by Debra Webb
Well, she had him there. He had done what he deemed necessary to complete the mission. He re fused to apologize for it.
"Let's not get off track," Lucas offered gently.
Cole turned his attention to the man who'd brought him into this situation. Lucas Camp, deputy director of Mission Recovery, a shadow operation that scarcely anyone was aware of, had hired Cole to perform an internal-affairs investigation to find a leak in the Colby Agency that appeared to go back at least two years.
Victoria and her agency had been plagued by a man named Errol Leberman for nearly two decades. He had kidnapped her son, tortured and brainwashed him, ultimately sending him to assassinate his own mother some eighteen years later. Leberman had spent many of those years, while waiting for the son she thought dead to become the killing machine he needed for his coup de grâce, playing head games with both Victoria and Lucas. There were times when his moves could only have been made with skilled help. And, more recently, with the use of inside in formation. Lucas had recognized that cold hard fact even when Victoria had not wanted to see it.
One week ago when Cole assumed control of the Colby Agency to begin his internal-affairs investigation he already knew the name of the primary man who had helped Leberman. Cole had needed only two things to complete his work, the identity of the agency employee who had leaked information and the elimination of Leberman's associate.
He had accomplished both. The first he had quickly ascertained through his interrogations and extensive background investigations. The second had taken a bit more time and the help of one of the Colby Agency's investigators. The newest investigator on staff, one who would have no ties to Leberman and the leak. Heath Murphy.
Heath had not failed him, though he had been royally P.O.ed at what he recognized as a setup early in the game. But that was his problem. Cole's single goal was to see that the elimination occurred.
Leberman's associate, Howard Stephens, was dead, and Victoria had her name. The Colby Agency's involvement in the matter was over. Cole had his own agenda from here. Nor would he apologize for using Stephens's own daughter, Jayne, to bring him down.
"Danes," Lucas addressed Cole now, "I brought you into this investigation because you're the best."
He was. Lucas and his team of Specialists were superior, as well. However, Cole had possessed one piece of information they hadn't. That was part of what made him the best in this particular situation. Lucas and his lovely wife had no need to know certain details.
"Thank you, Lucas." Cole looked directly at the man when he spoke, allowed him to visually inspect his eyes and expression. Cole knew he watched for any sign of deceit. "I have yet to fail."
"There's always a first time," Victoria accused.
Cole offered her a patient smile. She responded with a furious glare. "I appreciate that this is a delicate situation, but I can assure you that my assessment is correct."
Lucas held up a hand when she would have argued otherwise. "Let's just say that I agree," he ventured.
Cole knew it was a front to spare his wife from feeling further injury. Lucas knew he was right. He was no fool, nor was he blinded by overpowering emotion on the subject.
"If you have any doubts," Cole suggested with little attempt to keep the smugness out of his tone, "why don't you speak with the employee yourself? I'm familiar with your interrogation techniques, Lucas, a few questions is all it would take and my conclusion would be corroborated."
Lucas's expression turned hard. "You know the answer to that, Danes."
Oh, yes. He knew why the employee couldn't be questioned. This meeting wasted precious time. Per haps he was the only one present who truly under stood just how little of that valuable commodity remained within grasp.
Mildred Parker, Victoria's longtime secretary and personal assistant. A woman who had started at the Colby Agency with its inception. She was the leak. She'd gone missing in action two days ago, at basically the same time the final piece of evidence had confirmed his suspicions.
Victoria stood. Her chair banged against the credenza behind her desk. "I will not listen to another word of this." She glowered at Cole. "Mildred has dedicated her life to this agency. She would never do anything to harm me or anyone else here, much less my son."
She was right about one part. Mildred's involvement in leaked information only went back two years. Prior to that Leberman had used guesswork and an uncanny knowledge of his prey's method of operation to go about his nasty business. No one at the Colby Agency had helped Leberman take the Colby child. He'd merely waited for the right opportunity and utilized a skilled accomplice. Revenge was a strong motivator and as misplaced as his had been, Leberman had been out for the ultimate revenge.
Victoria stormed out of the office. The door slammed, punctuating her determined exit with a firm thwack.
Lucas expelled a heavy breath. "There's more you're not telling me, Danes."
Cole redirected his attention to Lucas. He hadn't expected anything less of the man. Lucas Camp had spent a lifetime reading between the lines. "There is."
"Why haven't you shared this additional information?" Lucas kept his temper carefully contained though Cole knew for a certainty that he felt supremely annoyed by this admission.
"Your wife has no need to know this part," Cole said bluntly. "It would only add to her discomfort." He propped his elbows on the chair's arms and steepled his fingers thoughtfully. "Contrary to popular thinking I do suffer a measure of compassion."
Lucas chuckled but the sound held little humor and his expression exhibited even less. "Perhaps we'll debate that issue another time." The older man's gaze pushed hard against Cole's. "I know you, Danes. You're forty years old. You've spent the past dozen years of your life making other people's lives miserable. You're the best interrogator in the business. Since moving into internal affairs at NSA ten years ago you've proven your ability time and time again. Nothing gets past you. Tell me what it is you're leaving out."
