Colby Control

by Debra Webb

  What could he say? Ted loved working at the Colby Agency. He respected and admired Victoria. He couldn’t possibly let her down.

  “Yes, ma’am,” he promised. “You can definitely count on me. I’ll get the job done and show Nora the ropes.”

  If he didn’t kill her first.

  Chapter Two

  “You are kidding?” This couldn’t be possible. Nora shuddered at the idea of working with Tallant. No way, no how. His mere presence in a room grated on her nerves like no one else she’d ever met.

  He made her…uneasy.

  “This is the way we’ll be doing things for a while,” Jim Colby reminded her. “Until the transition is complete, we’ll be working in pairs. Tallant will be lead. You’ll watch and learn.”

  “Learn what?” Jim had to be out of his mind. There was no way on earth she could learn one thing from good old boy Ted Tallant. No way!

  He was… He was too…I’m in charge.

  “The Colby Agency has a certain way of doing things. There’s more finesse involved. As a Colby investigator you will be playing by the rules.” Jim narrowed his gaze for emphasis. “All the rules.”

  This was ludicrous! “I don’t need anyone to teach me that,” she snapped. “The guidelines for conducting an investigation have been laid out over and over. Does Victoria think we’re stupid?”

  Nora instantly regretted the remark. The shadow that passed over Jim’s face warned that his patience was thinning. He’d almost lost his mother. He was going above and beyond to ensure he pleased her. Which ultimately made life damned frustrating for Nora and her comrades, the other former Equalizers. Former being the operative word here.

  “Do we have a problem, Nora?” Jim’s face cleared instantly, his expression wholly unreadable now. “Four months ago you were given an option of coming on board with the Colby Agency or six weeks’ severance pay going out the door. If you’ve changed your mind, now’s the time to speak up.”

  Her bad choice of words had left a seriously bad taste. She’d stuck her foot, stiletto included, directly into her mouth this time. “No. I…” She heaved a disgusted breath. “We don’t have a problem. I just don’t like Ted, that’s all.”

  “You don’t have to like him,” Jim offered. “You just have to follow his orders.”

  Well, that made all the difference in the world. “I can do whatever I have to do.” Working for Jim had given her the credibility she’d been looking for her whole adult life. Joining the Colby Agency crew would add prestige to her position. She wasn’t a fool. This was a priceless opportunity.

  More than that…it offered her a way to continue helping those who needed it most. Generally when people came to a P.I. group, they were desperate because they hadn’t been able to find that help with the police. Maybe here the clientele would be a little less desperate and a lot more inclined to want discretion, but according to Jim, there were still plenty who were truly desperate for the right and fair kind of help Nora liked to provide. What more could she ask for?

  She wasn’t letting a smart aleck like Ted Tallant screw this opportunity up for her. Working with him this one time wouldn’t be the end of the world. All she had to do was look at it for what it was—a bad assignment in an otherwise good job.

  “I’m good to go.” She produced the expected smile. “You know I’ll do whatever I have to in order to facilitate the merger.”

  “Good.” Jim passed a file across his desk. “You’ll find the details about the case there. Victoria is briefing Ted. It’s imperative that the two of you get on location as quickly as possible. We have reason to believe time is not on our client’s side. When we’re done here, check with Mildred about the travel arrangements.”

  Nora couldn’t wait. Not. She scanned the dossier on a Dr. Brent Vandiver, cosmetic surgeon. Forty-four. Judging by the photos, he’d been enjoying a number of the procedures he got the big bucks for performing on his patients. Store-bought tan and personal-trainer physique, all nicely packaged in a couture suit. Apparently the man had a penchant for infidelity.

  Clearly this was a case that didn’t include desperation in a real sense. Yeah.

  “This isn’t the first extramarital affair,” Jim went on as she scanned the pages and photos, “but the wife feels that this time Vandiver wants his freedom with no strings attached.”

