Physical Evidence
Page 21
When he at last released her, she looked deep into his amazing blue eyes and said, “It’s never going to be over. I love you, Mitch.”
He swiped a tear from her cheek. “I love you.”
“Are you going back to the hospital?” Ethan yelled from the porch. “Or are you just going to stand around here until he falls over? The nurse gave me forty-five minutes to get him back there.” He waved a pair of jeans and shoes at Alex. “I thought you might need these.”
Alex blushed as she thought of what she was wearing—nothing but a nightshirt. She quickly pressed one last kiss to Mitch’s lips. As brave as he was being, the pain was showing on his face. “We’d better get you back. I want you well—soon. I have big plans that include you in top physical form.”
“In that case,” he said softly. “I’m definitely ready to go.”
Epilogue
“She’s absolutely adorable, Ian.” Victoria admired the newest photographs of Ian’s baby daughter, then passed them back to the doting father. The child truly was precious, but it pained Victoria to think of all she’d missed in her own life.
Pushing that useless train of thought aside, she focused on the two men seated across her desk. She had business to attend to. There was no time for loitering in the past. “Is Zach still coming back tomorrow?” she asked of Ian, her second in command.
“Yes. His mother is doing well now and he sees no reason to stay any longer.”
“Good.” Victoria took a moment to study the two men before her. Ian Michaels, classically handsome, his dress and demeanor just as classic. She shifted her gaze to Ethan Delaney, the exact opposite in every respect. Except in looks. Ethan was equally handsome, in a more rugged, outdoorsy way.
“And Alex is enjoying her vacation?” Victoria directed this question to Ethan.
He grinned. “She’s having a great time, though I don’t think she’ll be rested when she gets back.”
Victoria would have to see that every effort was taken to facilitate Alex’s relationship with Mitch Hayden. The Colby Agency could not afford to lose her. She was far too valuable. But, Victoria was immensely glad that Alex and Mitch had found each other. That kind of love didn’t come along every day.
The image of Lucas Camp slipped into her mind. His slow smile and knowing eyes. Victoria blinked, banishing her longtime friend. This was not the time and place to savor thoughts of Lucas.
“Very well then, where are we with our caseload considering Alex’s absence?”
“Everything is under control,” Ian assured her. “We have a couple of potential cases that I plan to pass to Ethan. I feel he’s best suited for the client environment.”
Victoria turned to Ethan. “You’re closed out on your latest case?”
“Sure am. Filed the report this morning.” He grinned that lopsided gesture that Victoria fancied, as did most females she felt certain. “You know I don’t beat around the bush,” he added in that cocky Delaney tone.
“Excellent.” Victoria turned back to Ian. “Anything else?”
“I had a call from Sloan this morning,” he began, surprising Victoria. She hadn’t heard from Trevor Sloan since his marriage to Rachel.
“Is everything all right?”
Ian nodded. “He picked up a rumor that involved the Colby Agency. He thought we should be aware that Leberman is making inquiries regarding some of our cases.”
Leberman. Now there was a name Victoria could have gone the rest of her life without hearing again. She pushed away the inkling of fear that accompanied the memory of the man. He was evil incarnate. He’d cost the Colby Agency two good men. But that had been when she’d first taken over after James’s death. She was much savvier in this business now. The Leberman situation would not happen again.
“There are two unsolved cases in the files that remotely involve Leberman,” she said thoughtfully. “Pull those files and see what you can find, Ian. Have Quinn work up a study on both. I want to know where the players are and what they’re doing. If Leberman is asking questions, then we should be prepared for the worst.”
Ian lifted one dark, perceptible brow. “Quinn will be pleased.”
William Quinn was the agency’s new intern. A former Chicago P.D. rookie cop, he’d shucked the uniform and returned to law school with a burning desire to change the way justice was levied. At twenty-two, he was hungry and relentless. If there was anything else to find in those old, unsolved cases, Quinn would find it.
“Keep me updated on his progress,” she told Ian. “I’ll call Sloan and thank him for the heads-up on Leberman.”
“Who’s Leberman?” Ethan asked, looking from one to the other.
“Bad news,” Victoria told him frankly. “Very bad news. If Leberman had his way the Colby Agency would be destroyed.”
“It’s our job,” Ian said confidently, “to see that he doesn’t have his way.”
Victoria smiled. “Indeed.”
The Colby Agency employed the best—like the two men seated before her. No one could touch the Colby Agency.
ISBN: 978-1-4268-7167-2
PHYSICAL EVIDENCE
Copyright © 2002 by Debra Webb
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher, Harlequin Enterprises Limited, 225 Duncan Mill Road, Don Mills, Ontario, Canada M3B 3K9.
All characters in this book have no existence outside the imagination of the author and have no relation whatsoever to anyone bearing the same name or names. They are not even distantly inspired by any individual known or unknown to the author, and all incidents are pure invention.
This edition published by arrangement with Harlequin Books S.A.
® and TM are trademarks of the publisher. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
Visit us at www.eHarlequin.com
*Colby Agency
*Colby Agency
*Colby Agency
*Colby Agency
*Colby Agency
*Colby Agency