Читать книгу Raw Talent - Debra Webb - Страница 8

A.J. Braddock had worked at the Colby Agency a short time, but during that brief stint he had learned many things. For one, Victoria Colby-Camp never misread a client. She hired only the very best in the business of private investigations and her ability to make things happen was uncanny.

But in the past twenty-four hours everything had changed.

Gabrielle Jordan, aka Gabrielle Hanson, had fooled everyone, including the invincible Victoria.

The twenty-two-year-old woman had hired on as a new recruit, had performed exceedingly well during her short training, and then promptly disappeared, with a sensitive Colby Agency file in tow.

Whatever the young lady’s story, she was in serious trouble. Not with the authorities, A.J. considered, but with Victoria. No one double-crossed the head of the Colby Agency and got off scot-free. No. Victoria would make this right if it was the last thing she did. That was the other thing about his boss that A.J. admired so, she was fiercely determined.

An emergency meeting of the staff had been held a few hours ago and A.J. had been appointed the task of tracking down Gabrielle Jordan and bringing her back to face Victoria.

Several others, Simon Ruhl and Ian Michaels included, had wanted the assignment but, using her usual astute judgment, Victoria had recognized the need for total objectivity.

The way A.J. understood the situation, most everyone at the Colby Agency knew Trevor Sloan, or at least had been living with tales of his legendary story for years. To that end, all concerned felt extremely loyal to the man and would do whatever necessary to see that he suffered no additional drama in his life.

Trevor Sloan had lost one family, had almost given up on life in general, when a woman and her son resurrected him. Sloan had not only found love again, but he had also discovered that the son he’d thought long dead was, in fact, alive and well. Victoria would allow nothing to interfere with Sloan’s newfound happiness.

However, in typical fashion, the boss also understood that Gabrielle Jordan had a story of her own. Once she broke her cover, it didn’t take the agency long to get the story on her. The young woman deserved the opportunity to know the full truth and to resume her life without the bitter, ugly baggage of the past.

In A.J.’s opinion, Gabrielle Jordan needed a wakeup call—Marine style. But first and foremost, he had to find her and stop her emotionally charged plunge into self-destruction.

Trevor Sloan was no one to mess with. He’d been to hell and back a couple of times and he likely had no desire to return. He wouldn’t let anyone threaten his new family or his hard-earned happiness.

A.J. felt confident he could handle the situation. He’d worked closely with the new recruits Victoria had hired last month. Todd Thompson had proven his worth on the job. His ambitiousness had, at times, been tedious, but he’d come through in the end. Victoria had chosen well.

Gabrielle had actually been the one A.J. had assumed would stand out from the small herd of new recruits. She’d proven resourceful, dedicated and anxious to make her place here at the Colby Agency.

If he was entirely honest with himself, he’d admit that she had earned more than his professional respect. He’d been attracted to her from day one. How could he not be? Gabrielle had a fire in her that burned with such heat he couldn’t help being drawn to her. She wanted to learn, wanted to be the best. He’d admired those qualities.

Her beauty hadn’t helped the situation. Ignoring how gorgeous she was would have been completely outside the realm of reason. Long black hair, gray eyes that reminded him of glittering silver in the sunlight.

Not once had he allowed their time together to move beyond the bounds of a working relationship. He knew better. The military had long ago drilled that rule into his head. Fraternization was against the rules.

He’d figured he would get past the little infatuation. Hell, he hadn’t been involved with anyone in too long to talk about. He should have seen this one coming, but he hadn’t. Now, here he was, charged with the duty of going after her and bringing her back.

He could do it. And maybe it was better this way. Those weaker emotions, the ones he attempted to keep in check, likely needed this lesson in futility. He had to remember where he stood in the grand scheme of things. He could not permit close personal relationships. It wasn’t as if he didn’t understand the situation.

All he had to do was to remember the deal—like it or not.

As the door to Victoria’s office opened, A.J. stood to greet the woman herself. He booted all other lingering thoughts from his head and focused on the realities. He had a job to do. End of story.

“Good evening, A.J.” She smiled. “Please, sit.”

