Beginning: A PAVAD Prequel Novella (PAVAD: FBI Romantic Suspense) (3 page)

HE
was staring at her again. He’d been watching her covertly since they’d stepped off the plane. And it was really starting to get under her skin. He’d been under her skin since the moment he’d first arrived at Ed’s home the night before. Was it because she was feeling unusually vulnerable after what had happened in Ed’s garage?

She wasn’t on the front lines very often, though she’d been trained in what to do. Getting shot at wasn’t something that had happened to her before, despite her training. Yes, she could defend herself with a weapon, but her strengths were in hand-to-hand martial arts. Or a knife. She felt more than adequately able to defend herself with a knife. But an unknown gunman—or gunmen—was something entirely different.

And that bothered, her. She’d be the first to admit that—to someone she trusted.

And she definitely wasn’t sure she trusted SSA Dakon Royal. He was good at what he did. She knew that. But she’d never gone for guys with that kind of arrogance and, well, charm. And she’d definitely seen him use that charm on the women in the Bureau, to get what he wanted.

And she’d heard the rumors of all the women he’d supposedly been involved with. Not that she put much stock in rumors, but… she’d definitely noticed him and the way he acted with women. How could she not?

He was one of the most physically attractive men in the field office, and that was saying something. And he was always flirting, and playing. She wasn’t used to that. She was used to more serious men like Ed. Men who came to work to do their jobs, and didn’t see the Bureau as the fishing ground for personal activities.

She mentally shook herself. Why was she being so judgmental about him? Had he ever said or done anything to her to make her feel this way? Or was she just that much in need of a personal barrier?

Did she find him attractive?

When was the last time she’d found a man even the least bit intriguing? She’d been all about her career from the time she’d graduated high school, and what relationships she’d had—and she’d had a few—hadn’t gone too deep. It had to have been at least two or three years since she’d even been out on a date—with someone besides Ed, that was. And as a romantic evening—dinner with Ed didn’t really count.

That’s what it was.

She felt vulnerable, and was drawn to Agent Royal because of that vulnerability, and because he was the right age, available, and a source of strength. And because it had been a long while for her in that department. That’s all that it was.

It had to be.

INDIANAPOLIS
was a smaller city, and it resembled all the others she’d ever been in. The rain that deluged down around them when they exited the jet didn’t help her mood.

“What’s first on the agenda?” Royal asked. He held the umbrella he’d procured from his ready bag over her head. She appreciated the consideration.

Ed also held an umbrella. She was the only one not quite prepared.

“First, we check into the hotel. I made accommodations under three different names at three different places.”

“So we headed to A, B, or C?”

“D. I have a fourth place in mind that I haven’t registered at.” She wasn’t taking any chances with Ed’s safety. Not after last night.

“Sneaky. I like it.” He leaned down near her ear. “Sexy…”

She glared up at him. “Not in the game, Agent Royal.”

“Any particular reason why?”

“No time or inclination.”

“Sorry to hear that.”

“I’m sure you’ll get over it. Plenty of fish in the FBI sea for you to play catch.” She wouldn’t be one of his conquests—the only men she ever got involved with were the ones she knew were interested in the long term. She’d never take a chance on repeating her mother’s mistakes.  And Dakon Royal was a mistake waiting to happen to any woman who didn’t realize ahead of time that he would never be interested in anything more than a few days’ play. “I believe in long term, and you will never be that.”

“I could. For the right woman.”

“Well, that won’t be me. Ed gets all of my attention.”

His attention focused on her more fully and he stepped closer. “That’s the way the wind blows? You and the deputy director got a thing going?”

“That, Agent Royal, is
none
of your business.” And it wasn’t anything she hadn’t heard before.

And if she was the kind who mixed business with pleasure, she’d be perfectly fine with a man like Ed. He was loving, interesting, dedicated, and kind. And he was definitely the long relationship type of man. Dakon Royal could do a hell of a lot worse emulating Edward Dennis.

He tilted the umbrella as he leaned down. “Just let me know if I need to discreetly sit outside the hotel room tonight. Hate to get in the way of young love.”

“I’m sure
you
wouldn’t. And Ed and I are just friends. I care a great deal for him, but not in that way. So sorry, no prurient entertainment for you tonight.”

“Agent Len, when I think of you pruriently, there won’t be another man in the picture.” He grinned at her and while she wanted to hit him for his arrogance she had to admit that the man was too damned hot for her own good.

“Just me and half the rest of the women in our field office?” She kept an eye on Ed, where he walked next to the Indianapolis field director. “I don’t play games, and I don’t share.”

“Now I may indulge in a few games now and then, but I agree with you on that. Sharing is far overrated.”

Ed called for her and Len stepped closer to his side. She’d almost forgotten the real reason they were there.

