Debra Webb - Solitary Soldier

She was a client, nothing more. When this was over, Rachel and her son would go back to their lives. And Sloan…well, he would return to his usual existence.

He watched Rachel trudge across the courtyard. She looked beat. She couldn’t have had more than two hours’ sleep last night.

Sloan caught himself. He would not feel any sympathy. No way. He had to rebuild that mutual dislike that had first stood between them.

When he was sure Rachel had retired to her own room, he finally went inside. The house was quiet. No sweet, feminine laughter. No pitter-patter of little feet. Already he missed the kid’s questions, and Rachel’s singsong voice as she played with her son. This wasn’t supposed to happen.

He had sworn that no one would ever get this close to him again.

www.millsandboon.co.uk

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, 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 mystery 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.

Rachel Larson—She cannot allow Angel to get his hands on her son. She will do whatever it takes to protect the child from his father.

Trevor Sloan—The last thing he wants or needs is a woman and a child reminding him of all he has lost.

Josh—Rachel’s four-year-old son. Can she protect him from his own father?

Gabriel DiCassi, aka “Angel”—A highly paid assassin. He wants his son and he will stop at nothing to get him.

Victoria Colby—The head of the Colby Agency. She sends Rachel and her son to Sloan. Despite Sloan’s mercenary mentality, Victoria knows that he is Rachel’s only hope.

Tanya—Angel’s longtime lover. She wants Angel all to herself, but can she risk his wrath to accomplish her heart’s desire?

Ric Martinez—Colby Agency’s newest field operative. He has attitude and charm, necessary skills to get the information he needs to fulfill his mission.

First, I must thank Greyhound bus lines for the ride of our lives, and God for providing the snow that trapped us in Cleveland on our way to New York. Had I not been stuck on a bus with my partner-in-crime for thirty-one hours, this story might not have been born.

This book is dedicated to a dear friend and fellow writer. She is my partner-in-crime, just as Ethel was to Lucy. We began this journey together—may it always be as fun, exciting and “bizarre” as it was in the beginning when we couldn’t wait for “the call.” Cheers, Rhonda, we made it.

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

“I’ll pay anything you ask,” Rachel Larson insisted.

Victoria Colby regarded the woman across the wide expanse of her oak desk for a long moment before she responded. “Miss Larson, this is primarily an investigations agency. We accept clients who require personal protection on a case-by-case basis, and generally by referral only.”

Disappointment shadowed Rachel’s pale features. Dark circles beneath eyes that contained as much wariness as fear, and the ill fit of her clothing told Victoria that this young woman had not slept or eaten well in too many months. Her overall look of extreme fatigue signaled her proximity to the edge. The ability to size up a client had facilitated Victoria’s climb to the top in this business. And right now, every instinct told her that this young woman was more than simply desperate.

“I’ll need to know a great deal more before I can make a decision as to whether the Colby Agency will take your case,” Victoria explained.

Rachel drew in a shaky breath and squared her shoulders. “Detective Clarence Taylor sent me. He was a police detective here in Chicago before moving to New Orleans.”

Victoria considered the name for a moment. “Yes, I remember Detective Taylor. He left three or four years ago I believe.”

Rachel nodded, hope kindled in those dark brown eyes. “That’s right. He knows that I’ve exhausted every other possibility, including the police.” Rachel leaned forward and clutched Victoria’s desk like a life-line against the violent waters churning her obviously troubled soul. “You have to help me, Mrs. Colby. He’s going to take my little boy.” A single tear slipped down her colorless cheek before she could swipe it away with the back of her hand. “I can’t let him do that.”

Sympathy tugged at Victoria’s softer side—the side that hadn’t hardened over the years in this cutthroat business. She knew all too well that kind of fear, that kind of pain. She blocked the memories. If Clarence Taylor had sent Miss Larson to her, Victoria would certainly do all she could to help her. “All right,” she offered. “I will consider your case, but you have to tell me everything, Miss Larson.”

“Thank you.” Rachel’s voice cracked with emotion.

Victoria opened her notepad and removed her gold pen from its holder. “I’ll need to know as many details as possible about the stalker.” She glanced up from her pad. “First, do you know his name?”

Rachel licked her lips, then swallowed visibly. “I believe your agency has worked on a case involving him before. His name is Gabriel DiCassi. They call him—”

“Angel,” Victoria finished for her, the name barely more than a whisper. She shuddered with remembered dread. Several years, but not nearly enough, had passed since she heard that name. Not since…Sloan left.

“Detective Taylor thought that one of your investigators might have experience dealing with…him,” she said uncertainly.

Taking her time, Victoria placed her pen on the blank notepad, then leveled her gaze on Rachel’s. “Unfortunately, I do know him.”

Despair reigned supreme in the young woman’s features. “Then you know that this is no ordinary situation.”

“Yes,” Victoria agreed gravely. “Angel is a highly paid assassin whose reputation boasts a perfect record of kills. He’s ruthless. If you’re his target, he won’t stop until you’re dead.”

“Please tell me you’ll help me.” Desperation weighed Rachel’s weary tone. “I have to find a way to protect my son.”

A frown tugged at Victoria. Somehow the part about the child didn’t quite gel. “Why would Angel want to take your son?” Victoria thought briefly of the small dark-haired boy sitting in her outer office under her secretary Mildred’s watchful eye.