Page 44 of Cast in Shadow
“No need. You’ve gone to a lot of trouble to bring me here. I’d like to know why.”
Charley nodded, approval shining in her eyes. “Direct and to the point. I like that. Unfortunately, I can’t give you the answers you’re looking for. You weren’t even on our radar until a few weeks ago. Now that you are, I’m rather intrigued myself.”
“I don’t understand. Who are you? And what changed?”
Charley cocked her head. “I work for a shadow organization, one that prefers to remain innominate. We assist in a variety of delicate situations, including but not limited to, civilian asset extractions from potentially harmful situations.”
“My abduction,” Aggie mused.
Charley nodded. “We received word of your situation, as well as a rather convincing case for why we should care. You have some very powerful guardian angels looking out for you, Robin Hood.”
Considering so few people knew what she did, Aggie had a sneaking suspicion she knew who one of those powerful guardian angels was. She sat back and sipped more water. “Okay. I’m safe. What now?”
“My instructions were clear. I’m to put you on a private jet, where you will be flown to an undisclosed location of your choice.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
“You’re not going to at least try to convince me to work for you?”
Charley laughed softly. “Of course, I am. We could use someone with your skills, and we do have several hours before I put you on that plane. I understand you work alone, but I think you’d do well here. We like to think of ourselves as equalizers. We level the playing field, so to speak. Much like you with your ... charity work.”
Aggie nodded and grinned. Secret organizations had their place and served their purpose, but Aggie preferred self-employment. That didn’t mean she didn’t want to know more about Charley’s organization. One never knew when that kind of knowledge could come in handy.
Aloud, she said, “Fair enough. I’m listening. Give me your best recruitment pitch.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Zeke
Zeke was a damn good tracker, but he’d hit a dead end.
Aggie was gone, and he’d probably never see her again.
He returned to his motel room and tried to let it go. Finding Aggie—correction, finding Robin Hood—had been a task, and he’d completed it. It was over. It was time to let it go and move on.
Except he couldn’t, for the same reasons he’d taken the job in the first place. Her eyes. They kept appearing behind his lids every time he closed them, beckoning, beseeching. The harder he tried to ignore it, the more determined his brain was to not let him.
Everything reminded him of her. When he looked at the bed, he saw her sitting cross-legged atop the covers, either meditating or staring at the screen of her laptop, absently chewing her lip. When he got food, he thought of her penchant for healthy stuff. He couldn’t look at a shower curtain without imagining her peeking out at him, irritated and looking like the most adorable wet baby raccoon.
He’d imagined then what it would be like to touch that skin, to find out if it was as soft as it looked. Now, he knew that it was.
He knew a lot of other things too. Like beneath that nerdy exterior was a woman with great passion in her soul.
And not just passionate. She was intelligent and cunning, too. A wanderer, like him. And versatile. She was as comfortable in a multimillion-dollar dream house as she was a cheap motel room.
The thought made him pause. He imagined her sitting in the chalet, as if she owned the place.
Her words echoed in his head. “Who says I’m squatting? Maybe this is my place.”
He remembered the amusement in her eyes when she’d said that, how they’d sparkled, as if she was daring him to believe her.
He hadn’t.
“The Rover suits you. You should keep it.”
“I’ve never lied to you, Zeke.”
