Beginning: A PAVAD Prequel Novella (PAVAD: FBI Romantic Suspense)

by Brookes, Calle J.

  “That, Agent Royal, is none of your business.” And it wasn’t anything she hadn’t heard before.

  And if she was the kind who mixed business with pleasure, she’d be perfectly fine with a man like Ed. He was loving, interesting, dedicated, and kind. And he was definitely the long relationship type of man. Dakon Royal could do a hell of a lot worse emulating Edward Dennis.

  He tilted the umbrella as he leaned down. “Just let me know if I need to discreetly sit outside the hotel room tonight. Hate to get in the way of young love.”

  “I’m sure you wouldn’t. And Ed and I are just friends. I care a great deal for him, but not in that way. So sorry, no prurient entertainment for you tonight.”

  “Agent Len, when I think of you pruriently, there won’t be another man in the picture.” He grinned at her and while she wanted to hit him for his arrogance she had to admit that the man was too damned hot for her own good.

  “Just me and half the rest of the women in our field office?” She kept an eye on Ed, where he walked next to the Indianapolis field director. “I don’t play games, and I don’t share.”

  “Now I may indulge in a few games now and then, but I agree with you on that. Sharing is far overrated.”

  Ed called for her and Len stepped closer to his side. She’d almost forgotten the real reason they were there.

  Damn Royal; maybe he was going to be a bigger distraction than she thought?

  Chapter Eight

  ROYAL enjoyed the nervous look in her hazel eyes, but he hadn’t forgotten their true reason for being in Indianapolis. All joking aside, he knew he was damned good at what he did.

  Both Len and Ed exhibited signs of being exhausted, but they trudged on. And she did just as much as the deputy director did. Answered just as many questions with the small meeting of the Indy field office head and some other bigwigs that he had never met before but had definitely heard of.

  Royal was just there as a formality, and everyone in the room knew it. But that didn’t matter to him. It just gave him time to study the major players.

  Ed Dennis was a quiet man, but he definitely directed the conversation to what he wanted. He was firm, but respectful, and very knowledgeable. When the first meeting was finished, Ed had garnered the support for the new division that he needed. Royal’s respect for him grew.

  He was a fair leader, and one hell of a negotiator. But most people seemed to like him.

  So who had it in for him enough to want to kill him?

  Len dominated some of the talks about the new division—who it would include, what kinds of cases they would take. How they would handle various situations.

  She was just as—if not more—knowledgeable about the personnel side of things than Edward Dennis. Did anyone else realize that? She rattled off statistics and previous cases, names and current assignments like a six year old belted out the alphabet.

  All the attention was on her and the folder in front of her. But she didn’t need the papers—everything was kept in her head.

  After they were finished with the first part of their day they headed to the Indianapolis field office for the job interview. Dakon pulled Len aside when Ed went to the restroom.

  “What is it? Shouldn’t you be in there with him?”

  “It’s a single stall. I checked earlier. He’s fine.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “How much do you have this PAVAD information written out somewhere?”

  “I have a duplicate of my files on my laptop at home, my office, and a backup in a place I am not mentioning.”

  “Good. Send me what you can, too.”

  “Why?”

  “Because every instinct I have is telling me that PAVAD is behind whatever threat there is.”

  “It’s possible. We—Ed and I—have combed through every psychological profile of every possible considerate. Even Georgia. We’ve looked at past cases, evaluations, and recommendations. We finally have lists of our core people.”

  “You possibly dredge something up that shouldn’t have been?”

  He watched her eyes while she thought about it. “It’s possible. But I do think it’s one of those five names.”

  “Are any on your list of candidates?”

  “No. All five were eliminated about midway through our search.”

  “Why?”

  “Poor performance, attitude, history, or just basic personality issues. If we didn’t think they could hack it, they were cut.”

  “Harsh.”

  “Yes. But we want this to work well from the very beginning. Ed’s only settling for the best of the best.”

