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      MILLS & BOON

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      Our children are our future. There is

       no more precious resource on the planet.

       This book is dedicated to all those

       who take the time to mentor a child. Your work

       is an investment in our future. I salute you!

      Contents

      Cast of Characters

      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

      About the Author

      Coming Next Month

      CAST OF CHARACTERS

      Todd Thompson—The Colby Agency’s new recruit. Todd is exactly the kind of raw talent the Colby Agency is looking for. Will his natural talent override his lack of experience? There’s only one way to find out.

      Serena Black—She is young but dead serious about her work and finding her friend. But just when she is certain she knows who’s responsible for her friend’s abduction, a new clue gets tossed into the mix and points her in an entirely different direction. The only thing Serena can be sure of is her growing attraction to one sexy new recruit.

      Dr. Charles Landon—A pioneer in his field, could he really murder his wife and unborn child? Everything he has worked for is about to see fruition, but how much is he willing to pay to reach that pinnacle?

      Molly Landon—The only things she ever wanted were her husband’s love and to have the family she’d always dreamed of. Is it too late for that now?

      Delia Neely—Was her affair with Charles Landon the reason his wife is missing?

      Arthur Miles—He has every reason to be jealous of his colleague Charles Landon. How far would he go to see him fall?

      Nolan Fairbanks—He knows plenty of secrets…The question is can Serena trust him?

      A. J. Braddock—Colby Agency investigator. A.J. is supposed to keep Todd Thompson on the straight and narrow during his first assignment, but that may prove an impossible task—even for an ex-marine.

      Chapter One

      Victoria Colby-Camp sat at her desk and stared at the neat pile of manila folders Mildred had placed in the exact middle of her clean blotter pad.

      It was the same each Monday morning. Mildred gathered the assignment and status reports from each investigator and brought the bundle to Victoria at nine sharp for her perusal. At ten, a standard staff meeting would take place in the conference room. New assignments would be dissected and doled out, old business would be discussed. The work week would continue from there.

      The routine never varied.

      Victoria sighed, the sound echoing softly in her empty office.

      She had no right to feel this way. Life had been extremely good to her for months now. She certainly could not complain….

      And yet, she felt…bored.

      Her brow furrowed deeply in denial of her last thought. Perhaps bored was not the proper word. She and Lucas had celebrated their first wedding anniversary a few months ago with a long weekend in the Cayman Islands. Her son was happily married and anticipating the arrival of the first Colby grandchild.

      What else could she ask for from her personal life?

      The Colby Agency continued to thrive. The cases that walked through reception’s doors included the most intriguing and challenging from right here in Chicago as well as all across the nation—ones that no other agency seemed able to solve in addition to those of longtime, loyal clients.

      Still, Victoria felt restless.

      She pushed up from her chair and walked across the room to look out at the city she loved. A city pulsing with life, filled with magnificent and innovative architecture. A place rich with colorful and turbulent political history as well as vibrant cultural venues.

      There was no other city in the country quite like it. No other place she’d rather be.

      Dozens of memories filtered through her mind, warming her heart. It seemed so long ago now that she and James, her first husband and the father of her only son, had started this agency. She had known even then that the Colby Agency would be something very special. How could it be anything else? James Colby had orchestrated its creation.

      But now, more than twenty years later, something was missing. She concentrated hard in an effort to pinpoint the motivation for the fleeting sensation.

      This odd emptiness had started almost one month ago. At first she’d considered that, with her highly trained and efficient staff, maybe she was bored with her level of participation in the business of private investigations. Her right-hand personnel oversaw most of the day-to-day operations. Though she came to the office each and every day and reviewed all activities, she was not personally involved with the execution of assignments.

      But her role had always been in oversight rather than execution. Why would she suddenly feel unsettled in that role now? Admittedly, change could be a good thing. With that in mind, and much to the dismay of her staff, she’d launched a complete overhaul of the agency’s decor. A smile tilted one corner of her mouth. Unquestionably the renovations were a nuisance, but she’d hoped that the transformations would fulfill this sense of lacking she suffered.

      The distraction had not worked.

      Victoria turned to view her elegantly decorated office. Though the new gold and red tones were quite exquisite, as were the rich jewel tones of the rest of the offices, the relief she’d hoped for had not come.

      Nor had the carpet. Her gaze dropped to the beige carpeting on the floor. The contractor had apologized repeatedly for the error. The wrong color had been ordered and, of course, returned, leaving the floor rather bland amid the rest of the opulent decor.

      Her attention moved back to her desk and the stack of files. She really should get on with her Monday morning review, but the usual anticipation proved glaringly absent.

      There was always the chance that her lackadaisical attitude wasn’t work-related at all.

      She’d toyed with the idea of a personal

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