As she strode around her desk to her own chair he noted that she looked as elegant and calm as ever. One would never know that the agency was in the middle of a major crisis.

He settled back into his chair as she did into her own. “I’m ready to leave immediately. I’ve taken the liberty of arranging air as well as ground transportation. My flight leaves in three hours.” It was the earliest flight he could get with one stop too many, but it was better than waiting until tomorrow.

“I appreciate your preparedness, A.J. But let’s have Elaine cancel your arrangements for the sake of time and convenience. The agency jet will take you to a private airfield near Florescitaf where ground transportation will be waiting.”

Surprised, A.J. acknowledged the change with a nod. “Outstanding. I can be ready within the hour.” He wasn’t going to argue with private transport. He just hadn’t expected to be allowed such a privilege. His experience in the Marines was that only those who had achieved a certain level and paid their dues were permitted the most advantageous perks. He had to remember that the private sector did things a little differently. It would take some getting used to. Elaine, the agency’s receptionist, would take good care of him.

Victoria passed a manila folder across her desk to him. “Your mission is fairly straightforward, as you know. Find her and bring her back. She won’t like it, but if she wishes to avoid official charges, she will be cooperative.”

The file contained all the pertinent information the agency had on Gabrielle, which wasn’t that much, but it was enough background for A.J.’s needs. He already knew her, understood how she thought to a degree.

He closed the folder and fixed his gaze on the woman waiting for any questions. “I need to understand just how far you want me to go in order to stop Miss Jordan’s plans for vengeance.” In spite of his efforts, he found himself failing to breathe as he waited for her response.

Victoria held his gaze for several seconds before answering. During that time he saw a glimmer of uncertainty in her eyes. That surprised him. He’d never once known her to waiver, would have wagered against it. He couldn’t tell if her hesitation was a good thing or a bad one as far as Gabrielle’s fate was concerned.

“Miss Jordan is operating under many misconceptions that make her judgment unreliable. My preference would be for you to intervene and, without significant incident, bring her back here.” She paused a moment, seemed to drag up her courage. “However, preventing her from reaching Sloan and his family is priority one.”

Her expression turned grave as she went on. “If she reaches him, her fate is out of our hands. I would prefer that didn’t happen. I’ve tried without success to contact Sloan or his household helper Pablo. If we’re lucky, he and his family are away. But he could return any moment.” Victoria pressed A.J. with a look that conveyed a great deal more than her words. “I need you to do whatever it takes, A.J. We have to stop this train crash before it happens, if at all possible.”

The decision was made. He had his orders. Personal feelings had no place beyond this point.

“I understand. I won’t use excessive force unless absolutely necessary, but I won’t hesitate should the need arise.”

Victoria nodded. “We’re in agreement then.”

“I’ll report in as often as possible.” He pushed to his feet.

“We’ll keep you posted with any information we gather on this end.”

A.J. nodded once before turning to the door. Every second he wasted was one that might cost Gabrielle Jordan far more than she wanted to pay. That was one way in which he could help her in all this.

“One last thing, A.J.”

He hesitated at the door and faced Victoria again. “Yes?”

She stood behind her desk, that atypical uncertainty haunting her expression once more. “You’re certain you feel comfortable with this?”

He wasn’t entirely surprised by her question. It pained her to ask. That much was clear. Also very clear was her reasoning, elaborating was in no way necessary. “I’m one hundred percent certain, ma’am.”

Drawing in a deep breath, she nodded once, banishing the uncertainty he’d seen in her expression. “Very well then. Based on your experience and your objectivity in the matter, I am of the opinion that you are the best man for the job. However, if you feel the need for backup, all it takes is one call. I’ll leave that to your discretion.”

“I understand.”

“Of course it will be best if I can contact Sloan ahead of your arrival,” she went on, apparently only then deciding to mention this part. “In the event that doesn’t work out, tell him that I’m trusting him to do the right thing on this. Even pure evil can occasionally spawn something good. He’ll know what I mean.”

