Colby vs Colby

“Sleep if you need to.”

The deep, gravelly sound of his voice made Lisa restless. Looking at him would only make it worse, make her feel those things she wasn’t supposed to feel – that thread of electricity that somehow tethered them.

Lisa took off her sneakers and socks, put her ankle holster in the drawer of the bedside table and her .22 under her pillow. She lay back on the cool sheets. Sam had already turned out the dim sconce, leaving the room dark but for the light coming in through the window.

“It would be so easy to get you the kind of backup you need if you’d only tell me the whole story, Sam. You know they’re going to kill you, don’t you?”

Sam turned away from the window. The curtains fell back into place behind him. He took a step towards the bed. “They’re going to try.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Debra Webb was born in Scottsboro, Alabama, to parents who taught her that anything is possible if you want it badly enough. She began writing at age nine. Eventually, she met and married the man of her dreams, and tried some other occupations, including selling vacuum cleaners, working in a factory, a day-care centre, a hospital and a department store. When her husband joined the military, they moved to Berlin, Germany, and Debra became a secretary in the commanding general’s office. By 1985 they were back in the States, and finally moved to a small town in Tennessee, where everyone knows everyone else. With the support of her husband and two beautiful daughters, Debra took up writing again, looking to mystery and movies for inspiration. In 1998, her dream of writing books came true. You can write to Debra at PO Box 64, Huntland, Tennessee 37345, USA or visit her website at www.debrawebb.com to find out exciting news about her next book.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Sam Johnson – Former forensics expert with the LAPD. Sam knows how to keep a secret, but this one might just get him killed.

Lisa Smith – Los Angeles priority homicide detective. Lisa will do whatever it takes to find the truth.

Jim Colby – The head of the Equalizers and the son of Victoria Colby-Camp. Jim needs his mother to trust him to live his own life.

Victoria Colby-Camp – The head of the Colby Agency. Victoria wants the best for her son but she is afraid he has bitten off too much with the Equalizers.

Tasha Colby – Jim’s wife and the mother of their daughter Jamie.

Spencer Anders – Former Special Forces major Anders is one of the associates at the Equalizers.

Connie Gardner – The receptionist and sometimes field operative for the Equalizers.

Renee Vaughn – A former prosecutor. The Equalizers have given her a chance to infuse some danger into her life.

Charles Sanford – Veteran LAPD priority homicide detective and Lisa’s partner.

James Watts – Deceased leader of the notorious gang known as the Crew. James made a deal with Sam Johnson – is that why he’s dead?

Lil Watts – Current leader of the Crew.

Buster Houston – Leader of the Nation, sworn enemy of the Crew. Buster rules by the old school.

DEBRA WEBB

MILLS & BOON

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This book is dedicated to the City of

Los Angeles, one of the coolest places on earth.

A place where nothing is as it seems and all

is as it should be.

Chapter One

Chicago’s South side Tuesday, June 4, 9:48 p.m.

“And there she goes,” Jim Colby murmured as he watched the young woman dart across the dark, deserted street. “Victim number three is in position.”

Sam Johnson moved his head from side to side. “How can these kids be so gullible?” He just didn’t get it. With the news reporting way too often on the dirty business of runaways being sold into slavery, he just didn’t see how anyone could be so oblivious to the dangers. And yet it was happening right in front of his eyes, as he sat watching from a beat-up Chevy Impala.

“Time to shut these scumbags down.”

Following Jim’s cue, Sam exited the passenger side. The vehicle’s interior light had been disabled to ensure they weren’t spotted by anyone watching the street.

Using the vehicles parked along the block as cover, Sam stole halfway up the block before pausing to survey the situation once more. Jim had taken the direct route to the office building abandoned by day and used for criminal rendezvous by night. Jim would put in a call to Chicago PD for backup as soon as he verified that all known players were in position. The Equalizers could tag and move in on this group, but the final arrests had to be made by official law enforcement personnel.

Sam hustled across the street and crouched at the rear of an SUV. If these scumbags had any spotters keeping watch, they were either asleep or blind. He steeled himself for possible confrontation and ran the last twenty yards to the northeast corner of the building inside which the despicable transaction would go down.

According to Jim, the location had once been an adoption agency. Sam found that ironic since the business taking place here most recently involved another sort of adoption: the selling of young women to the highest bidders.

Three females, ranging in age from seventeen to twenty-six, were inside. Two of those three didn’t realize just yet that this was going to be one of the luckiest days of their lives. The third victim was a plant. Connie Gardner, the receptionist from the Equalizers, had agreed to step into that role. At twenty-six, Connie didn’t look a day over twenty-one. Having a great body and the right look ensured she fit the profile.

Top priority was neutralizing the bad guys while maintaining the safety and well-being of the three women about to be auctioned via a private chat room on the Internet. If those scumbags inside knew what was good for them they would keep their hands off Connie. She knew how to make life miserable in a New York minute.

