Escape (Last Chance Series, Book 3.5) (11 page)

“Our tax dollars at work.”  Gabe tried but couldn’t keep the cynicism from his voice.

“Cullen wants you to head up the task force, Gabe.  That’s why I called you in.”

“You risked my operation to send me on a wild goose chase trying to find some illusive conspiracy dreamed up by an over-moneyed, highly imaginative computer magnate?”  Gabe glared at Evan through narrowed eyes, purposefully ignoring Cullen.

“Your job, Roarke,” Evan hissed, “is to go where I tell you to go.  And while your operative skills are unimpeachable, your attitude is not.   The President gave the order, and wild goose chase or no, you will head up the task force, or find a job in the private sector.  Am I making myself clear?”

“Yes.”  Gabe allowed his tone to border on subservient.  If he
hadn’t  been so tired he’d have never let his anger show, but he’d been undercover for months now, and the strain was obviously taking its toll.  “I didn’t mean offense, Cullen.” 

“None taken.”  Cullen waved off the apology.  “I realize this is out of the ordinary.  And the only thing I can say to reassure you is that this accord, if successful, has the power to change the face of international commerce.  Which means it’s as important as whatever you’re doing now.”

“
If
there’s a conspiracy.”

Cullen’s eyes narrowed to slits, all geniality vanishing.  “There is.  I’m certain of it.  A good deal of successful business is based on intuition, Gabriel. And I can feel this in my gut.  Something’s afoot.   And I need you to figure out what it is.”   He leaned forward, his hand gripping the edge of the table, adding a feeling of urgency to his words.  “You’ll of course have all the funding you need.  And any personnel you desire.”

“I can pull together my own team?”  The idea had a certain appeal, and since the assignment was inevitable, he might as well enjoy it.

“More or less.  I am asking someone from the FBI to work with you.  And I suspect she’ll have some ideas as to the make-up of the task force.”

“She?”   His eyebrow shot up again, this time of its own accord.

“Madison Harper.  She’s with the Investigative Support Unit.”

“A
profiler
?”  The other eyebrow rose to meet its partner, his voice breaking on his surprise.

“An excellent one.”  Cullen nodded, ignoring Gabe’s reaction.  “She’s also a friend.  I trust her implicitly.   And more importantly, I think she’ll be the perfect compliment to your more
tumultuary style.”

Gabe decided to let it pass.  There was enough to deal with without further antagonizing the man who was, apparently, his new boss.  “How soon do you want to get started?”

“As soon as possible.  Evan has agreed to let you have anyone you need, and I have similar permission from other agencies.  I want the best.  And I trust that you can get them for me.  Of course you’ll probably want to meet Madison first.”

Actually she was the last person he wanted to meet.  He wasn’t a share command kind of guy, and quite frankly the prospect of sharing it with some quasi-cerebral FBI guru made the idea that much more loathsome.

              Especially when said guru was a woman.

Excerpt from Endame by Dee Davis, Copyrigh
t
©
2004 by Dee Davis.  All rights reserved.  Reprint only with permission from author.

Award winning author
Dee Davis
worked in association management before turning her hand to writing.  Her highly acclaimed first novel,
Everything In Its Time
, was published in July 2000.  Since then, among others, she’s won the Booksellers Best, Golden Leaf, Texas Gold and Prism awards, and been nominated for the National Readers Choice Award, the Holt and two RT Reviewers Choice Awards.  To date, she is the author of twenty-two books and five novellas.  When not sitting at the computer, Dee spends time exploring Connecticut with her husband and daughter.  

Visit Dee at http://www.deedavis.com  or catch up with her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/deedavisbooks  or follow her on Twitter at http://twitter.com/deesdavis

Photo:  Marti Corn