Cole rarely worked directly for the National Security Agency these days. His skills were too highly sought after to remain attached to one agency.
"Fair enough," Cole permitted. But Lucas would only know what he wanted him to know. As good as this longtime superspy was, he wasn't quite as good at deception as Cole.
"If my calculations are correct," he said, choosing his words carefully, "only two men remain of the original group Leberman started some twenty years ago."
Leberman had also been in the military at one time. Trained by a Special Forces type unit, Leberman had left the military on bad terms and then he'd proceeded to start his own little mercenary mini army. He and Stephens had organized a team of six men, all tops in their field. Together this group, of what Cole considered terrorists, had made a fortune in blood. Kidnappings, assassinations, just to name a couple of their offered services.
Now only two of that original six remained. A muscle in Cole's jaw ticked despite his efforts to maintain an impassive exterior.
"Go on," Lucas prompted, his expression clearly suspect.
"Those last two want revenge for the elimination of their leader."
"Howard Stephens," Lucas filled in.
Cole nodded. "He basically took over years ago, even before Leberman's death. Leberman was too caught up in revenge against the Colbys to keep up the pace required of a true leader. Though the team still respected him and used him from time to time, he was more a planner than a practitioner."
Lucas shrugged. "No surprise there. I knew Leberman was the brains behind whatever exploits he and his minions executed." He looked directly at Cole once more. "So those last two want you."
"Precisely."
"And you," Lucas added, "believe they're holding Mildred and her niece, Angel, hostage to that end?"
"I do."
That wasn't entirely accurate, but it was close enough. Angel Parker, Mildred's beloved niece, had been the one to actually leak the information. Cole didn't know yet what they'd used against her to get the i
nformation. A thorough investigation of her finances had not indicated that she'd done it for money. As a single mother of a three-year-old and a full-time nurse at Winnetka General Hospital, the young woman scarcely eked out a living. Without her aunt's generosity, unmarried and pregnant, Angel likely would have crashed and burned long ago.
Since Mildred had never married or had children of her own and Angel's mother had died years ago, Angel had been like a daughter to Mildred. Angel's child, Mildred's pseudograndchild, wanted for nothing.
"For now," Lucas allowed, "we'll operate under that assumption. Since we haven't been able to con tact or locate either Mildred or Angel, my hands are tied to do otherwise. What plan of action do you plan to take?" Lucas cocked an eyebrow. "I, of course, am assuming that you consider this next step part of completing your task here."
Lucas read him rather well even if he slightly missed the mark. Cole couldn't prevent another tiny smile. "Of course."
"Details, Danes," Lucas pressed, his expression as ferocious as a lion protecting his den.
"I will offer myself in trade since it was my investigation that landed Ms. Parker and her niece in harm's way." Cole flared his hands humbly. "I should have anticipated this move but I didn't. As Mrs. Colby-Camp said, perhaps there is a first time for failure even for me."
Lucas didn't look convinced. "I'll call in two of my Specialists to provide backup."
"No," Cole said sharply, allowing his composure to slip for one fraction of a second before locking down the momentary weakness. "This is something I must do alone. Any outside involvement could trigger an undesirable result."
The level of suspicion in Lucas's gaze increased by several degrees. "Do you have substantiated intelligence to confirm that assessment?"
"All I have is gut instinct." Cole angled his head and surveyed the man analyzing him so closely. "Isn't that the reason you hired me? For my instincts?"
Lucas backed off marginally. "I will expect to be kept up to speed on every step you take. I understood and tolerated your need for secrecy as you conducted this investigation into the employees of this agency. But I will not permit you to proceed under those terms now."
Cole stood. "I'll keep you abreast of the situation."
Lucas pushed to his feet with less effort than one would think considering he wore a prosthesis for a right leg. "See that you do."
Cole nodded once before moving toward the door. Lucas Camp would soon learn that Cole Danes shared only what he needed to share. Not even a man as powerful and experienced as Lucas could intimidate him. No one could.
"Just one thing, Danes," Lucas called to his back.
Cole paused at the door and turned to face him. Again, he indulged himself and allowed a smile to steal past his careful control. "Don't waste your time, Lucas. I know what I have to do. Nothing you say is going to change my methods."
Lucas smiled then, broadly, openly. "I'm well aware of that, Danes. Well aware." His smile vanished as abruptly as it had appeared. "But know this, if anything you do or say causes harm to come to Mildred Parker or her niece, you will answer to me."
For three beats the two men stood there staring at each other, decades of untold secrets and power over life and death pulsing between them.
"Make no mistake," Lucas went on, "I am fully aware that you're keeping something more from me. We all have our secrets." The depth of knowing in that statement glinted in his eyes. "But if yours hurts someone I care about there won't be anyplace on this planet you can hide."
Cole didn't hesitate. "Understood."
With that said he walked out of the office.
He ignored the angry glances from the agency staff members he encountered in the corridor. They had all seen more than enough of him, would likely never forget his name or face.