  “Think you brought something up that someone wanted buried? Or are we dealing with someone who got passed up?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “First chance we get we’re going over those five names. Inch by inch.”

  “You feel it, too?”

  “Feeling what? That something is about to happen? Hell yeah.” And Dakon had learned early on to follow those instincts. “Finish your job interview. Then we’re going. How long we planning to be here?”

  “Ed was only able to get the jet first thing in the morning.”

  “We’re renting a car. Not staying the night.”

  He saw the surprise in her eyes. “Why?”

  “The people on your list aren’t stupid. They’ll expect us to stay in a hotel, and not the one we booked. I think we drive back tonight. Just the three of us. One car. Alias.” Dakon thought for a moment. “I’ll handle that.”

  “You have proper identification?”

  “You might say that. Leftover from the Mullens case.” Dakon had played the brother of a victim to flush out the suspect. He’d borne a close enough resemblance to use the brother’s identification, after the brother had also been found dead. He’d yet to turn the documentation in—he was waiting for his team leader to return to hand it over personally. He’d been sent straight to the hospital after the suspect had been apprehended, and hadn’t had an opportunity to turn in the drivers’ license. “It’ll do in a pinch.”

  “The interview is in fifteen minutes.”

  “We’ll take a taxi as soon as possible. Straight to the nearest rental place.” He was working out the details as he spoke. He didn’t realize until she pulled her arm free that he’d been caressing the soft skin left bare where her suit jacket ended. “You have really soft skin.”

  “Most women do, Agent Royal.” But her words were just as soft. There was an uncertainty in her eyes behind her glasses that he found so damned intriguing. “Shouldn’t you be worried about other things?”

  “When I’m too old to worry about a beautiful woman and her soft, soft skin, then I’m too old to be in this world.”

  “Do these lines work on all the other girls?”

  “Sometimes. But that wasn’t a line. That was the god’s honest truth.” He liked the sparks of irritation and nerves that mingled in her eyes. “And once we figure out the bastard screwing with the director, I’ll show you just how honest I’m being when I say that I want to know you better. That you intrigue me, in a way I haven’t been in a very long time.”

  Chapter Nine

  LEN studied the man across the table from her. And tried to forget the one leaning against the far wall watching all of them.

  Fin McLaughlin was an extremely handsome man with warm brown hair touched with only a bit of red, brown eyes that were intense, and a dimpled grin that rivaled Royal’s in intensity. And sexiness.

  But Royal had that edge of dangerous magnetism that drew her far more than the strong, masculine All-American Captain Do-Gooder like McLaughlin.

  She knew his history, how he and another agent were trapped in an explosion that resulted in the loss of McLaughlin’s arm. The man had a few dark spots on his record, all occurring within a few months of the explosion, but that was almost five years ago. He had triumphed since.

  Ed was asking him a series of questions, and the profiler was answering them easily. Le
n made a few notes, but overall, she was impressed with the man. She could see him fitting in easily with the type of people already in mind for PAVAD. He actually reminded her a lot of Royal’s team leader Malachi Brockman.

  She’d always liked Malachi, and there was that one night when they’d attended a Bureau function together. It had ended in a bit more than a few kisses, but they hadn’t the time to see if anything more could develop between them.

  That had been almost three years ago. And that was the last time she’d kissed an attractive man. Been held by one, even though she and Malachi hadn’t engaged in anything more than some heavy petting. Maybe that was why she was so aware of Dakon Royal? The fact that she hadn’t been with someone in a very long while, and the fact that he was more than a bit receptive?

  Proximity, adrenaline, and hormones. That was all that it could be. All she would let it be.

  The interview went well, and McLaughlin was able to provide them with character references that Len would check out upon returning to St. Louis.

  He was one of the first they wanted heading one of the new teams. But everything hinged on timing and funding to pull off. She honestly didn’t know how they were going to manage it. But she trusted Ed with those kinds of details, the same way he trusted her with finding the best people to bring to St. Louis. She and Ed really worked well together.

