Colby Velocity Read Free Page B

his feet. “I’m good to go.” He didn’t have to ask who would be serving as lead on the case. For now, the Colby investigator assigned was in charge. That was fine by him. He had a reputation for being a rogue when it came to strategy in the field, and though he liked to bend the rules he rarely broke those rules. Not his style.
    Within ten minutes they had picked up their weapons and bags, loaded into the agency car and headed for the airfield. Since Kendra didn’t appear to be interested in conversation, Rocky passed the travel time reviewing Sayar’s dossier a second time. Mostly he needed a distraction to keep his mind off how good she smelled. The scent was soft, subtle and sweet. Womanly.
    But he was ignoring that.
    She was friendly enough in a very professional way, but she paid little or no attention to him on any other level. Why should she? They were colleagues, nothing more. Obviously he wasn’t her type.
    He reread the last paragraph he’d perused. Sayar had no criminal record, not even a parking ticket. Top of his class at Vanderbilt University. Hardworking family. No ticked off ex-girlfriends. According to his family, Sayar never complained about work or any of his professional associates. This tragedy was a complete shock to all who knew him, again, according to the family. The tragedy was too fresh. Later when the shock wore off a little, one or both parents might remember little seemingly insignificant details they couldn’t recall now.
    Rocky closed the file and slid it into his bag. Whatever the victim’s family thought or recalled, something was going on. Otherwise Sayar wouldn’t have come to Kendra. Problem was, he was dead and all Rocky and Kendra had were questions.
    Kendra stared out the car window at the passing cityscape. Rocky took advantage of her preoccupation to study his partner for this assignment. She was young, twenty-eight compared to his thirty-five. Long hair, more blond than brown. Smooth skin that seemed to be perpetually tanned. High cheekbones, thin nose and extra full lips. Big, brown eyes that reflected utter brilliance and deep compassion.Always conservatively dressed, but those modest skirts did nothing to disguise her tall, slender, well-toned frame. During the siege of the agency back in January he’d caught himself staring at her more than once. A very attractive woman.
    But what he liked about her most was her extraordinarily ladylike manners. She reminded him of his mother. Prim, proper—classy—and always going out of her way to be helpful. He’d asked around about her social life and he’d learned a sad truth. Kendra Todd was all work and no play. She rarely dated. Never looked at him as anything other than a fellow investigator. Never looked at any of the males around the office in an unbusinesslike manner.
    He’d asked her to lunch once but she’d declined, opting to remain at her desk with a sandwich from home. She was the first woman he’d been attracted to who wasn’t attracted to him first.
    Strange.
    Even stranger, he was attracted to her and she wasn’t actually his type. Kendra Todd possessed all those traits that he respected in his mother, but she was way too focused on business at this stage in her life.
    Way too uptight for him.
    She turned in his direction, her questioning gaze colliding with his.
    Rocky blinked. Busted. “Sorry about yourfriend.” Shaky recovery but at least he’d gotten out something rational.
    â€œThank you.” She smoothed a hand over her cream-colored skirt and cleared her throat, simultaneously shifting her gaze forward.
    The awkward silence that followed squeezed the air right out of the car.
    Only one way to alleviate the tension. “You had time to lay out a preliminary strategy?” Safe enough question, he supposed.
    A moment passed while she chewed her bottom lip. “I’m going straight to the top.”
    He lifted his