Beginning: A PAVAD Prequel Novella (PAVAD: FBI Romantic Suspense) Read Free Page A

Three
    PRISSY little witch. Dakon pushed thoughts of the woman aside and focused on the task at hand. He didn’t have time for Agent Len; not with the director’s life in danger.
    It took a couple of hours to determine that most likely the intruders had been professionals and there’d been more than two involved. Some serious organization then.  He shared his concerns with Len.  She nodded.  “So they knew what they’re doing.  I could tell in the way they moved.  It was familiar, fluid.  I’ve seen at least one of them before.  Somewhere.”
    Dakon considered her words for a moment.  “Seen at work?”
    “Probably.  Somewhere I’ve been often; these people knew I’d be with Ed.  I don’t know if they knew I’d be with him here, but I’m pretty certain I heard one of them say my name.”
    “Why in hell didn’t you say something sooner?” Dakon look at her knowing his anger showed on his face.  That cemented it; it was someone they worked with, someone who knew them well enough to recognize her in clothing far different from what she wore daily, while in a darkened garage. And it was a big difference.
    This traitor was closer than he had originally thought.
    “Because I wasn’t sure. Until I was back in this spot.” She knelt down next to Dennis’s car. “And played back what had happened.”
    “Played back?”
    “Yes. I remember everything I hear.  I heard two voices, one familiar. White male. Probably in his fifties. He was standing here. The other man was unfamiliar. Younger. More impatient, yet more chilling. A pro, probably. He’s the one that pulled back first. Cut his obvious losses.” She looked at him, and Dakon had no difficulty seeing the concern in her eyes. “He’ll be back. For Ed. And probably for me. I did see him, well enough to determine that he was probably white. Close to our age, and fit. I’d know him again, if I heard him speak.”
    “He’ll have to get through me first, Len. To get to either of you.” And he meant it. He didn’t fully understand it, but the thought of her and Ed Dennis threatened by someone they hadn’t identified yet infuriated him. “But Ed can’t stay here alone. Not tonight. He’ll need a detail at all times.”
    “I told him. His answer—you and me. Period. This has got to stay quiet. PAVAD cannot afford for even one of us to make a single misstep. And this division is too important to Ed. To me. For all of us, really. If it doesn’t work out, half the agents in this field office are gone, relocated. Within weeks. Even you and me. And Georgia.”
    Dakon felt a sinking in his stomach when he thought of the implications of that. He’d applied for the St. Louis field office for a reason. His mother was in a nursing home just outside the city limits, and had been there for most of the fifteen years since she’d left Dakon with his father when her health had gotten worse. It had taken him close to twelve years to find where she’d disappeared to. She hadn’t wanted him to see her fade away, but she was his mother. Her care facility was the best in the state. He’d studied it carefully when he’d located her. No, she had to be in St. Louis.
    Which meant so did he.

Chapter Four
    HIS expression told her exactly what he thought of that. “We have to find this traitor within the next week. That’s when we’re making the announcement about PAVAD. Ed’s calling a conference for all teams a week from tomorrow. We have to have everything perfect before then. He’s—we’ve—worked so hard on this. We can’t fail.”
    “So who would have the most incentive to see this new division never get started?”
    She had already ran that list over and over in her mind. “I have a few people in mind.”
    “Let’s get started then.”
    Len appreciated his immediate response. Despite how she felt about him personally, she had to admit the man was good at what he did. “Ed has an extra office space in his