  He was a dream boss.

  Who was also proving to be a little bit stubborn.

  He wasn’t too keen on the idea of driving back to St. Louis in the rain and thunderstorms. And she couldn’t blame him; it was obvious they were all tired, and the weather was worsening. And the car Royal had managed to rent under his false ID left a bit to be desired. It was clean, but there was a strange smell wafting from the upholstery that slightly concerned her.

  Len wasn’t too happy about being out in severe weather, herself. But she understood Royal’s point. Doing the unexpected might just keep them all safe. “We go south, then. We avoid the interstates, we find a hotel midway. The storms are still west of us here, anyway. By the time they get this way, we’ll be almost to Evansville. We can find a room there, wait out the storms, get something to eat for dinner, then head back out first thing in the morning. Best of all, no one has to know which direction we’re going.”

  Royal nodded at her, then took the bag she carried out of her hands. “You have a very cunning mind, Len. Very intriguing.”

  Ed laughed. “Don’t play chess with her. She’ll annihilate you.”

  “That good, huh?”

  “She’s a killer.”

  “I’ll have to take you up on that challenge someday.”

  Len looked at him. “Grandmaster.”

  “Yes, I am.”

  “I know. It was one of the mildly interesting pieces in your file.”

  Ed was looking at her, surprise just hinting at his expression. She knew what he was thinking—she often did—and she shook her head. She didn’t doubt her friend would ask her about whatever it was between her and Agent Royal whenever he got the chance.

  Maybe before that happened, she’d formulate an answer. In the meantime…

  “I’m driving until it gets dark. Then it’s your turn.” She nabbed the keys out of Royal’s hand and slid behind the driver’s seat before either of the two men could say otherwise.

  Fifteen minutes later they were off the interstate and heading south through the beautiful Indiana countryside. It really was a beautiful place, and reminded her a bit of Missouri.

  The rain made it look a little gloomy, though. They left the radio off, and spent a few moments discussing Agent McLaughlin. Overall impressions of all of them, including Royal who had no real say in the transfer decision, were that the man would probably be an excellent fit.

  “I’d work for him,” Royal said. “He had a way of meeting a person eye to eye. Trustworthy. And you could see in the way he spoke of his teammates that he’s a fair leader.”

  “From what his file says that’s exactly what he is.”

  “So… how many people will this division hold?”

  “I’ve asked for two hundred agents, three hundred support staff,” Ed answered. “My target number for the first two years is half that. I want to keep it manageable at first, until we know how viable the division is.”

  “Sweet. That’s a fair number of people.”

  “We’ll have to build. And I want it fairly near the current Field Office. But that’s a talk for another day. I’ve a few things I need to work on while we drive.”

  Ed’s attention was wondering, and she knew he was thinking of something. He always got a particular look in his eyes whenever his mind was elsewhere.

  Len glanced in the rearview mirror; the look was there. She checked out the back window, making note of the vehicles behind them.

  Just in case.

  It wouldn’t be the first time she and Ed had been followed.

  .

  Chapter Ten

  THEY were being followed. He knew it, and by the look in her eyes, she knew it too. He glanced over his shoulder at the passenger. “Sir, we’re most likely being followed. What do you want us to do?””

  Ed Dennis straightened. “Maintain our course until they approach.”

  “Yes, sir.” Royal looked at the driver. She had a focused calm about her that he had to admire. “You good?”

  “It’s not the first time we’ve been in this situation. Or the tenth. We’ll be ok. You scared?”

  “Hardly, baby. I just like the excitement.”

  “I’m sure you do.”

  She sped up a little. Royal watched the SUV behind them do the same. “You think this is our guy?”

  “Hard to believe it’s something else.”

  There will be an exit coming up. It leads south to Louisville No interstate.”