  Nora’s gaze met Jim’s. “He wants her out of the way, as in dead and gone.”

  Jim nodded. “She suspects so. I’m sending Rocky to L.A. to check out the wife. See if we’re getting the whole story.”

  “I could do that and let Rocky work with Ted.” Why the hell hadn’t Jim laid it out that way in the first place? He had to know she couldn’t stand Tallant. Why not make this easier for everyone? She’d gone to high school in L.A. Still had a mother there somewhere.

  Probably still hawking her body downtown after business hours.

  Jim’s gaze narrowed once more. “Did you miss the part in the dossier that the mistress is a manager at a Vegas casino and hotel? Or that the husband is in Vegas as we speak?”

  Damn. “I gotcha.” Five years ago she’d completed an assignment in Vegas for her previous employer. Nora had spent eight weeks under deep cover there. She’d made it her business to know the ins and outs of the city…the life. Of course she was the logical candidate for the assignment.

  Just her luck.

  “We’re square, right?” Jim stared at her with an unyielding gaze that warned he didn’t want to hear otherwise. “This goes down just the way it’s supposed to. No personal feelings getting in the way.”

  “Sure.” She closed the file. Lifted her chin in defiance of the protests screaming in her head. “I’m a professional. Just because I’m better than Tallant doesn’t mean I can’t step back and learn—” she lifted one shoulder in a shrug “—something from him.”

  “You might just learn something, all right,” Jim tossed back, his tone pointed.

  Nora frowned at what was clearly a not-so-subtle reprimand. “I’m not sure I understand.”

  “When you stop learning,” Jim explained, “that’s when you no longer have a place in this business. No exceptions.”

  Enough said. “I understand.” She stood. “Anything else?”

  Jim moved his head from side to side. “Just remember, none of this changes what I expect from you, Nora. You’re damned good. Don’t let me down.”

  Nora’s smile was real this time. “Now, that’s one guarantee I can make without the first reservation. I will get the job done.” For an Equalizer, failure was not an option. “I wouldn’t dream of letting you down.”

  “Keep me posted,” Jim said as he turned his attention to the mountain of files on his desk.

  Jim Colby was in the process of reviewing every case the Colby Agency had worked for the past five years. His team, including Nora, was doing the same. The decision had been made, and he would do whatever it took to fit in…to make this merger work.

  Nora would do the same.

  All she had to do was get through this one assignment.

  She exited his office and headed for Mildred Ballard’s desk at the other end of the corridor. Her office was actually the small waiting area outside Victoria’s office. Jim had taken an office at the opposite end of the corridor from his mother.

  Space had been made for everyone.

  As long as Nora had her space, she could deal with anything temporarily.

  As she turned into Mildred’s area, she came face-to-face with Tallant.

  A truckload of frustration laced with a hint of disdain instantly drowned out her determination to play nice.

  Maybe she was wrong…but she highly doubted an entire city block—or two—would be enough space between her and this guy.

  The idea of spending the next few days with him, forced to submit to his lead… Well, maybe they would both survive.

  One thing was certain, Nora would.

  She had been equalizing situations long before she’d hired on with J
im Colby.

  Tallant was the one who needed to be worried.

  Chapter Three

  Palomino Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas

  4:00 p.m.

  At least it wasn’t the Copacabana.

  Nora kicked aside the nasty memories that accompanied the thought. Five years was a long time. She hadn’t heard a peep from the sick bastard in more than four of those years. Chances were she had nothing to worry about on that old score.

  Still…she was back in Vegas.

  There was always the possibility.

  “That’s her.”

  Nora blinked and followed Tallant’s gaze. A tall, lithe blonde floated across the gaming floor, then paused to chat with a guest.

  “Camille Soto,” Tallant went on. “Twenty-eight. MBA from UCLA. She—”

  “Yeah, yeah,” said Nora, interrupting his narrative. “I read her dossier.”

  Tallant shot her a look.

