Striking Distance. Debra Webb
But her safety was another issue altogether.
He was getting closer.
Lucas had sensed his presence today at the cemetery. During lunch he’d excused himself briefly to meet with his security team leader in the restaurant’s bar. His suspicions had been confirmed.
The man, who they assumed at this point to be a hired assassin, had taken up a position about fifty meters from Victoria. He’d been armed with a special police-style rifle, complete with tactical scope and bipod. At one point, one of the two specialists assigned to Victoria’s secret security detail had almost engaged the target. Lucas had warned his men that the assassin was to be kept alive if at all possible. But he’d gotten damned close today. The only thing that had kept Lucas’s man from taking out the assassin was the fact that he’d visually verified the weapon’s positive three-position thumb safety was still locked. The shooter had had no intention of killing Victoria today.
He’d simply been watching.
Lucas could only assume that he was standing by for final authorization to complete the mission. He’d had at least three opportunities so far and hadn’t acted. But there would come a time when he would, that was a certainty. Lucas had to take countermeasures before that happened. Somehow, while keeping Victoria safe and allowing the assassin to stay on their trail temporarily, he had to get someone close to this guy. It was the only way he could hope to catch the real threat: Leberman.
Victoria would never be safe as long as Leberman was alive. If he had hired this assassin as Lucas suspected, there might be a chance of tracking this hired killer right back to the bastard’s hiding place. Which was the only reason they hadn’t taken out the shooter already. They needed him to get to Leberman.
“Then we have plans to make,” Lucas offered as he dispensed with the other troubling thoughts and focused on her invitation. “Where would you like to go?”
She searched his face, looking for some hint of what was on his mind. Suspicion still nagged at her, he knew. “Shall I have Mildred bring us coffee while we discuss the possibilities?”
The prospect of planning their joint vacation pleased her, and he hated like hell to disappoint her. They were so close. He groaned and glanced at his watch. “I have another meeting in thirty minutes. I could try and reschedule or—” he pretended to mull the idea over
“—why don’t you think about the destination possibilities and then we’ll discuss the options over dinner tonight?”
“That would be lovely.”
He squeezed her hands once more before letting go. “I’ll see you at eight, then.”
She nodded, her hopeful expression wilting just a little.
He would make this up to her.
Victoria watched Lucas leave her office, the ever-present limp only adding to his distinguished demeanor. He looked so handsome today. The gray shirt emphasized his eyes. The elegant charcoal suit fit his lean frame perfectly. Their time at lunch had been more relaxed than any they’d shared since before the incident on St. Gabriel Island. It had felt good to simply be, with no talk of Leberman or the past.
She wanted it that way from now on.
He wanted it, too. She knew he did.
The only thing she couldn’t figure out was why he insisted on lying to her.
Chapter 4
Lucas leaned against the examination table in the small treatment room and waited for the others to arrive.
The door opened, and a nurse with a cheery expression peeked in at him. “Mr. Camp, would you like some water or coffee?”
“No, thanks.”
She shot him a cheeky smile and disappeared, allowing the door to close with a slow whoosh behind her.
He couldn’t risk detection of this meeting. Complete secrecy was crucial. If Leberman or any of his people—and he could only assume that the assassin might be one of several—saw Lucas with Victoria’s most-trusted investigators, they would know he was on to them. He didn’t want that to happen any sooner than necessary. Nor could he risk that any part of the Colby Agency offices were bugged. It was a long shot since the offices were swept for foreign electronics on a regular basis, but one he wasn’t willing to chance. As long as Leberman thought they were one step behind, he wouldn’t get nervous and perhaps do something rash, like giving the final execution order.
The door opened again and Ian Michaels entered the room followed closely by Simon Ruhl. They were the kind of spit-and-polish guys who epitomized the term spy. But Lucas knew the gritty, less glamorous side of the business. He couldn’t be deputy director of Mission Recovery without having been exposed to the worst that man was capable of. The highly trained Specialists in Mission Recovery were only called in when all else failed.
Ian acknowledged Lucas with a mere nod while Simon commented, “Nice place for a meeting.”
This wouldn’t be the first time Lucas had used a physician’s office for a clandestine meeting, but it had been a long time. Not since his surgery after bringing down the traitor who’d almost destroyed Mission Recovery before Casey came on the scene as director. Had it been four years already? At any rate, this physician was an old friend from his military days. His Chicago clinic, situated mere blocks from the Colby Agency’s location just off the Magnificent Mile, was a perfect front for conducting covert ops.
“You have any trouble with the transportation?” His lips twitched when he noted the slightest flinch in Ian’s carefully controlled exterior.
“Not if you discount the siren,” Ian commented dryly.
Though Lucas had walked into the office like any paying patient, Ian and Simon had arrived by ambulance and were hustled in through the rear emergency entrance. Anyone watching Lucas enter the clinic would never know that two Colby agents had arrived via the back door.
“So, what’s going on, Lucas?” Simon was the first to call the meeting to order. Ian remained occupied with sizing up Lucas and his intentions. The man was good at that. Could tell more by watching his prey for mere minutes than from listening to hours of interrogation. Victoria had bragged to Lucas long ago about Ian. He was good at the business of peeling away the outer layers and getting to the bottom of things.
“I told you two weeks ago that I suspected Victoria was being watched.” He spread his hands in a speculative gesture. “I couldn’t be sure of the source of the problem—still can’t be absolutely certain. But we now have reason to believe that this man may be connected to Leberman. He may be on the verge of making a move.”
Silence reigned briefly while the two men absorbed the ramifications of that bit of information. Anyone who had been with the Colby Agency for any length of time knew about Leberman. The bastard had made it his life’s mission to destroy Victoria Colby and all that she stood for. Lucas was certain he’d killed James Colby as well as the boy, Victoria’s only child. But even that wasn’t enough for the devil. He just kept coming back for more. Playing his sick games and then going back into hiding. He hybernated for years...until it was safe to surface again. Then he’d strike.
But this time was going to be different. This time Leberman was going to die.
“We don’t have any real evidence to support our assessment, of course,” Lucas went on pushing the disturbing memories away, “but I’m certain enough to take the appropriate action. I’ve put a security detail in place.”
“We’ve reviewed every case that might carry enough significance to warrant this sort of vengeance,” Simon informed him, bringing him up to speed on their end and lending even more credence to Lucas’s conclusion. “There simply isn’t anyone out there related to a Colby Agency case who we have reason to suspect at this time.”
Lucas stroked his chin as he considered how to broach the next step. Neither of these gentlemen was going to like his strategy, and their