  Way ahead of you.” She whipped the car off the main highway and straight to the exit. She played it smoothly, leaving the SUV unable to follow. “And we’re not going that way, either. Always do the unexpected, Royal.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.” He leaned closer. “Does that extend to other areas, or just driving?”

  “That, Royal, is something you are not going to ever find the answer to.”

  “Maybe we’ll have to talk about that later.”

  She drove calmly, but both of them were well aware of how easy it would be to find them again. She drove for about four miles, then turned the vehicle right. “We’ll head east, then go straight down to Louisville, rather than toward Illinois. It’ll add a few hours of our time, but it might make things a little difficult to find us.”

  Royal thought for a moment. “Find highway 37. It’ll lead through Bloomington, we can decide what direction to take after that.”

  “Storm is approaching from the west.” The director said. “Drive as far as you can, but once it hits we’re stopping”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Ed doesn’t drive in thunderstorms. One thing he’s pretty strict about that.”

  It surprised Royal. He knew of people with a fear of storms, but he hadn’t expected the deputy director of the FBI to be one of those people.

  “If you’ve ever experienced a tornado, Agent Royal, you’ll understand. When my daughter was eight we were separated by an F4. She and my sister were very lucky to be alive. I was out driving looking for them. I ended up with a broken arm. Now I have a healthy appreciation for Mother Nature. Besides, I have some things I must do tonight. We need to stop whenever we can. “

  Royal didn’t have to like it, but he would do it. Whatever the director wanted, and Royal would do his damnedest to protect the man.

  He could see that Len felt the same. Jasmine. Her given name suited her, pretty, feminine, yet strong and subtle.

  They barely spoke for the next two hours. The storm picked up around them. Once the rain almost completely erased the ability to see, she had Royal type in their location and directions to the nearest hotel. Royal looked around the best he could—
they were in the middle of nothing but cornfields and old farm house.

  “Says go west.”

  “Where?”

  “First chance you get. There’s a turn right at the courthouse. Stay on the road around twelve miles.”

  He wasn’t afraid of storms, but this tempest raging around them was enough to make even him nervous.

  But Len kept herself cool, even when a branch slammed into the passenger window next to Royal’s head.

  “Twelve miles you said?” Was all she asked.

  “Probably half that.” Her voice was tight, but she kept the wheel steady, even when the wind buffeted the rental car over the road. They passed a pharmacy and a McDonalds. The town had only two stoplights

  It was the longest six miles Royal could remember in a very long time. “There. There’s a hotel.”

  Jasmine pulled the car into the entryway and toward a parking garage. Across from the parking garage was a casino.

  In the midst of nowhere Indiana… a casino.

  “Really?”

  “Anyone feel up to a game of cards?” Dennis asked. “I knew Indiana had casinos, but this is the first I’ve seen one in such a small town. Shall we step over to the hotel?”

  Jasmine parked the rental car, and they climbed out as the thunder and lightning continued outside the garage. “Let’s get inside. Hopefully there’s a vacancy.”

  “If not, we’ll find a game, and see how much I can fleece some Indiana high-rollers out of.”

  Chapter Eleven

  LEN knew Ed was just teasing—he’d never fleece anyone. It wasn’t his way, though he was an excellent card player. “I’d rather they have a room, with a shower and a place to sleep.”

  Royal had his bag slung over his shoulder but she knew from the way he stood that he was studying every corner of the parking garage. She had her weapon ready, but concealed. She wasn’t taking any chances.

  And neither was Royal.

  There was one room left—apparently the hotel was booked up with a publishing convention—and they were directed toward the top floor and a small supposedly historical room. The hotel was a beautiful place, Len had to admit, and it seemed to stay true to its history. The front desk gave them a pamphlet describing that history. Len studied quickly when in the elevator. “Interesting place. Boxers, mobsters, former presidents, all were supposed to have been here in the early nineteen hundreds.”