Chapter One

CHAPTER ONE

SETH DIXON JOGGED along a path winding through the trees of Crockett Park, his senses on high alert. The early morning phone call from his confidential informant had dragged him from a warm, cozy bed after only two hours of sleep and sent him into the deserted park before the sun even thought about rising.

He scowled. Even though Seth had tried to persuade Pico to meet at their usual spot so he could at least grab a bad cup of coffee for much needed caffeine, he'd had no luck. The information Pico promised better be worth the lack of sleep and coffee deprivation.

Seth pressed on, uneasiness pushing him into a faster pace. Not much farther to go. Pico insisting on meeting out here made no sense. As a street rat who'd been hooked on narcotics and cleaned up his life after a stint in jail, Pico viewed the park as a nice place to look at from a distance but not explore up close. To him, the great outdoors was an alien landscape. He preferred the concrete jungle to the park.

As a detective for the Ardmore, Tennessee police department, he'd gone several nights without sleep the past two weeks to close a hot case. Seth's problem wasn't only the early-morning call. Today was the day he'd planned to ask his running and coffee partner for a dinner date. Depending on what Pico gave him, Seth might meet Teagan on time. He'd like to move their relationship to a more solid footing.

Pushing his preoccupation with the beautiful and mysterious Teagan to the back of his mind for the moment, Seth slowed to a walk as he rounded the large curve in the path with a bench where Pico said he wanted to talk.

One hundred feet ahead, he saw a restless Pico. The man paced, gaze flitting from one side of the path to the other.

"Pico."

The CI swung around, hands fisted, eyes wide. "Seth. You scared me, man."

"I'll wear a bell next time," he said dryly. "Sit down, buddy. You're making me nervous just watching you." What had his CI so wound up?

"Sorry."

Seth motioned to the bench. "This better be good, Pico. I had plans for this morning that didn't include meeting you." Plans with the woman of his dreams. Hopefully, the woman in question was as fascinated with him as he was with her.

The other man dropped onto the bench seat. "Sorry," he muttered again. "I didn't know who else to call."

That got Seth's attention. "What's wrong?"

"I overheard some information."

"What kind?"

"The kind that will get me dead if I open my mouth to testify or if my name shows up in a report or something."

"Let's hear it."

"You gotta promise not to rat me out, Seth."

"When have I ever put you at risk, Pico?"

A frown. "You're the one who tossed me in jail for drug possession."

Seriously? "You put yourself there. My job is to keep criminals off the streets."

"I'm not a criminal."

"Pico, come on, man. You robbed a liquor store to pay for your drugs. My partner and I followed all the leads straight to you. Look, it's too early in the morning for this debate." They'd played the blame game before, but Pico always owned up to his mistakes. "You did your time. You're a free man, staying out of trouble. Didn't I help you get a job? You've also been helping me since you returned to the streets of Ardmore. Tell me what you overheard. I'll see if I can do anything with the information. You have my word that your name won't appear anywhere as the snitch."

Pico studied Seth a moment, then hopped up and paced again. "Are you sure no one followed you?"

Seth frowned. "Pico, I'm no rookie, and there's no traffic this time of morning. A pair of headlights trailing me would be obvious. No one followed me. Now spill whatever info you have so you can go on your merry way before the city wakes up." And so he could meet Teagan on time for their run.

Pico sighed. "All right. Like I said, I overheard something a few hours ago. Might mean nothing."

Seth motioned for the other man to continue. Holy smoke. What was so terrifying that Pico was afraid to just say whatever he'd heard?

Pico paced away, hands shaking. After walking a few feet, he spun abruptly and headed back toward Seth. Pale and sweaty, the CI stopped in front of Seth. "It's two things," he muttered.

"Let's have them." Shaking the terrified man wouldn't help get the words out faster, but Seth was tempted.

"The Brotherhood is planning something big."

The Brotherhood? Seth stiffened. "The militia? You're sure?"

A nod. "The three guys I heard talking mentioned the group by name."

"Details."

"I couldn't hear much and was too scared to move closer. They were talking low like they were afraid of being overheard, you know?"

"Go on."

"Something about guns. A lot of them."

"The Brotherhood is bringing in guns or selling them?"

Pico shrugged. "Like I said, I wasn't close enough to hear all the details, but it didn't sound like a gun sale."

"What else?"

The other man looked around the deserted area of the trail as though scanning for danger. He inched closer. "One of them was a cop."

Seth's blood ran cold. "Did you recognize him?"

Pico shook his head. "I didn't get a good look, okay? I just heard enough to know he was bragging about these guns disappearing from some warehouse, with no one knowing until it was too late."

That wasn't enough to point a finger at a cop. "I need more. I can't nail a dirty cop with what you've given me, Pico." He had to know at whom to point Internal Affairs.

"All I know is he didn't seem worried about being discovered."

"Any indication if the cop is local, county, or federal?"

Another head shake. "Sorry, Seth. That's all I got."

"No mention of when this event is going to take place?"

Pico swallowed hard. "I gotta go." He backed away. "I don't feel safe out here anymore."

"Wait."

"Something's coming. Can't you feel it?"

"Pico, come on, man. This isn't enough for me to do anything with."

"That's your problem. I can't help you more." The other man spun on his heel and ran down the path, disappearing from Seth's sight in seconds.

He dragged a hand down his face. What was he supposed to do with this information? Yeah, he could ask his other CIs if they'd heard about a big Brotherhood score, but if he asked the wrong people, he could alert the dirty cop that he was on to him and make himself a target.

A muffled shout sounded ahead on the path.

Seth sprinted down the path.

"No!" a man screamed.

Pico. Seth recognized his CI's voice. He poured on more speed as he scanned ahead of him for trouble.

He reached another large curve and slowed long enough to free his weapon from his ankle holster. One hundred yards ahead, he spotted two men.

The first man had his back to Seth. Pico, the second man, was on his knees with his hands raised above his head. He was shaking, sweat beading on his face.

"Don't, please. I didn't say nothing. I swear," Pico begged.

"Police. Freeze!" Seth snapped. "Hands in the air."

The man facing Pico didn't move.

"Get your hands up," Seth ordered. "Now."

Pico's eyes widened. "Look out."

Seth turned to meet the unknown threat. Pain exploded at the back of his head.

The world went black.