LITMIR.BIZ

      CAST OF CHARACTERS

      Katherine Robertson, a.k.a. Kate Roberts—Danger follows her to a mystery man’s doorstep, but she can’t remember why.

      Jack Raine—He trusts no one, but can’t resist helping a woman who doesn’t know her own name.

      Victoria Colby—The head of the Colby Agency is worried when her new operative doesn’t check in as scheduled.

      Lucas Camp—He hired the Colby Agency to find Jack—to help Jack, or kill him?

      Raymond Cuddahy—The leak in his organization means no one is safe.

      Sal Ballatore—The man who killed his son will pay.

      Dillon—He wants his money, and Jack dead—not necessarily in that order.

      Many thanks to an outstanding guide, Lee Lewis, for his superior knowledge of Smoky Mountain trails, and to a terrific friend and expert drawer of maps, JoAnn Reynolds.

      A special thanks to Natashya Wilson, a wonderful editor, for believing in my work and giving me this opportunity. This book is dedicated to the man who helped make all my dreams come true—my wonderful husband, Nonie.

      Contents

      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

      Prologue

      “Failure in this assignment is almost a given,” Victoria Colby told the investigator sitting on the other side of the immense oak desk that had once belonged to her late husband, James. “And should you choose to accept it, your life will be in constant danger—perhaps from more than one source,” she added cautiously.

      “I understand,” Katherine Robertson replied.

      Victoria eyed the young woman with more than skepticism—uncertainty…maybe.

      Did she really understand?

      Victoria wasn’t so sure that she understood, herself. This was the most sensitive assignment the Colby Agency had undertaken in the ten years since she had assumed the helm. She’d been reluctant to take charge at first, but the small Chicago-based private investigations firm her husband had operated for the final years of his life had been near and dear to his heart. So Victoria had worked hard to make the agency the best in the business. It was the one thing she could still hold on to and feel close to James.

      She passed a thin manila folder with a red “Top Secret” cover sheet on the front to the eager investigator, who immediately opened it to review the meager contents.

      “Who does Jack Raine work for?” Katherine asked, glancing up only briefly.

      “He used to work solely for the CIA, but four years ago he shrugged off the brass and became a contract agent. Since that time, he’s worked for them all—NSA, DEA, CIA. He’d been under deep cover for the FBI for seventeen months when things went sour. The story is that he left the son of a prominent mob leader named Ballatore dead and an extraordinary sum of money missing.”

      “He turned?” Katherine looked from Victoria to the folder and back in disbelief. “A guy with a record like this?”

      Victoria nodded slowly. She could hardly believe it herself. Jack Raine’s work history might be restricted reading—which meant no significant details were available for their perusal—but his reputation was spotless, not to mention unparalleled. The man had every commendation his government could give him. Somehow, between the known and the unknown, things just didn’t add up—at least, not for Raine’s longtime friend Lucas Camp. Lucas had asked Victoria to take this assignment as a personal favor. Raymond Cuddahy, Lucas’s boss and the new director of Special Operations, didn’t like the idea of a civilian agency’s involvement. He had, however, given his consent—eventually, and off the record.

      Like Raine, Lucas had worked for the government in one capacity or another for most of his adult life. He had recruited Raine into the CIA and was probably the only man alive who’d had an up-close-and-personal relationship with the elusive Jack Raine. Both men now worked, in different roles, for a highly covert special operations unit created to provide support when all else failed.

      Lucas had shared a cage with Victoria’s husband as a prisoner of war during Vietnam. The two men had helped each other to survive. And Lucas had been a key factor in Victoria’s own survival in this cutthroat business after her husband’s death. Had it not been for Lucas, the Colby Agency might have gone under long ago rather than becoming the elite organization it was today.

      Victoria owed the man.

      “It’s your job to find out if he’s turned.” Victoria leaned forward and propped her elbows on her desk. She laced her fingers and rested her chin atop them. “And to bring him in, either way.”

      Without responding, Katherine turned her attention back to the file in her hands and frowned.

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