Damn Royal; maybe he
was
going to be a bigger distraction than she thought?

ROYAL
enjoyed the nervous look in her hazel eyes, but he
hadn’t
forgotten their true reason for being in Indianapolis. All joking aside, he knew he was damned good at what he did.

Both Len and Ed exhibited signs of being exhausted, but they trudged on. And she did just as much as the deputy director did. Answered just as many questions with the small meeting of the Indy field office head and some other bigwigs that he had never met before but had definitely heard of.

Royal was just there as a formality, and everyone in the room knew it. But that didn’t matter to him. It just gave him time to study the major players.

Ed Dennis was a quiet man, but he definitely directed the conversation to what he wanted. He was firm, but respectful, and very knowledgeable. When the first meeting was finished, Ed had garnered the support for the new division that he needed. Royal’s respect for him grew.

He was a fair leader, and one hell of a negotiator. But most people seemed to like him.

So who had it in for him enough to want to kill him?

Len dominated some of the talks about the new division—who it would include, what kinds of cases they would take. How they would handle various situations.

She was just as—if not more—knowledgeable about the personnel side of things than Edward Dennis. Did anyone else realize that? She rattled off statistics and previous cases, names and current assignments like a six year old belted out the alphabet.

All the attention was on her and the folder in front of her. But she didn’t need the papers—everything was kept in her head.

After they were finished with the first part of their day they headed to the Indianapolis field office for the job interview. Dakon pulled Len aside when Ed went to the restroom.

“What is it? Shouldn’t you be in there with him?”

“It’s a single stall. I checked earlier. He’s fine.”

“Then what is it?”

“How much do you have this PAVAD information written out somewhere?”

“I have a duplicate of my files on my laptop at home, my office, and a backup in a place I am not mentioning.”

“Good. Send me what you can, too.”

“Why?”

“Because every instinct I have is telling me that PAVAD is behind whatever threat there is.”

“It’s possible. We—Ed and I—have combed through every psychological profile of every possible considerate. Even Georgia. We’ve looked at past cases, evaluations, and recommendations. We finally have lists of our core people.”

“You possibly dredge something up that shouldn’t have been?”

He watched her eyes while she thought about it. “It’s possible. But I do think it’s one of those five names.”

“Are any on your list of candidates?”

“No. All five were eliminated about midway through our search.”

“Why?”

“Poor performance, attitude, history, or just basic personality issues. If we didn’t think they could hack it, they were cut.”

“Harsh.”

“Yes. But we want this to work well from the very beginning. Ed’s only settling for the best of the best.”

“Think you brought something up that someone wanted buried? Or are we dealing with someone who got passed up?”

“I don’t know.”

“First chance we get we’re going over those five names. Inch by inch.”

“You feel it, too?”

“Feeling what? That something is about to happen? Hell yeah.” And Dakon had learned early on to follow those instincts. “Finish your job interview. Then we’re going. How long we planning to be here?”

“Ed was only able to get the jet first thing in the morning.”

“We’re renting a car. Not staying the night.”

He saw the surprise in her eyes. “Why?”

“The people on your list aren’t stupid. They’ll expect us to stay in a hotel, and not the one we booked. I think we drive back tonight. Just the three of us. One car. Alias.” Dakon thought for a moment. “I’ll handle that.”

“You have proper identification?”

“You might say that. Leftover from the Mullens case.” Dakon had played the brother of a victim to flush out the suspect. He’d borne a close enough resemblance to use the brother’s identification, after the brother had also been found dead. He’d yet to turn the documentation in—he was waiting for his team leader to return to hand it over personally. He’d been sent straight to the hospital after the suspect had been apprehended, and hadn’t had an opportunity to turn in the drivers’ license. “It’ll do in a pinch.”

“The interview is in fifteen minutes.” 

“We’ll take a taxi as soon as possible. Straight to the nearest rental place.” He was working out the details as he spoke. He didn’t realize until she pulled her arm free that he’d been caressing the soft skin left bare where her suit jacket ended. “You have really soft skin.”

“Most women do, Agent Royal.” But her words were just as soft.  There was an uncertainty in her eyes behind her glasses that he found so damned intriguing. “Shouldn’t you be worried about other things?”

“When I’m too old to worry about a beautiful woman and her soft, soft skin, then I’m too old to be in this world.”

“Do these lines work on all the other girls?”

“Sometimes. But that wasn’t a line. That was the god’s honest truth.” He liked the sparks of irritation and nerves that mingled in her eyes. “And once we figure out the bastard screwing with the director, I’ll show you just how honest I’m being when I say that I want to know you better. That you intrigue me, in a way I haven’t been in a very long time.”

