Against the Odds Read Free

the parking spaces, a gorgeous car
that reminded her how much she had loved driving her flashy red Mercedes and
gave her a soft little pang.
    At least he was there. Hiring him wouldn’t be cheap, she knew,
but she had the rest of the money from the assets she had liquidated, a little
savings left in the bank, and she was willing to take the risk that in the end
it would be worth it.
    She grimaced at the thought, since it was that kind of thinking
that had caused her to lose most of her retirement fund.
    Now came the hard part.
    She and Alex had never really gotten along. Alex was always
baiting her and she was always trying to dodge the unwanted physical attraction
she refused to admit she felt for him. At the moment none of that mattered.
    Rina took a deep breath, squared her shoulders and headed for
the front door of the office.
    * * *
    Alex ended his phone call and settled back in the chair
behind his desk. The office was busy, considering it was getting close to noon
and things had usually slowed down a little by now. Annie Mayberry sat behind
the front desk, a once-blonde, now gray-blonde woman in her mid-sixties with the
personality of an overprotective bulldog. She was the office manager and
receptionist, currently fielding unwelcome phone calls from the media that had
been hounding him all morning.
    Sol Greenway, the Atlas Security computer whiz kid, sat behind
an oversize monitor in his glass-enclosed office. Trace Rawlins, the owner of
the company and one of Alex’s closest friends, worked in the glass-windowed
office next to Sol’s.
    The office decor was masculine, with heavy oak desks, dark
green carpet and photos of Texas ranches hanging on the walls. Alex sat at a
desk in the main room of the office, a place to return phone calls and keep a
few supplies. Most of the work he did was in the field.
    A few feet away, dark-haired and blue-eyed ex-SEAL Ben Slocum,
another freelance investigator, sat with a phone pressed against his ear. The
other P.I., Jake Cantrell, was out on a protection detail for the next few
days.
    Alex checked his gold wristwatch. He was almost ready to take
off for an early lunch when the bell above the front door started jingling. He
glanced up to see a petite redhead in a pair of jeans and a sleeveless yellow
knit sweater talking to Annie. Great body, he thought, nice full breasts and a
round little derriere.
    He was smiling when she turned and started toward him, a smile
that turned into a flat-out grin.
    Alex rose as she drew near. “Hey, Red. Haven’t seen you in a
while.”
    Her pretty mouth tightened a little at the nickname, which he’d
given her because she reminded him of a little red fox—though he’d never told
her that.
    She paused in front of his desk. “I saw you on TV this morning.
That was a good thing you did.”
    His smile slid away. “I would have taken that case for free.”
And practically had. Finding the evidence to put away a murdering pervert was
something he’d enjoyed doing. Besides, money wasn’t something he needed. Alex’s
family was East Coast, old-money rich, and his grandfather had left him a
bundle. It was the work he loved, doing something productive. He liked it almost
as much as flying.
    “I know I should have called,” she said, “but I was...I was
hoping you might have a minute to talk.”
    “You don’t need an appointment, Sabrina. You want a cup of
coffee or something?”
    “No, thanks, I’m fine.” She sat down in the chair next to his
desk and he returned to his seat.
    “So...what have you been doing with yourself for the last six
months? Besides keeping good ol’ Ryan entertained.”
    One of her dark red eyebrows arched up. “‘Good ol’ Ryan’ and I
broke up. It was a mutual decision.”
    He doubted it. Ryan Gosford was pretty well gone over the
feisty little redhead. He was a computer geek, a good-looking guy but dull as
dirt, while Sabrina was anything but. It was hardly a match made in heaven.
    “Who’s the lucky guy