From his position at the main entrance, Colby tapped the mike to indicate all players were now present and visually accounted for.

Sam eased around the corner of the building, surveyed the back parking area and then hustled over to the ground-floor rear entrance. He tapped his collar mike, giving Colby the signal that he was in position. Colby would call his contact at Chicago PD and four minutes from now the world as these jerks knew it would change forever. Unfortunately, another group would take their place far too quickly.

As if to warn that the night was about to take a turn for the worst, another kind of change came earlier than Sam had anticipated. One of the hoodlums barreled out the rear entrance and ran square into him.

Sam and his startled attacker tumbled to the ground and rolled as each attempted to gain control of the other. Sam resisted the urge to use his weapon. His enemy had dropped his weapon when they hit the ground. No need to use excessive force. His assailant went for Sam’s throat. Weapon or no, the guy was determined to win this battle. At least until Sam applied just enough pressure to the carotid artery. The man slumped, unconscious. Sam shoved him off and clambered to his feet.

After tucking the lout’s weapon into his waistband, Sam moved back into position at the rear exit and listened. If the unconscious chump had been sent to retrieve something, then his pals would get restless when he didn’t return in a timely manner.

Sending a complication signal to Colby, Sam prepared to very carefully risk opening the door.

A weapon discharged inside the building, the sound shattering the silence and derailing Sam’s plan. The cacophony of screaming and yelling had him rushing through the door, weapon drawn.

Two men were facedown on the floor, one was on his knees with Jim Colby’s weapon boring into his sweating forehead. The two female teenagers were huddled together. Connie Gardner held a weapon she’d obviously taken from one of the men and was instructing the dudes on the floor to stay put.

Since everything appeared to be under control inside, Sam went back outside and dragged the guy who’d tackled him back inside with the others. The scumbag had started to rouse, but didn’t attempt to break free.

“What happened in here?” Sam asked Connie.

She looked furious and not the least bit frightened. “They wanted to make sure we weren’t wearing wires or tracking devices so they demanded we take off our clothes. Big mistake.”

Sam resisted the urge to grin. Considering no one was dead he figured this team of lowlifes had gotten off easy. Connie was not one to be pushed around and she definitely knew how to use a weapon.

The wail of sirens indicated the arrival of the police. Tonight chalked up one more for the Equalizers. Chicago’s finest had been trying to nail this operation for months. The man currently begging for his life in a position of humiliation in front of Jim Colby was the suspected ringleader. A few months from now, when he was in prison with guys ten times worse than him, he would be wishing Colby had put him out of his misery.

A sense of accomplishment filled Sam as he kept a bead on the others while Connie reassured the two young ladies who had thought they were coming here tonight to be extras in a movie. Their dreams had turned into nightmares, but at least they had lived to see their mistakes.

One hour later, Sam piled into the Impala with Connie and Colby to head back to the office. It was almost midnight and he was relatively sure the silence was indication that both his colleagues were as exhausted as he was. The euphoria lingered in spite of the quiet and the fatigue. Sam genuinely liked playing the hero, no matter the risks involved. He loved his job. It beat the hell out of obsessing about the past.

As Jim Colby slowed for a changing traffic signal, he reached into his pocket and dug out his cell phone which was evidently still set to vibrate.

“Colby.”

Sam didn’t really pay attention to the conversation, but he did pick up on the change in tension in his boss’s tone. Jim Colby was clearly not happy with the caller and/or the subject of the call.

Colby closed his phone and shoved it back into his pocket. “We have a command performance tomorrow morning,” he said with a quick glance into the rearview mirror at Sam.

That couldn’t be good. “The detective in charge has a problem with our statements?” Seemed a little fast to have gotten feedback, negative or otherwise, only minutes after they’d driven away from the scene of a sting operation. Usually the questions came later. Not that Sam was worried. Jim Colby might bend the hell out of the rules, but he never crossed the line, at least not more than a step or two.

“This has nothing to do with tonight’s operation.” Colby sent another look in Sam’s direction. “We have an appointment at eight sharp at the Colby Agency. Victoria needs to see us.”

Now Sam understood the irritation.

Jim Colby’s mom had called.

Checking up on her son had gotten to be a regular routine for the lady. And judging by the muscle flexing in Colby’s jaw, it was not appreciated.

The real question was, why would she want to see Sam?

Colby Agency Wednesday, June 5, 8:00 a.m.

JIM COLBY WAS twenty-eight years old. He was married with a daughter. He had opened the doors to his own cutting-edge firm just this year. The Equalizers were swiftly making a name for themselves as the place to go when all else failed.

He had faced death on more occasions than he could recall, and he’d doled it out far more times than any man would want to admit. The possibility of having his wife or child hurt was the one thing in this world that scared him; otherwise he was fearless. And yet here he sat, with dread tying his gut in knots as he waited for his own mother to call him into her private office.

