Oath of Honor (Blue Justice Book #1)

Lynette Eason

Description

Police officer Isabelle St. John loves her crazy, loud, law-enforcement family. With three brothers and two sisters, she's never without someone to hang out with--or fight with. And she knows they'll be there for her when things get tough. Like when her partner is murdered and she barely escapes with her own life.Determined to discover exactly what happened, Izzy's investigation sends her headfirst into a criminal organization, possibly with cops on the payroll--including someone from her own family. With her dead partner's handsome homicide detective brother Ryan shadowing her every move, Izzy's head is spinning. How can she secure justice for her partner when doing so could mean sending someone she loves to prison? And how will she guard her heart when the man she's had a secret crush on for years won't leave her side?With her signature fast-paced, edge-of-your-seat action, Lynette Eason invites readers into a captivating new series where justice is a family affair.

Sujets

• Romance
• Thriller

Informations

• Publié par: Baker Publishing Group
• Date de parution: 02 janvier 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781493412532
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
© 2018 by Lynette Eason
Published by Revell
a division of Baker Publishing Group
PO Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
www.revellbooks.com
Ebook edition created 2018
Ebook corrections 05.24.2019
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means—for example, electronic, photocopy, recording—without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
ISBN 978-1-4934-1253-2
Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Published in association with Tamela Hancock Murray, The Steve Laube Agency, 5025 N. Central Ave., #635, Phoenix, AZ 85012.
Endorsements
“A great read with broad appeal, to even experienced cops and firefighters. Lynette Eason’s blend of realistic, fast-paced action, suspense, twists and turns, and dynamic characters make this a real page-turner.”
— Wayne Smith , FBI (retired)
“Lynette Eason once again pens a gripping thriller with her latest book, Oath of Honor . I can’t wait for her next installment of the Blue Justice series!”
— Carrie Stuart Parks , award-winning author of A Cry from the Dust
“Lynette Eason’s Oath of Honor promises to be the beginning of another roller-coaster ride series. Readers are going to love Isabelle and Ryan’s story while getting to know the entire St. John family. This engrossing novel will have them hooked from page one.”
— Lisa Harris , bestselling and Christy Award–winning author of The Nikki Boyd Files
Dedication
Dedicated to the men and women in blue. To all of the law enforcement workers who risk everything to keep us safe.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Endorsements
Dedication
Oath of Honor
Thursday
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Friday
8
9
10
Saturday
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Sunday
20
21
Monday
22
23
24
25
26
27
Tuesday
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
Epilogue
Letter to Reader
Sneak Peek from Called to Protect
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Books by Lynette Eason
Back Ads
Back Cover

