Dragon Gate Read Free Page A

caught.”
    “These assassins may or may not have magical abilities.”
    “I’m sorry, may or may not?”
    Mike adjusted his collar, which looked perfect to me. “We don’t know for certain. Shouldn’t Kelly be back by now?”
    “She’s waiting in the car.”
    “She said she was—”
    I shook my head. “She hates business meetings.”
    “So why did she come along?”
    “Free food. What can you tell me about the killers?”
    “Alas, not much. You should talk to Graham Noble this evening. I told him to expect you.” Mike pulled a piece of paper out of his jacket and slid it across the table to me. “This is his address. He said he could see you at six but that he has only a few minutes, so don’t be late. He has a banquet to attend tonight.”
    Great. We’d have to drive through rush-hour traffic all the way to Boulder.
    “All right, Mike. I’ll talk to the guy.”
    Mike slid an envelope across the table. “This should cover your retainer.”
    I opened the envelope and looked at a sizable check. It was more than twice what I’d normally charge. I frowned.
    “Problem?” Mike asked.
    Mike knew my rates, so the large check told me he knew this was extremely dangerous. I shook my head. “We’re cool.”
    oOo
    We took Mike back to his car and returned to the dojo. I saw Brand leaning against the wall, clenching and unclenching his fist. His wrist was already healing.
    Kelly had a class to teach in half an hour. I nodded toward her office. “I need to talk to you.”
    “So talk,” she said as she followed me through the door.
    I took the check out of my pocket and handed it to her. “What do you make of this?”
    Kelly raised an eyebrow. “You’re one hell of a negotiator.”
    “No, that check was made out before Mike came out here.”
    “What’s the job?” she asked.
    I filled her in.
    “Maybe Stephen Noble told them to pay you more when he set this up.”
    “I don’t think so.”
    “Well, the assholes at DGI aren’t this generous, so maybe they’re saying this job is more dangerous than we think and we need to take it seriously.”
    “Yeah. For DGI to pay this much without any hesitation, there’s more to this than what Mike told us.”
    She grinned. “Isn’t there always?”
    GRAHAM NOBLE
    Graham looked at the body of his father, which had been released to the mortuary at Graham’s insistence. Normally a homicide victim would automatically be autopsied within forty-eight hours, but while Colorado law dictated that the coroner did not need permission to perform an autopsy, the Noble family had a team of lawyers on speed dial. Graham was able to have a court order in a matter of a few hours to secure the release of the body. Stephen Noble died just after eight in the morning, and the body was delivered to the funeral home before two. The police weren’t happy about it, but Graham didn’t care. After all, the cause of death was obvious.
    His father’s head was positioned on the steel table to appear as if it were still attached to the body, but it wasn’t convincing. Graham placed a hand on his father’s shoulder. The skin was room temperature.
    “I’ll watch out for Rayna and Mother,” he said. He bowed his head for a moment then turned and left the room.
    The attendant, a middle-aged balding man who wanted to sell him a “dignity package,” waited for him just outside the door. The man followed Graham up the stairs to the main greeting area.
    The room had dark paneling, and floral arrangements stood on nearly every surface. Comfortable chairs and a sofa lined one section where mourners could sit. The place was empty at the moment.
    “Did your father want a burial or cremation?”
    Graham wasn’t listening because through the glass doors, he saw Rayna pull into the parking lot and get out of her opal blue Lexus. She grabbed a bag and her purse then raced to the building. As soon as she entered, he met her gaze and found it impossible to keep his tears in check. Rayna blinked