Not that he was afraid of his mother; he wasn’t. But her need to protect him, to ensure his every move was cautiously executed was, frankly, making him nuts. Since the birth of his daughter, his mother’s hovering had only gotten worse.

“Jim.”

He looked up to see Mildred, his mother’s personal assistant and longtime friend, approaching the sitting area outside Victoria’s office. Pushing to his feet, he propped a smile into place. “Mildred.”

“Victoria is ready to see you now.” She directed an acknowledging nod at Sam Johnson as he stood. “If you don’t mind waiting, Mr. Johnson, it will only be a few more minutes before you can go in, as well.”

Jim felt his gaze narrow with suspicion. What was Victoria up to? He sent Johnson a “beats me” look as the man resumed his seat.

Mildred led the way to the door on the other side of the small waiting area and opened it. “Let me know if you change your mind about coffee.”

Jim didn’t respond, his entire attention already focused on the room beyond the door Mildred had just opened. The setting was a little generic, not at all his mother’s usual elegant style, but this building was only temporary office space. The agency’s new home was still under construction.

He walked in, instantly feeling his tension escalate to the next level. The Colby Agency had that effect on him; always had. He imagined most anyone who entered the inner sanctum of the head of the Colby Agency—temporary or not—experienced the same. For more than a quarter of a century, the Colby Agency had stood head and shoulders above the rest as the most prestigious private investigation agency in Chicago, perhaps in the whole country. Jim admired his mother and all she had done.

“Jim, thank you for coming.”

“Victoria,” he acknowledged.

His mother indicated the wingchair to his left. “Please have a seat.” She settled into the leather executive chair behind her desk.

It wasn’t until Jim moved around the chair she’d designated that he saw the other person already seated in the room. Female. Blond hair, brown eyes. Thirtyish. Posture rigid. Gaze assessing. A cop.

The woman extended her hand. “Hello, Mr. Colby.”

Yep. Definitely a cop. She had that formal bearing, that watchful eye.

Jim pumped the lady’s hand once then looked to his mother for an explanation.

“Please make yourself comfortable, Jim. This is Detective Lisa Smith. She and I will explain everything.”

He lowered himself into the chair, analyzing the three words uttered by the woman seated next to him when she’d shaken his hand. “West Coast?” he asked, turning his attention to Detective Smith.

“L.A.,” she confirmed.

Now he got the picture.

“Jim, Detective Smith flew in to Chicago yesterday. She came directly to my office with some concerns of which I believe you need to be aware.”

Major patience was required to keep his temper in check. He’d already gotten the picture. “What kind of concerns?”

“You may or may not know, Mr. Colby,” Detective Smith began in that careful tone cops used when they intended to tell you something that would actually tell you nothing at all, “but the three men who murdered Sam Johnson’s fiancée allegedly belonged to a notorious L.A. gang known as the Crew.”

He met her gaze with one that cut her no slack. He understood exactly why she was here, and he didn’t like it at all. “I am very much aware of the kind of thugs who raped and murdered Anna Denali. The bastards deserved what they got, and if you’re here looking for conclusions as to whether or not Sam Johnson had anything to do with their executions then you’ve come to the wrong man.”

The detective didn’t back down. “I’m not here for your conclusions, Mr. Colby. I’m here for the truth,” she said frankly. “Sam’s name has come up in recent gangland rumblings. There’s still a contract out on him, and someone has recently decided to provide the necessary motivation to see that it’s fulfilled.”

“And,” Jim countered, “you wouldn’t mind clearing up that unsolved case sitting on the corner of your desk in the process. Isn’t that right, Detective?”

Detective Smith’s gaze held his, but he saw the faintest flicker of indecision.

“Jim,” Victoria cut through the mounting tension, “Detective Smith’s first obligation is to protect. That’s why she has come to us rather than launch an official investigation of her own.”

Jim’s attention never deviated from the detective. “Really? Or maybe your lieutenant didn’t think there was enough evidence to launch an official investigation so you’re on your own.”

Another glimmer of doubt told him he’d hit the nail on the head.

“I considered coming to you first,” Detective Smith said. “Now I’m glad I listened to my instincts. You obviously can’t see beyond your own uninformed deductions regarding a case about which you’ve heard only one totally unobjective side.”

Jim laughed softly, but there wasn’t a damned thing pleasant about it, any more than there was about the irritation churning inside him. “You would be correct, Detective.” He stood, leveled a firm stare on Victoria. “I’m quite certain you can decide what cases your agency should take without any assistance from me. This meeting is over.”

He turned his back and headed for the door. Right now was not a good time to speculate what the hell Victoria had meant calling him here, much less taking this pointless case. He’d form his conclusions when he’d cooled off and could think more rationally.

