Debra Webb - Colby Control

Ted felt sick. “As long as she is aware that I’m lead in this investigation,” he said, hoping like hell that would be the case.

“Of course,” Victoria assured him. “You will be lead. No question. Nora’s job is to watch and learn. She’s a skilled investigator, but it’s very important that Jim’s staff becomes acquainted with the way we do things here at the Colby Agency. My goal is to see that each of the Equalizers who opted to come on board works with each member of the agency. An acquaintance rotation of sorts. I feel that strategy will create a deeper sense of cohesion more quickly.”

He couldn’t fault her approach. “I’m certain her knowledge of the casino world will be useful.” The words were bitter in his mouth. Ted wanted to bite off his tongue at the reality of what his agreement meant.

He would be spending every minute of every hour for the next few days in a city he’d never visited with Nora the know-it-all, who evidently knew her way around the place. Perfect.

“I’m counting on you, Ted,” Victoria said, again interrupting his troubling tirade. “This merger is of the utmost importance to me. I want every aspect of the transition to go as smoothly as possible.”

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.

“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.”