  Yeah, yeah. He was in charge. She was supposed to listen. Even if she already knew exactly what he was going to say.

  “She was hired as an assistant manager for the casino one year ago. Promptly promoted to manager just six months ago.”

  Soto had grown up in Brentwood, a whole different world from Nora’s North Hollywood roots. And Nora had barely finished high school, much less gotten a foot in the door of a fancy university.

  “Our client’s husband started…” Nora considered the best way to put it “He started interacting with Ms. Soto six months ago. Ironically about the same time she was promoted.”

  Tallant sipped his club soda as he watched the blonde schmooze with patrons. “That’s what the wife says, but we have no documented proof of the allegation.”

  Nora had a feeling there was more to this than she knew. Jim had gone over the file with her, but something about the client had sounded personal to him on some level. When she’d asked, he had dismissed the question by moving on to the next topic.

  A little jaunt on the Internet last night hadn’t provided Nora with any sort of personal connection between the client and the Colbys, but her instincts were buzzing with the idea that there was something beneath the surface. This was more than just another case. A lot more.

  Maybe her new partner had a little inside info. At this point she didn’t see any reason for him not to share. “Does the Colby Agency generally take cases with such a personal connection?”

  Tallant turned from his surveillance of the blonde to stare with no small amount of frustration directly at Nora. “We’ve gone over the strategy for this assignment.” He thrust his half-empty glass at her. “Don’t ignore check-in time,” he reminded as she took the glass. Then he walked away.

  Nora glared at the glass, then at his back. She was to check in with him every hour when they were separated. No exceptions. This…no, he was going to be a major pain in the butt.

  Nora caught a passing waiter and placed the tumbler on his tray, then smiled appreciatively.

  Time to interject her own strategy into this game. He hadn’t specifically said she couldn’t.

  When Tallant was fully engaged in conversation with the other woman, Nora headed for the bank of elevators in the glamorous lobby.

  The Colby Agency had their way of doing things. But in Nora’s opinion there were far more direct methods. She stepped onto the elevator and selected the twelfth floor. Leaning against the back wall of the empty car, she clutched her satin purse close to her chest. Traveling via commercial airliner these days made it difficult to carry one’s tools of the trade. But she had devised methods for getting around the possibility of her checked bag being inspected. Incorporating various listening devices and breaking-and-entering tools into her jewelry, cosmetics and such worked like a charm every time.

  On the twelfth floor she exited the elevator car and strolled to room 1221. Dr. Vandiver was having a drink with friends in the lobby bar downstairs. According to the waiter serving his table, the group had ordered an appetizer from the restaurant next door. He wasn’t going anywhere.

  Nora surveyed the door to his room. He would never know she’d been here. With a quick glance right, then left, she gingerly plucked the access card from her purse and slid it into the electronic lock. A small wireless scanner about the size of a makeup compact flashed red, then yellow and finally green. The light on the door’s lock went to green. Nora opened the door, simultaneously removing the access card from the locking mechanism.

  And she was in.

  When the door had closed with a soft click behind her, she surveyed the suite. Same layout as the one she had two floors below but far larger and grander. Management likely ensured that Vandiver always got a VIP suite. Unlike Nora’s small sitting room, this one was immense, with a generous balcony overlooking the famous Strip. The first of three telephones sat on a table next to an elegant sofa. Less than a minute was required to place the bug in the cordless handset.

  A dozen steps across the plush carpet and she entered the well-appointed bedroom with its enormous bed piled with lush bedding. Vandiver’s luggage stood near the walk-in closet, untouched as of yet. The luxurious bed, flanked by wide tables and proud lamps, and a distinctive highboy-style chest of drawers lined the walls not adorned with exquisite art or imposing windows. Two lush chairs, separated by another gleaming ornate table, stood in front of a floor-to-ceiling, wall-to-wall window framing a gorgeous view of the miles of bold, brash architecture and exotic lights that set Sin City apart from any other.

