Personal Target: An Elite Ops Novel by Kay Thomas Read Free Book Online Page A

him tightening his fingers on the steering wheel until his knuckles ached.
    He wasn’t ignoring Ernesto Vega’s order to find out what had happened to Carlita and Cesar Vega, but he wasn’t going to do that first. If he could find out where Jenny was, he could get her out before anyone even knew he’d been in Mexico.
    Leland was still talking. “I chatted with my old boss, Ford Johnson, before I called. He said you might not remember him, but you two met when you first came on board at the CIA.”
    Nick tried to focus, bringing up a hazy image of a fit, sixtyish-year-old man.
    “Ford’s going to get back to me if he can find out anything from his end. I’ve got a confidential informant here who used to work for the Vegas down there. I’ll reach out to him, see if he knows anything.”
    “Got it. Thanks.” Nick turned off LBJ onto the North Dallas Tollway. The traffic was heavier than he’d expected. Holiday shoppers probably had something to do with it.
    “Tell me a little more about Jennifer Grayson,” said Leland.
    Nick’s mind flashed on the lush figure in the sexy bra he’d seen in the picture. “I sent the proof of life picture to Gavin.”
    “Right. Bombshell blonde. Unicorn tattoo.”
    Something hard and unpleasant unfurled in Nick’s belly. That Leland had noticed, even though the man was happily settled with someone else, bothered him.
    What was that?
    “Yeah. She’s Dr. Jennifer Grayson now. PhD, not MD. Something to do with paleontology. Not sure of the specific area. She was studying dinosaurs when I knew her years ago. She’s about five-eight. It’s been a while since I saw her. The hair’s new. I almost didn’t recognize her.” Until I saw the damn tattoo. He heard the surliness in his own tone.
    “’Kay. Let me clarify the question. What is she to you?” Leland’s voice was patient.
    What was she to him? God, Nick had no idea. Not anymore. He didn’t even want to acknowledge the thought. At one time he’d almost changed the course of his life for her, but that seemed crazy since he hadn’t spoken to her in over ten years.
    Honesty was the best way to handle this. He knew that in his gut. But if he couldn’t be honest with himself, telling the men he worked with about his feelings for Jennifer was out of the question.
    “A family friend from long ago.”
    “You’re sticking with that story?” Leland’s disbelief was evident in his tone.
    Gavin broke in before Nick answered. “I don’t want you going in by yourself. Marissa’s out of the country right now, but Bryan’s around. He should be at the office when you get there or shortly after.”
    “Excellent. I’m leaving tonight. I can’t wait on anyone. It’s my fault she’s there. They took her thinking she was part of my family.”
    “You realize that’s insane? You don’t even know where you’re going,” argued Gavin. “And this is not your fault.”
    “But you two are going to find out where I need to go, right?” Nick ignored the discussion of whose fault it was and forced a levity into his tone to keep Gavin and Leland onboard with helping him. “Gavin, I was doing this for years before you hired me. Between your information and Leland’s CI, I can figure it out.”
    Nick took the exit from the Tollway too fast, slowing down only when he approached the residential area where the AEGIS office was located. Cheery Christmas lights lit the night all around him in the upscale neighborhood.
    “Give me a little time, man.” Leland’s voice sounded like a radio announcer’s over the car’s speakerphone. “An hour? Two max? I can get you more information. Let me talk to my contact.”
    Nick took a deep breath. Both men were right. He knew they were. Then he thought of Jenny, drugged in a bordello somewhere in Tlaxcala. His stomach twisted.
    The line was quiet as he went through security at the gated community that housed AEGIS’s unorthodox office space. Walnut Creek Residential Airpark had been his home