answers.
    “My job isn’t exactly a government job up north,” Trent admitted. “We work with the government, but…” He considered his next words carefully. “We fix things that are difficult to fix.”
    He realized this wouldn’t make much sense to her, but it wasn’t like he had a choice. He needed to say enough to make sure they would stay safe until he could take care of any threats.
    “What I’m trying to say is there are a lot of shady people who don’t like what the company I work for does. I’m so sorry, Mom. I never meant for anyone to get—”
    “Enough, Trent, enough,” she snapped. “Between your father and your uncle, there are plenty of people in this world who would like to do us harm.”
    “Yes, but—”
    “No buts.” Her eyes burned with intensity and sadness. She wiped the tears from her face. “Your brother just died, and dammit, I won’t hear any more of this nonsense.”
    They stood in silence. Trent tried his best to comfort her while he worked this out in his head. He needed to ask some questions. There would never be a good time for this conversation, and time was something he didn’t have.
    “Mom, I need your help,” he said gently.
    “Sure, anything,” she said. His worried tone calmed her down and filled the grieving mother with concern. “What is it? Are you in trouble?”
    “No, it’s nothing like that. I need to ask you some questions about what happened to Ryan. It’s not something that can wait. I’m sorry, Mom. Are you okay with that?”
    “This isn’t a good time, honey,” she said. “I need to…” She saw an intensity in her son’s eyes she’d never seen before.
    “I know,” he said, “but if I’m going to find the people who did this to Ryan, I need answers now.” He knew he’d better keep going so she couldn’t interrupt. “You sounded surprised that Ryan didn’t hang on longer. Did you think he wasn’t in danger of dying?”
    “He was in really bad shape,” she said. Her voice was shaking again, so she composed herself before continuing. “But the doctors said his condition was stable. We were expecting him to hang on for a little while longer. They didn’t give him much of a chance for recovery.” She wiped her tears away with a tissue and said, “I just wasn’t ready to say good-bye to him yet.”
    Trent found it difficult to concentrate as emotions invaded his thoughts. His gut was telling him the botched assassination attempt would have drawn the killer out to finish the job. If there was any chance for recovery, he knew it would be too dangerous to leave a man like him alive.
    “Mom, have you noticed anything out of the ordinary? Something strange?”
    She looked at him as if she wasn’t quite sure how to answer.
    “Maybe it’s a person you had seen several times in a day, or someone that just didn’t fit in. Just something that’s off. Something that doesn’t add up or seem normal.” He knew it was a long shot, but his only hope was that the killer had been sloppy and made a mistake.
    She let Trent’s questions sink in. She framed his cheeks with her palms and took in the sight of her son.
    The emotions hammered him. He needed something to have any