  The second phone, on the table to the left of the bed, was the next target. Her fingers moved deftly as she installed the tiny device. The third phone was in the en suite bathroom. Yards and yards of sleek marble and state-of-the-art fixtures cloaked the room. Thick white towels hung on warming racks.

  A few seconds more and her work was done.

  Nora made her way back to the sitting room and paused long enough to sync her cell phone with those in the room by putting a call through directly to the room. She slid the phone back into her crowded clutch purse and headed for the door.

  Tallant would be wondering where she’d gotten off to. She was supposed to be hanging out in the bar, watching Vandiver.

  Her accomplishment here would do a hell of a lot more good than watching the guy sip Scotch and nibble at finger foods.

  She had no intention of spending any more time than absolutely necessary on this assignment with Tallant. The sooner she was back in Chicago, the happier she would be. Her rotation with him would be over and her next assignment would be with someone else.

  Anyone else would be fine by her.

  The shadow of his tall frame flitted across her mind’s eye. She shook off the distant yearning that accompanied the image.

  No man had ever gotten to her in such an annoying manner. The vague idea that she was deeply entrenched in denial frustrated her all the more.

  She didn’t like him. End of story.

  At the entry door she reached for the handle; the distinct hum of the electronic lock stopped her dead in her tracks.

  An even more distinct click warned that someone was about to enter the room.

  She flattened against the wall just in time for the door to open. It stopped mere centimeters from her nose. Nora held her breath.

  “Yes, I’m aware of the consequences.”

  Vandiver strode across the room, his cell phone pressed against his ear in one hand, the other working his tie loose from his throat.

  Nora remained stone still, her lungs bursting to draw in more air, as he wandered left toward the bedroom, still struggling with the knot in his tie and speaking firmly to the person on the other end of the line.

  “That’s out of the question,” Vandiver snapped as he disappeared into the bedroom.

  Nora dared to breathe.

  She had to get out of here before he came back into the sitting room.

  Tallant would kill her if she got caught.

  Holding her breath once more, she reached toward the door handle.

/>   The spray of water in the bathroom stalled her escape once more.

  Vandiver was preparing to take a shower.

  That could work to her benefit in a very big way. If he’d left his cell phone in the bedroom…she could add a device to it, as well.

  What a break that would be….

  Tallant’s voice rang in her ears. Don’t make a single move without my approval.

  Okay, so maybe he had warned her not to formulate her own strategy.

  Nora blinked. She’d certainly already barged past that line in the sand.

  What was one more infraction?

  Especially if it served to resolve this case.

  The move was a risk, no doubt.

  If she was caught, she would simply have to wing it. She’d done it before. Would likely do it again.

  Go for it.

  She slipped off her stilettos and left them at the door. Her steps silent on the thick carpet, she moved quickly toward the bedroom. As she drew nearer, the water sounds grew louder.

  Vandiver started to sing.

  Not well and certainly not in tune, but providentially loudly.

  Three steps into the room and she hesitated. The door to the bathroom was open.

  A couple of her favorite curse words flitted through her mind.

  Along with a pair of black trousers, a white shirt and a red power tie, the cell phone lay on the bed, as if he’d tossed it there…as if he had nothing at all to worry about.

  Adrenaline moved through her veins. Nothing but Nora Friedman. A smile tilted her lips.

  Seven feet stood between her and the phone. She glanced at the bathroom door. The glass-enclosed shower had fogged with the billowing steam.

  She could do it.

  Piece of cake.

  Feet wide apart, she braced for the move.

  Her purse vibrated. Her fingers clenched around it as if that would somehow stop the insistent tremor.

  Her muscles tightened.

  Tallant was checking up on her.

  Another glance toward the bathroom.

  Just do it.

  Three long, soundless strides put her at the foot of the bed. She snatched up the phone and backed up, taking the same number of steps.