Debra Webb - Her Secret Alibi

Simon implored her. “All you have to do is trust me.”

He touched her gently, protectively, his fingers tracing the curve of her cheek. She couldn’t move, couldn’t speak. His thumb slid over her lower lip, sending a rush of desire straight through her.

Jolie looked into her dark savior’s eyes. He really had rescued her tonight. He was beautiful…like an angel straight from heaven, except he was dark and alluring.

“None of this makes sense. It’s crazy. Why would you risk your life for me?” she asked, filled with desperation and defeat.

He stared at her lips as she spoke, fighting the urge to press his own there, to comfort her and make her forget. “It doesn’t matter why.” He dragged his gaze upward to look directly into those jade pools of pure fear. “All you need to know is that I will.”

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Debra Webb was born in Scottsboro, Alabama, to parents who taught her that anything is possible if you want it badly enough. She began writing at age nine. Eventually she met and married the man of her dreams, and tried some other occupations, including selling vacuum cleaners and working in a factory, a day-care center, a hospital and a department store. When her husband joined the military, they moved to Berlin, Germany, and Debra became a secretary in the commanding general’s office. By 1985 they were back in the States, and finally moved to Tennessee, to a small town where everyone knows everyone else. With the support of her husband and two beautiful daughters, Debra took up writing again, looking to mysteries and movies for inspiration. In 1998 her dream of writing for Harlequin came true. You can write to Debra with your comments at P.O. Box 64, Huntland, Tennessee 37345.

Simon Ruhl—One of the Colby Agency’s finest investigators. He will stop at nothing to bring down the man who murdered his former partner.

Jolie Randolph—Is she losing her mind? Falling victim to the illness that plagued her mother? As betrayal threatens her very life, who can she trust?

Mr. Knox—The bank’s president and Jolie’s boss. He is concerned that perhaps the stress of Jolie’s new position is more than she’d bargained for.

Franklin Randolph—Jolie’s father. He has a secret of his own. Will that secret destroy his daughter?

Mark Boyer—He has worked with Jolie for years. She received the promotion he wanted. How far will he go to prove they chose the wrong person for the job?

Erica Thornton—An advertising executive and Jolie’s best friend. She wants to help…but can she before it’s too late?

Renae Felder—Jolie’s assistant. She has access to Jolie’s calendar as well as her files. Is she as loyal as she’d like Jolie to think?

Special Agent Johnson—An old friend of Simon’s in the FBI’s Atlanta office. He is willing to help out a friend, but he can’t look the other way when murder is involved.

Raymond “Big Ray” Brasco—The top mob boss in Atlanta. He doesn’t take no for an answer.

Ray Brasco Jr.—The boss’s son. He loves to play games, especially with the innocent.

Pierce “Max” Maxwell—Another agent from the Colby Agency. Max will provide backup and support for Simon. A former DEA agent, Max is always prepared.

This book is dedicated to a very special group of folks who have always been there whenever I needed them. I would like to thank the ladies and gentlemen, past and present, of Huntland Bank for their years of dedicated service and continued friendship. You have always added a special human touch to the business of banking.

Prologue

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Epilogue

Victoria Colby stared out the window of her fourth floor office and tried not to think about the past. She’d had a difficult time pushing it aside lately. It wasn’t like her to dwell on what she couldn’t change. Unfortunately, it grew increasingly harder to do what she’d once been so very good at. Forgetting.

If she lived a thousand years she would never be able to forget the man she’d loved, James Colby. He had been her true soul mate. A man of honor…of courage. So few existed these days, it seemed. Her thoughts went immediately to Lucas Camp. Yes, there was another very much like her James had been. Lucas was the epitome of a good man.

A part of her longed to share the rest of her days on this earth with him, especially after coming so close to losing him only a few months ago. She shuddered as she thought of that island and those long hours when she hadn’t known if Lucas was alive or dead. But something always made her hold back when it came to commitment, made her second-guess what her heart said. She did love Lucas, there was no denying that fact. Still, there was one thing that had prevented her from moving on with her life all these years.

James Colby, Jr. Her son.

She blinked, ruing the tears that never failed to surface when she thought of the little boy she’d borne. What good would her tears do? He was lost to her. If he were alive he would be a grown man now. She wondered if he would still look so much like his father. If he would be even half as honorable and courageous. If he were happy. If his life had been pleasant.

But most of all she wondered if he was alive. She’d waited all these years, hoping he was, and that he hadn’t forgotten her or the happy home they had shared. Hoping that he would come back someday.

A heavy sigh escaped her lips. Most likely she would never know anything, and he wouldn’t come back. But nothing would stop her from hoping.

“You wanted to see me, Victoria?”

The sound of Simon Ruhl’s voice startled Victoria back to the here and now. She took a breath and composed herself before facing him. She had the agency. And she had her Colby agents—the very best in the business of private investigation. She had taken the agency her husband had started and gone all the way to the top. That was something. She did not have time to feel sorry for herself.

That realization galvanized her and she banished her troubling thoughts. They had a new case. One that was perfect for Simon Ruhl.

Victoria returned his smile and charged into work mode. “Please, have a seat, Simon. We have a new assignment to discuss.”

When they had settled, she began. “Jason Hodges is the head of the board of directors of Atlanta’s First International Bank.” She passed a folder to Simon for his perusal. “As you’ll see in there, he has a stellar record, as does his bank.”

She paused for a moment as Simon reviewed the contents of the file, then smiled when he looked up and asked, “What’s the problem?” Nothing got past Simon. As a former member of the FBI, he’d had intensive training for just this sort of case. He would know that no matter how neat and tidy things looked on the surface, a great deal of trouble could lie just beneath. His Ivy League education and refined manner were perfect.