A Colby Christmas Rescue (Colby Agency: The Next Generation #1)

Chapter Eight

Chapter Eight

2:00 p.m.

Kenny struggled to stay put as he watched Jamie take a walk around the cul-de-sac. She was still looking for him. She’d come outside and looked around several times. The worry and despair on her face cut straight through him.

He hated, hated, hated doing this to her, but it was necessary. It was the only way to provide any possible protection for her in the hours to come. He didn’t blame Jamie for doing what she had to do. Her brother was being held hostage. She had no choice but to go along with what Amar wanted.

On some level, Jamie considered him a friend and Kenny couldn’t say that he was an enemy, but what he could say was that the man was for sale to the highest bidder, which made him something worse than an enemy in Kenny’s opinion. At least you knew the ultimate intentions of your enemy. There was no way to know for sure about a man like Amar. Where was he going with this? What did he expect to happen when all was said and done?

This was the trouble for Kenny.

Amar would do whatever necessary to accomplish his mission.

Kenny was not going to give him free rein to do as he pleased. There had to be options for egress if the mission went to hell. Since Amar refused to share the details, Kenny had no choice but to intervene. Jamie was far too personally involved to fully trust her instincts.

He’d awakened early this morning and made the decision. He had to do something. Couldn’t just wait. Waiting too long never proved to be the right strategy.

Jamie had no idea, but Victoria Colby-Camp had given him a burner phone to use for contacting her. He had not used it inside the house because he couldn’t be sure what sort of monitoring Amar had going. The man was well prepared. Instead, Kenny had taken a walk around the cul-de-sac, much like Jamie was now, and made the calls. Victoria knew where they were, and she knew the identity of the target.

When he’d shared his concerns with Victoria, she had agreed that he had to make a move. With her blessing, he felt certain his decision had been the right one. Even Victoria felt Jamie wasn’t thinking clearly. She was too worried about her brother. She was following orders toward that end. She would not be happy that he had voiced the concern to her grandmother, but he hoped it would prove the right move in the end.

Kenny watched Jamie walk back toward the house. The one he had chosen as his hideout was empty. The only unoccupied one in the cul-de-sac. The owners appeared to be on vacation. Perhaps visiting with family for the holidays.

The burner vibrated and he answered. “Hello.”

“Kenny, we have some updated information.”

Victoria and her team had been working to put together a list of potential patients suffering with inoperable brain tumors who possessed the means to put together an operation such as this one.

“I’m listening.”

“We have a list of five patients in the state of Tennessee who have the means to take on an operation of this scale. We’ve put an investigator in place near the residence of each. Beyond that, we have another half dozen across the southeast who fit the same profile. I’m leaning toward the patient perpetrator as being local. Someone who would know Dr. Case’s reputation well. Someone who had been exposed repeatedly to the headline-making leaps Case had taken in the field of neurosurgery.”

“Sounds like you have the situation covered as well as anyone could.” Good news in Kenny’s opinion. “I’ve seen Jamie walking the cul-de-sac. She’s still looking for me. She appears to be fine. Visibly worried, of course.”

“I’m certain she’s concerned,” Victoria agreed.

“I’m uncomfortable misleading her this way,” he admitted, “but it feels necessary. I’m trusting she’ll understand that if I’m making a move like this, it’s for the best.”

He was good on that part, no matter that it felt wrong.

“Thank you for letting me know that you’ve had eyes on her. I’ve sent Ian Michaels to your location. He’ll take a position the next street over. He has a vehicle for you if you need one.” She confirmed the house number where Michaels would be waiting.

“Excellent.” Kenny felt some sense of relief at the news. “I plan to try and keep eyes on Jamie, but I have no idea how they plan to get to the house where the party will take place. Amar claims to have invitations for tonight’s party, but he could be lying.”

“Lucas has done some careful research into Abidan Amar. His reputation is not quite as terrifying as I had feared, but he has a history of playing fast and loose with risk. I don’t want him doing this with the lives of my grandchildren.”

Kenny could imagine Amar doing exactly that. What he couldn’t see was Jamie or Luke as “grandchildren.” But he understood and the idea made him smile. “The security system he has in place won’t allow me to get close to the house again, but I left the bug you provided in the main living space. Hopefully, I’ll hear the plan when he finally reveals the details to Jamie. Otherwise, I won’t take my eyes off the place and when they move, I’ll move.”

“Keep me posted,” Victoria urged. “We are prepared to do whatever necessary to help.”

Sadly what they could do was limited. Any mistake could cost the life of the youngest Colby. They had no idea where Luke was or who was holding him. Outside interference could set off a deadly chain reaction.

“I will,” Kenny assured her. “Thank you, Victoria.”

He ended the call and considered that for months he had heard Jamie talk about her grandparents. He had done some deep research and despite how nice and normal they seemed, Jamie hadn’t exaggerated one little bit. The Colby Agency was unlike any other agency of its kind. Victoria and her husband, Lucas, were legends, as were most of the investigators. If Kenny were in trouble, he would definitely want the Colby Agency on his team.

Frankly, he hoped to get to know them better in the future. He hoped to get to know Jamie a lot better as well. There were moments between them that made him believe the idea was possible. Either way, their friendship was invaluable, and he would do whatever necessary to protect that relationship.

Amar’s voice sounded and Kenny turned to move closer to the speaker of the receiver.

Amar had apparently gotten a phone call.

His responses gave Kenny basically no information. Hopefully he would relate the update to Jamie when the call ended.

Whatever was going down was scheduled to do so tonight. Kenny needed to be prepared to intervene if necessary. To provide backup for Jamie either way. Listening and watching until there was a move was the only way for him to actually have her back. Had he stayed at the house, Amar would have made all the decisions and Kenny would have had no choice but to follow his orders. Amar would have possessed all the power.

This was the right move—as difficult as it had been to walk away from that house knowing he was leaving Jamie behind. The decision gave him some leeway to move as he saw fit.

The conversation between Amar and his caller appeared to be coming to an end.

Kenny held his breath. He couldn’t afford to miss a word.

“Was that your point of contact?” Jamie asked.

“It was.”

Kenny hoped the man intended to provide more detail than those two words.

“Do we have some change or addition to the mission?” Jamie prompted.

“Nothing I need to share at this time.”

Her sigh was audible. “Really, you’re going to stick to that worn-out line? Why even bother to involve me in this if you’re going to keep me in the dark?”

“I have my orders, Jamie. When I can tell you more, I will. Every step of this operation is a strictly need-to-know basis only. You’re familiar with how this works. I know you are. Let’s not get bent out of shape with the rules.”

“When you decide to stop playing games, let me know.”

The sound of her walking out of the room wasn’t what Kenny had hoped for. Maybe she was bluffing in an attempt to prod him into talking.

Then again, he had to admit that hearing her tell him off like that gave him a little kick of satisfaction.

As satisfying on a personal level as the exchange was, the real question was, how long did the guy intend to keep the details from her?

This was not the proper way to run an operation.