Read The Last Second for Free Online Page A

funeral.” Griffin pushed the officer forward, and he stumbled toward the chief, still holding tight to the makeshift bomb.
    Parks took a step back. “What the hell . . . ?”
    “You know anything about explosives?” Griffin asked him.
    It was a moment before Parks drew his gaze from the officer and what he was carrying. “You’re asking me? Who the hell you think wired that rig down there?”
    “Then you undoubtedly recognize the remote timer that used to be connected to the initiator on those four cases of military-­grade explosives.”
    “I’m just trying to figure out how you got it off without getting blown up. What the hell kind of reporters are you?”
    “The kind that work for the U.S. government.”
    Sydney raised the AR–15 and pointed it at the chief. “Actually, the impatient kind. Drop your weapons to the ground. Everyone!” The other two officers hesitated, until Sydney aimed right at them. Both AR–15s went down, followed by their handguns.
    “You know what I think?” Parks said, making no move to unholster his gun. “I think you’re not stupid enough to connect that firing switch to the detonator. I think that wire is wrapped around it just for show.”
    “Feel free to take a closer look. But like I said. Your funeral.”
    Sydney gave a frustrated sigh. “I’ve got plans for the weekend. How about I just shoot him?”
    “Remote on the ground,” Griffin ordered again.
    Parks glanced at Sydney, as though wondering if she might actually pull the trigger. When she lifted the rifle higher, he held the remote out, slowly placing it on the ground.
    “Now the gun,” Griffin said. “On the ground, then kick it forward.”
    Sydney leaned in, probably wishing the chief would make a wrong move, but he tossed the handgun to the ground, then kicked it toward them.
    Griffin removed the makeshift bomb from the first officer’s arms, then set it on the ground. In short order, they had all three officers and the chief cuffed. Once they were secured, Griffin sat each man on the wall. “So which one of you men wants to tell me where we can find Garrett Quindlen?”
    The three officers stared at their feet. Chief Parks spit on the ground, then glared at Griffin. “You’re insane if you think any of us will talk. We’d be dead in a heartbeat.”
    “Even if we made a deal?”
    “Especially if we made a deal. It’s his boss that pulls the strings, and even I don’t know who that is.”
    “Somebody really high up,” one of the officers said. “Brooks.”
    “Shut your trap, boy,” Parks told him. “You’re gonna get us all killed.”
    Brooks was a name Griffin had heard before, an aka. What they needed to know was the identity of the man behind it. All Griffin knew was that he was rumored to be a very large player in the Network, the criminal organization suspected of running the drugs and guns. And that made a lot more sense than someone like Quindlen, a low-­level ex–CIA agent, pulling the strings. Quindlen was obviously running one arm of the operation from here, not the whole show. But now they had a link between the two names. A step in the right direction, he thought as Calvin Walker and Max emerged from the house, followed by Trish. Calvin was talking on Griffin’s phone as he and Max walked down the long drive, then over to the wall where the officers waited.
    The three officers looked down, as though ashamed for their part in what happened. The chief continued glaring as Griffin asked Calvin, “You get ahold of my partner?”
    “I did,” Calvin said, holding out the phone. “He wants to talk to you.”
    Griffin took it. “Tex. I take it you heard the news?”
    “I did. Border Patrol’s sending a helicopter to pick up the prisoners. You get the information on Quindlen?”
    “Just that he’s involved.” He stepped a few feet away, not wanting to be overheard by Parks or his men. “One of the officers said that Quindlen was working for Brooks. The chief shut him up. Said