Debra Webb - Gunning For The Groom

“Yes, please. I don’t care for the way she was led to what she considers proof positive her mother willfully ended her father’s career. The only thing I believe about the man who dropped this in her lap is that digging for the truth could get her hurt. Or worse.”

“Yes, ma’am.” Aidan waited for the other shoe to drop.

“General Leone was an excellent strategist,” Victoria said, almost to herself. “Frankie takes after him. She’s smart and highly skilled, but I’m afraid she’s rejecting the most logical explanation. It’s understandable under the circumstances. I’m sure you heard the temper and need for vengeance in her voice.”

He bobbed his chin. “Hard to miss.”

“Please tread lightly,” Victoria continued. “As you meet Sophia Leone and work out the details with Frankie, keep an open mind. You might be the only one who can.”

“Of course.” At least in this case he wasn’t at the center of the storm battering the family. There was a great deal of comfort in that.

“I’ll send you her file for review,” Victoria said, leaning back against her desk. “The most pertinent fact is Frankie’s service as a cultural liaison with the navy SEALs.”

That gave Aidan pause. Though it was the only post women could fill on those operations, very few had the tenacity and fortitude to do so. “She looks a little young to have hit her twenty years already.”

“She suffered a serious injury while her team was in a convoy that left her paralyzed for a time. Inconveniently, her recovery coincided with her father’s problems. Surgery and months of rehab got her walking again, but the navy retired her for medical reasons.”

That explained some of the anger, Aidan thought. He knew firsthand it was never easy to relinquish control when life dealt out an unexpected detour.

“She claims she’s fit,” Victoria added, “but I’m not entirely convinced.”

“Duly noted,” Aidan said. Healthy and able-bodied weren’t the same as fit for service. If this case turned into a danger zone, he’d offer protection first and apologize for any insult later.

“Expect her to try to shake you.”

He’d already reached the same assumption. “Do you think she’ll blow my cover?”

“No. She wants the truth too much to take that chance. That doesn’t mean she’ll cooperate with you.”

“She’s not my first challenging case,” he reminded his boss.

Victoria blessed him with an amused smile. “I was right to call you in on this one.”

“I’ll see her safely through whatever happens,” he promised.

“Thank you. It’s the least I owe her parents.”

A firm knock sounded on the door and Victoria signaled for him to open it. He did, finding Frankie on the other side, her dark eyes sparking with impatience. She marched right past him to confront Victoria. “Your receptionist tells me she’s booking us on a flight to Seattle tomorrow.”

Aidan took a position that gave him the best view of the inevitable fireworks.

“That’s right,” Victoria said. “I’m not taking any chances, and you told me you didn’t want to waste any more time.”

“I need to go home first,” Frankie replied. “I’ll travel from there.”

Victoria folded her arms across her chest. “Do you think your mother hasn’t kept tabs on you? Traveling from Savannah gains you nothing. Sophia and I are friends. She might very well call me for advice about you. We’ve both had challenges with children.”

Frankie didn’t cooperate with the clear dismissal. “That’s not it,” she protested.

Victoria tapped her reading glasses against her palm. “Are you having second thoughts?”

Brick, meet wall, Aidan thought, watching the two women.

“No.”

The internal battle Frankie was obviously waging dragged out for another long minute. She still didn’t explain herself. Aidan caught Victoria’s eye. “Frankie.” He waited for her to turn his way. “Any gear you might want you can borrow from us. I’ll show you the way.”

Behind Frankie, he caught Victoria’s relieved expression when the younger woman finally agreed, slinging her backpack over one shoulder and retrieving her suitcase. When they were alone in the elevator, he felt a modicum of tension ease. He asked what she expected to find in Seattle.

“I’m trying not to expect much of anything,” she answered.

“That limits the potential disappointment.” He’d walked through life a long while with that mind-set. “And the potential happiness.”

She sighed, her hand flexing on the strap of her backpack. “I know I must sound like an overgrown toddler on the verge of a tantrum.”

That wasn’t what he saw at all. He saw a woman in pain, confused and wary. “I don’t know enough about your situation to have an opinion.”

She looked up at him and laughed, the startled, bright sound bouncing around the elevator car and spilling out as the doors parted. “Oh, you have an opinion,” she said. “Maybe I’ll ask for it later.”

He didn’t want to be fascinated by this new client with a huge chip on her shoulder, yet he couldn’t quite stop himself. She exuded stubbornness, and he couldn’t imagine what kind of strength required to overcome her injuries.

As an investigator, he was naturally curious about all the things she hadn’t said, but it certainly didn’t help his concentration that she made such an art form out of walking.

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