A.J. left Victoria’s office with only a vague idea what her message to Sloan meant, but he felt no need to question her orders. He had learned well from his career in the military that there were times when a soldier didn’t need to know every detail about a mission. He simply needed the know-how and the determination to carry out the assignment.

Knowledge was a very powerful tool, no doubt. But, at times, knowledge could be a stumbling block to achieving the greater good.

This was one of those situations.

He appreciated that Victoria practiced what she preached. She had complete faith in his ability to get the job done. To his relief, much of that faith was based on his word. He strongly believed that a man was only as good as his word. It pleased him that his new employer shared that belief.

Just another reason he couldn’t allow any personal feelings he’d foolishly allowed to develop to get in his way of doing his job. He needed his work, needed that kind of focus in his life. There wasn’t room for anything else. Not anymore. He had to keep that truth in mind and stop permitting wishful thinking from overriding good sense.

A.J. considered his plan of action as he stopped by his town house for his bags and drove to the airfield where the Colby Agency jet would be waiting.

Picking up Jordan’s trail wouldn’t be difficult. Florescitaf was a small village and an attractive young urban woman would stand out. Since she didn’t know the location of Sloan’s private residence, she would have to ask questions or go on a grid search of the surrounding area. Either way would be time-consuming as well as risky as far as keeping a low profile.

Once on board the agency jet, he used his time to brush up on his Spanish. He hadn’t used the language in ages, but getting his point across wouldn’t be difficult. An hour later he felt confident with his spotty vocabulary so he took some time to consider his target.

Gabrielle Jordan was very young, only twenty-two. She’d spent eighteen months of that young life in prison. The first six months of that time she’d made a fuss about being innocent, including writing several appeals herself, none of which were taken seriously by her court-appointed attorney. So she’d shut up and done her time.

She’d gotten out only a few months before applying for a job at the Colby Agency. Her ability to create a false identity was commendable if misguided. She hadn’t missed a trick. Case in point, she’d fooled one of the top private investigation agencies in the country.

He had to smile. The woman had herself some real brass ones, that was for sure. He closed the door on that line of thinking. From what they’d learned in the past twenty-four hours, she was the only child of an alcoholic mother who claimed Gabriel DiCassi as the child’s father. DiCassi had been Trevor Sloan’s arch enemy and an international assassin. A standoff between the two men had ended in DiCassi’s death.

Apparently, Gabrielle held Sloan responsible for her father’s death. Victoria had estimated, based on comments Jordan had made to coworkers at the agency, that she believed her father to have been a great man. She’d spoken highly of him and her wistfulness related to his death had been apparent during those conversations. Of course she hadn’t once mentioned his name. Now she was apparently out for revenge.

A.J. closed the folder and relaxed into the aircraft’s luxurious leather seat a little more deeply. He found it difficult to understand how a parent could lie to their child, or neglect their offspring for that matter. By all accounts, Gabrielle fell smack into the category of the abused and neglected. That sort of childhood twisted a person’s thinking. He could only imagine how it felt to have no one in the world to depend on. He wondered if that was the reason she’d worked so hard to be the absolute best she could be. She’d had no one to count on but herself.

Though his father had been a strong disciplinarian, A.J.’s formative years had included a secure and loving environment. He’d earned his hard knocks as a military man. He’d jumped in at age seventeen and then spent the next fifteen years proving what he was really made of. An injury and the life-threatening infection that followed during his time in Afghanistan had ended that career. He didn’t talk about it. He shifted in his seat. Victoria was the only person at the agency who knew about it. His physical shortcoming prevented him from future military service, but it didn’t stop him from being a damned good investigator.

Being chosen by Victoria Colby-Camp as one of only a few new hires was proof enough.

A.J. Braddock wasn’t down for the count by a long shot. He still had some good years in front of him.

With his experience in the desolate mountains of Afghanistan, tracking one misguided young woman in Mexico would be a piece of cake. He would not fail in this mission. Victoria was counting on him. And he needed his work at the Colby Agency to give him something to look forward to, to hang on to. He wasn’t ready to give up on being all he could be. No matter what the doctors said.

He wasn’t dead yet.