Thursday
1
O fficer Izzy St. John plopped down at the table of one of Columbia, South Carolina’s, finest Chinese restaurants and opened the fast-food carton of General Tso’s chicken and white rice. The bell above the door rang and she glanced over her shoulder to see Chloe and her K-9, Hank, enter. “Hey. Here’s yours.” Izzy pushed the unopened food to her sister.
“Great. I’m starving.” Chloe took the seat opposite her and opened her carton. Hank settled on the floor at her feet, while Chloe took a bite and sighed her enjoyment.
“Pork roast and mushrooms,” Izzy said with a grimace. “Nasty. How are we even related?” Chloe, one of Izzy’s five siblings, was two years older.
“You don’t know what’s good,” Chloe said once she swallowed.
“I know what fungus is and there’s no way we’re meant to eat it.”
“I beg to argue with that,” a voice said. Izzy turned once more to see Ruthie, another sister, standing there, still decked out in her scrubs. At least they didn’t have blood on them this time. Ruthie sat in the third seat and opened the food Izzy slid in front of her. “Mushrooms have many redeeming qualities,” Ruthie said. “They have selenium. It’s good for your bladder.”
Izzy rolled her eyes. “I don’t care. I’m not eating them.”
“How about they’re rich in vitamin D and boost your immune system?” Ruthie took a bite.
“There are other ways to do both without having to eat fungus,” Izzy said and opened her can of Coke.
This time Chloe wrinkled her nose. “You won’t eat something healthy, but you’ll pour that into your system. You make no sense at all.”
It was an old argument. A comfortable one.
The door swung open once more and Brady, Izzy’s brother who was a former underwater criminal investigator turned homicide detective, joined them at the table. “What’s up, brats?”
Ruthie raised a brow. “I finally break away from the hospital where I’m saving lives and this is the respect I get?”
“From the head brat, no less,” Izzy murmured. Brady was the eldest of the St. John siblings.
He shot her a wink and dug into his sweet and sour chicken. “So, Rude Ruthie, you cut anyone up today?”
“Yes, two down, two to go.”
Izzy caught the startled gaze of the customer just leaving the booth next to their table. “She’s a surgeon,” she hurried to reassure her. The woman’s obvious relief made Izzy giggle. Once she was out the door, Izzy threw her napkin at Brady. “Seriously, you’re rotten. You’ve got to realize not everyone gets our morbid St. John family humor.”
“Sorry.” He didn’t look very sorry. He took another bite. “Who decided it was Chinese day anyway? I was kind of in the mood for Mexican.”
“Derek decided,” Chloe said. “Remember? Every second Thursday of the month is Chinese. He insisted.”
“And yet,” Brady said, “he’s not here.”
Izzy frowned. “Anybody seen him lately? I’m kind of worried about him. He wasn’t at Mom’s this past Sunday.”
Her siblings stopped eating and looked at one another.
Chloe shook her head. “I haven’t seen him, now that you mention it.”
“Me either,” Ruthie said.
Brady leaned back. “That’s kind of weird.”
Worry niggled at Izzy. “You think he’s all right?”
Ruthie’s chuckle sounded forced. “Y’all need to stop. Derek’s probably on one of his undercover gigs again.”
“Or got called out with the SWAT team,” Chloe murmured.
Izzy sighed. Such was the life of a family in law enforcement. “You’re probably right. Hey, is Linc coming? I got him sweet and sour chicken.”
Brady glanced at the clock on the wall. “He texted and said he was finishing up some paperwork and would be about ten minutes late.”
Linc, second oldest in the St. John clan, had finally been assigned to the FBI field office in his home city. It had been one of his greatest joys to move back to be near his family once again and he never missed a Thursday lunch unless he just couldn’t help it.
“So, who’s eating at Mom’s this Sunday?” Chloe asked.
“I’ll be there,” Izzy said.
The others chimed in their plans to attend the weekly lunch. Sometimes only a couple of them could make it. Sometimes they all could. No matter the number, the food was always there and waiting, thanks to their father, who had most weekends off from his law practice—and loved to cook.
Izzy drew in a deep breath and glanced around the table. How she loved them. And admired them. Her phone buzzed and she unclipped it from its home on her belt.
A text from Kevin, her partner.
Can you go on a stakeout with me tonight?
Yes, I guess. What’s going on?
I’ll explain when you pick me up at 6:30.
2
T he stakeout was a complete bust. Izzy’s stomach growled and she pressed a hand to it while she contemplated leaving.
“I heard that,” her partner, Kevin Marshall, said from the passenger seat of the Ford Explorer.
Izzy sighed. “People in China probably heard it. I’m starving.”
“Sorry. Guess you blame me for that, huh?”
“Completely.”
Kevin had complained so loud and pitifully about his lack of dinner before rushing to the stakeout that she’d rolled her eyes and passed him her brown paper bag. “You’re the one that talked me into this. How is it I had time to fix some food and you didn’t?”
“I’m a guy.”
“So?”
“So, I don’t think of things like that.”
“That’s a bunch of nonsense and you know it.”
“No, it’s not. It’s why every good man needs a good woman—or a good partner who knows how to cook.”
“Right. We’ll leave that statement right there.”
He’d grinned, pulled out her roast beef sandwich, and wolfed it down, followed by her chips and chocolate brownie. And now her stomach was mad at him—and her—for giving the food away.
“How much longer do you want to sit here?” he asked.
“This is your deal, Kev. Remember?”
“Right. Let’s give it a few more minutes. Blackjack got out of prison last week but said the info was reliable.”
“When did you start talking to Blackjack? You know he’s my CI. Why would he trust you?”
“Because he trusts you . And you’re my partner. And he couldn’t find you. When he asked where you were, I told him you were indisposed.”
“Indisposed?” She laughed, then frowned. “That wouldn’t be enough.”
“Well, I might have shown him the picture of us going bungee jumping together and I might have told him the story of how I talked you into it.”
“You did what? For real?”
“Yeah. He laughed and said if you’d trust me enough to risk that, he’d trust me enough to talk to me.”
“How much?”
“What do you mean?”
The innocent look didn’t fool her. “How much did it wind up costing you?”
“A hundred bucks.”
She gaped. “What? I’ve never paid him a dime for information.”
“I pointed that out. Apparently you have to save his life to get the free stuff.”
That sounded like Blackjack. She sighed. “You shouldn’t be spending your own money on this.”
He shrugged. “I don’t mind when I think it’s worth it,” he said. “He was adamant this was going down tonight. I just need to get the evidence to pass on to the detectives.”
“Blackjack. He’s a card shark. What’s he doing hanging out with gun runners?” Izzy murmured.
“I don’t know that they are gun runners. He said they were, but it could be anything. He wasn’t sure exactly what was going to happen, just that something was.”
“Well, he’s never led me astray before.” She leaned her head against the window and thought about closing her eyes for a minute.
“We should make the bust ourselves and get credit for the collar,” Kevin said. He practically vibrated with excitement.
“Calm down, partner. Make what bust? Nothing’s happening. Anyway