Few ever did.
But it was all part of the job he was paid to do.
If it were an easy task anyone could do it. Clearly that was not the case.
In the elegant lobby Victoria Colby-Camp stood near the receptionist's desk. Despite the devastations of her past she had surrounded herself with the best, both in material possessions and in staff and associates. But she, as well as her loyal staff, were mere humans. The finery glittering about them man-made. Just like eighteen years ago, Victoria Colby-Camp could not stop this bad thing from coming home to her. Errol Leberman had started it, but Cole Danes would finish it. For that reason she would never for get or forgive him.
Their gazes collided as if he'd somehow telegraphed that last thought.
She said nothing.
Cole depressed the call button and waited for the car to arrive on the fourth floor. Her silence made no difference to him one way or another.
Words weren't necessary in any event.
He already understood how she felt. She despised him for shedding light on a dark corner of her existence she'd rather not have seen.
She, too, would never forget his name or his face.
Few ever did.
CHAPTER THREE
Winnetka, Illinois, 1:00 p.m.
Nearly three hours and nothing.
Only forty-five hours left.
Fear crammed into her throat, twisted in her stomach.
Angel Parker hadn't left her living room, afraid she might somehow miss her next instructions. What was she supposed to do now?
She moistened her lips and wrung her shaky hands together. How could she save her aunt if no one told her what to do next?
How long was she expected to wait?
Where would she find Cole Danes?
Think, she commanded. She had to think past the fear and confusion. What had the man said?
Don't worry…Cole Danes will find you.
But he hadn't found her.
Angel pushed up from her sofa and started to pace. Her legs felt weak and rubbery after sitting so long. Or maybe it was the lingering effects of the fear. Fear did that—made you weak. She knew that better than most and still she couldn't slow the terror throbbing through her veins. As a nurse she'd watched otherwise calm and knowledgeable patients suffer near panic attacks when faced with the un known—some unexpected surgery or medical procedure.
No one wanted to face their mortality. Not even the strongest and most intelligent of the human race.
But it wasn't her own death Angel feared.
Her knees buckled and she grabbed for the nearest wall to catch herself. A wave of emotion washed over her, ushering a sob from her dry throat.
She'd done this.
Her aunt could die and it would be her fault.
Angel sagged against the wall and slid down to the floor, the hurt overwhelming her ability to stay vertical.
She'd done everything they'd asked.
For two years she'd lived in fear. She'd changed her work schedule as well as her route to and from work so often she felt certain her superiors considered her a mental case. She'd moved Mia to a different childcare provider every few months, as well.
And still she'd failed.
For a while she'd even foolishly thought herself free of the evil. She laughed bitterly. They hadn't bothered her in four months.
Not since Victoria Colby had gotten her son back.
It was then that Angel had known the magnitude of her sins.
The man who had come to her two years ago, the one who'd held her baby hostage for twenty-four hours just to prove he could, had worked for another even more sinister man named Leberman. Four months ago Mildred had cried and told Angel how thankful she was that Victoria finally had her son back. She'd told Angel about Leberman's death and all he'd done to the Colbys as well as Lucas Camp. As Mildred related the events of the past two years, each one had tied in with the simple, seemingly in nocuous, information Angel had secretly passed along.
Each time that telephone had rung, the caller asking only one question, always something so trivial, the call had preceded some evil Leberman had orchestrated.
She'd wanted so desperately to tell her aunt
then and there that she'd done this horrible thing. That she had helped make these terrible, terrible things hap pen to the Colbys. But she couldn't. They had taken her daughter once and had promised that next time Angel would never see her again. All she had to do was give them the information they asked for from time to time and her baby would remain safe. If she ever let them down or told that she'd been contacted, her child would die. She would never forget the look in the man's eyes—a man whose name she didn't even know.
Tell anyone about this and the little girl dies. Nothing you or anyone could do will save her. Believe that if you believe nothing else.
To demonstrate his point he'd taken her to Lincoln Park in broad daylight. Right before her eyes he'd killed a homeless man sitting on a park bench and then he'd simply walked away…with the parting ad vice that she should run like hell and that she was to remember his warning.
She had remembered.
And she'd believed. He'd killed a man for no reason without caring who saw him.
He would have taken her baby and killed her just as easily had Angel not cooperated. This kind of man feared no one…not the authorities, certainly not the Colby Agency.
Angel curled her arms around her knees and tried to stop the quaking that rocked her body.
She would carry the guilt of what she'd done to Victoria Colby to her grave. For these past few months she had told herself that she had to put it be hind her, that things had worked out despite her part in Leberman's sinister plans. She'd made a mistake. She had to get past it. She'd thought it was all over. Nothing she could do would change what was done any more than she could resurrect that poor home less man who'd died to prove some madman's point.
Then one week ago she'd gotten a visit rather than a call. He'd wanted one thing—another seemingly simple bit of inconsequential information. Just a name. The name of whoever was conducting an internal-affairs investigation at the Colby Agency.