LEN
studied the man across the table from her. And tried to forget the one leaning against the far wall watching all of them.

Fin McLaughlin was an extremely handsome man with warm brown hair touched with only a bit of red, brown eyes that were intense, and a dimpled grin that rivaled Royal’s in intensity. And sexiness.

But Royal had that edge of dangerous magnetism that drew her far more than the strong, masculine All-American Captain Do-Gooder like McLaughlin.

She knew his history, how he and another agent were trapped in an explosion that resulted in the loss of McLaughlin’s arm. The man had a few dark spots on his record, all occurring within a few months of the explosion, but that was almost five years ago. He had triumphed since.

Ed was asking him a series of questions, and the profiler was answering them easily. Len made a few notes, but overall, she was impressed with the man. She could see him fitting in easily with the type of people already in mind for PAVAD. He actually reminded her a lot of Royal’s team leader Malachi Brockman.

She’d always liked Malachi, and there was that one night when they’d attended a Bureau function together. It had ended in a bit more than a few kisses, but they hadn’t the time to see if anything more could develop between them.

That had been almost three years ago. And that was the last time she’d kissed an attractive man. Been held by one, even though she and Malachi hadn’t engaged in anything more than some heavy petting. Maybe
that
was why she was so aware of Dakon Royal? The fact that she hadn’t been with someone in a very long while, and the fact that he was more than a bit receptive?

Proximity, adrenaline, and hormones. That was all that it could be. All she would
let
it be.

The interview went well, and McLaughlin was able to provide them with character references that Len would check out upon returning to St. Louis.

He was one of the first they wanted heading one of the new teams. But everything hinged on timing and funding to pull off. She honestly didn’t know how they were going to manage it. But she trusted Ed with those kinds of details, the same way he trusted her with finding the best people to bring to St. Louis. She and Ed really worked well together.

He was a dream boss.

Who was also proving to be a little bit stubborn.

He wasn’t too keen on the idea of driving back to St. Louis in the rain and thunderstorms. And she couldn’t blame him; it was obvious they were all tired, and the weather was worsening. And the car Royal had managed to rent under his false ID left a bit to be desired. It was clean, but there was a strange smell wafting from the upholstery that slightly concerned her.

Len wasn’t too happy about being out in severe weather, herself. But she understood Royal’s point. Doing the unexpected might just keep them all safe. “We go south, then. We avoid the interstates, we find a hotel midway. The storms are still west of us here, anyway. By the time they get this way, we’ll be almost to Evansville. We can find a room there, wait out the storms, get something to eat for dinner, then head back out first thing in the morning. Best of all, no one has to know which direction we’re going.”

Royal nodded at her, then took the bag she carried out of her hands. “You have a very cunning mind, Len. Very intriguing.”

Ed laughed. “Don’t play chess with her. She’ll annihilate you.”

“That good, huh?”

“She’s a killer.”

“I’ll have to take you up on that challenge someday.”

Len looked at him. “Grandmaster.”

“Yes, I am.”

“I know. It was one of the mildly interesting pieces in your file.”

Ed was looking at her, surprise just hinting at his expression. She knew what he was thinking—she often did—and she shook her head. She didn’t doubt her friend would ask her about whatever it was between her and Agent Royal whenever he got the chance.

Maybe before that happened, she’d formulate an answer. In the meantime…

“I’m driving until it gets dark. Then it’s your turn.” She nabbed the keys out of Royal’s hand and slid behind the driver’s seat before either of the two men could say otherwise.

Fifteen minutes later they were off the interstate and heading south through the beautiful Indiana countryside. It really was a beautiful place, and reminded her a bit of Missouri.

The rain made it look a little gloomy, though. They left the radio off, and spent a few moments discussing Agent McLaughlin. Overall impressions of all of them, including Royal who had no real say in the transfer decision, were that the man would probably be an excellent fit.

“I’d work for him,” Royal said. “He had a way of meeting a person eye to eye. Trustworthy. And you could see in the way he spoke of his teammates that he’s a fair leader.”

“From what his file says that’s exactly what he is.”

“So… how many people will this division hold?”

“I’ve asked for two hundred agents, three hundred support staff,” Ed answered. “My target number for the first two years is half that. I want to keep it manageable at first, until we know how viable the division is.”

“Sweet. That’s a fair number of people.”

“We’ll have to build. And I want it fairly near the current Field Office. But that’s a talk for another day. I’ve a few things I need to work on while we drive.”

Ed’s attention was wondering, and she knew he was thinking of something. He always got a particular look in his eyes whenever his mind was elsewhere.

Len glanced in the rearview mirror; the look was there. She checked out the back window, making note of the vehicles behind them.

Just in case.

It wouldn’t be the first time she and Ed had been followed.

.