“Jim.”

Hesitating wasn’t something he would have done in the past. But there he stood at the door, making that hopeful pause…giving Victoria the benefit of the doubt. He needed her to trust him. This meeting, the detective’s presence, screamed of distrust and doubt.

“I’m taking this case,” Victoria said, “for you.”

Fury kindled, diminishing the hope and amping up his already soaring tension. He turned to face his mother. “I don’t need protecting, Victoria. I can handle anything that comes my way. You of all people should be aware of just how well I can do that.”

Victoria didn’t falter. He hadn’t expected she would. “I would like to offer a compromise.”

“What kind of compromise?” He shouldn’t stand for this…but she was his mother. Changing her mind would take nothing short of a presidential veto.

That Detective Smith kept quiet told Jim hat she and Victoria had already discussed the likelihood of this reaction and that the two had agreed on this so-called compromise. That only annoyed him all the more. Unreasonably so.

“The police aren’t going to investigate the threat to Sam,” Victoria suggested, “until someone has actually committed a crime against him, and that might be too late. I’m certain you don’t want Sam hurt any more than he already has been.”

That much was true. Jim dropped his hand away from the door. “So, you’re going to look into the case.” He didn’t need her to spell it out. The Colby Agency took cases like this all the time. But this was Jim’s associate. The case should be his. It should be handled by the Equalizers.

“Actually, one of my investigators is going to work with Detective Smith,” Victoria explained. “Detective Smith knows the territory and the facts surrounding what happened to Sam’s fiancée better than anyone. Her knowledge and contacts are crucial.”

“Why send one of your investigators?” Jim countered, determination and some amount of arrogance nudging him to push the issue. “As invaluable as Detective Smith’s knowledge of the case and her contacts might be, Sam Johnson’s would be even better. This case should be his. He’s the one with the most to lose.”

Even from across the room he noted the slight shift in his mother’s posture as she said, “He’s too close. The case is too personal for him.”

Jim resisted the impulse to laugh. “We both know that rule is only applicable in theory. It has no place in real life, otherwise Detective Smith wouldn’t be involved in this case.”

Victoria held his gaze for several seconds. Whatever she said next, she could not deny his assertion. “Perhaps you’re right. Why don’t we call in Sam and see what kind of compromise we can reach?”

Jim didn’t miss the way the detective tensed at the suggestion. Interesting. If she was on the up-and-up she had nothing to hide.

“You have a problem with that, Detective Smith?” He shifted the conversation back to the lady from L.A.

She turned fully to meet his gaze. “Absolutely not.”

“Good.” Jim looked back to Victoria then. “This is the only right way to do this. I don’t think we want to go down that other road.”

Victoria nodded once in acknowledgment of the line he’d drawn. Jim opened the door and gestured for Johnson to join him.

As he entered the room, Jim said, “Johnson, I’m sure you know Detective Smith from L.A.”

Johnson stopped in the middle of the room. His gaze collided with the detective’s.

Smith rose from her chair. “Hello, Mr. Johnson.”

The tension that rippled through Jim’s associate was more than just surprise. There was something between him and the detective. Something more than the ugly history of the homicide investigation.

“Detective Smith,” Johnson said before glancing over at Jim.

“Detective Smith has come all the way from L.A.,” Jim noted, working hard to keep the sarcasm out of his tone as he brought his associate up to speed, “because she believes there is some threat to your life.”

“There’s talk,” Smith explained, “that the Crew is planning a hit on you.”

Sam digested that information for three or four beats. “And you felt compelled to deliver that message in person?”

Definitely something between these two. Jim saw it in his associate’s posture and heard it in his voice.

Smith blinked once, twice. “I think it’s past time we got to the bottom of what really happened. That way maybe we can stop this before someone else has to die.”

“The truth is,” Johnson said with a bluntness that held everyone in the room silent, “your department couldn’t care less if I die. This isn’t about helping me, and you know it. It’s about solving a case that baffled L.A.’s finest, and I don’t mean my fiancée’s murder.”

Jim had to give Detective Smith credit, she held her ground. Her navy slacks and pale blue blouse were pristine, not a wrinkle, and her poise was nothing less than professional. When she spoke, her voice was strong and steady.

“My partner would like nothing better than to nail you, that’s true,” she admitted, “but I don’t share his theories on what really happened. What I do believe in is the truth. I think it’s time we knew what that was.” And then she made a major strategical error. “I also think you’re way overdue to stop running from the past.”

Sam Johnson executed an about-face and stalked out of the room.

Jim didn’t follow, but he did offer the detective a bit of sage advice. “If you want his cooperation, it’s best not to insult him until he’s committed.”

Smith squared her shoulders. “I’ll talk to him.”

To Jim’s surprise, she took off after Johnson. He had to give her credit; the lady was definitely determined.