The Equalisers. Debra Webb

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СКАЧАТЬ not to go through with his plan if he understood the full risk. He might see this as information he had needed before agreeing to move forward with her case and use her omission as grounds to pull out.

      Anxiety tightened like a noose around her throat.

      No matter how she weighed it, justified it or pretended the truth away, he deserved to know that truth. As desperately as she wanted her son home with her, she could not bring herself to allow him to go forward blind.

      “There’s one other thing I should probably tell you.” She drew in a much-needed breath and reminded herself that she had no choice. “The last P.I. I hired, Mr. Davenport, sent a man to find my son and bring him back home to me.” Willow moistened her lips and prayed that she wasn’t about to make a major mistake. “He got very close. Close enough to take pictures of my baby in a number of settings and situations. I can’t believe just how close he managed to get.”

      Those gray eyes continued to peer right through hers, as if he could see into her deepest, darkest thoughts. He asked, “Did this man learn anything that might be useful to our operation? I was under the impression none of the other investigators had accomplished anything of real value.”

      The realization that his deep voice contained an edge that hadn’t been there before filled her with dread. If he changed his mind or decided he couldn’t trust her… she just didn’t know what she would do then.

      “None of the others were able even to get close… except for the last one. If he discovered anything useful, Mr. Davenport didn’t pass the information along to me.” Don’t stop now. Just do it. Say what had to be said. “Davenport did say that he had lost contact with the man he sent in—the one who got the pictures. He believes the man may have been taken prisoner or murdered by my ex-husband or a member of his personal security.”

      There, she’d said it.

      She waited for Anders’s response, her heart flailing behind her sternum so she could scarcely draw in enough air. Please don’t let him back out now. Not now. They had to do this. She had to get to her baby, had to bring him home.

      “This operation comes with major risks, Ms. Harris. Risks are a part of my job. But what you’ve just told me is all the more reason for you to stay right here while I go do what has to be done.”

      Relief rushed along her nerve endings, making her feel unsteady. He hadn’t changed his mind about moving forward. Thank God. “I can’t do that, Mr. Anders. I have to go with you. I have to help get my baby back.” No risk was too great to her. She had to make him understand that.

      He didn’t argue the point, which surprised her. Instead, with the help of the receptionist, Connie, he took care of the necessary travel reservations. He went over a few more details with her, and then she left to return to her motel and pack. She would meet him at his office the next morning at seven for one final briefing with Mr. Colby before they headed to the airport.

      Then they would get started.

      She couldn’t wait.

      No matter what happened, she had to do all within her power to get her son back. Some part of her had the almost overwhelming feeling that if she didn’t get him back now she might never see him again.

      The feeling ate at her a little more each day.

      She surveyed the single suitcase she’d finished packing. Several changes of clothes and the essential toiletries, nothing frivolous. She didn’t dare take a picture of her son, other than the one hidden in her wallet. Even if her purse had to be searched, she felt comfortable that the picture wouldn’t be discovered the way she had it hidden. Anders would carry her son’s passport.

      Exhausted, she plopped down on the bed next to her suitcase. She really should get some sleep. It wasn’t that late. She glanced at the clock radio on the table by the bed. Nine-fifteen. But she hadn’t slept well the night before and she needed to be fresh in the morning. Starting tomorrow she had to be in tip-top condition. No distractions, fatigue included. She thought about the sleeping pills the doctor had prescribed, but the hangover and dulled senses the morning after weren’t worth it. She’d just have to try getting some sleep the old-fashioned way.

      Shouting in the room next door made her jump. She pressed her hand to her chest and stared at the wall that separated her room from the one next door. A man’s voice sounded angry, a woman’s pleading. Whatever was going on, nothing about it conveyed pleasantness.

      Maybe she should call the desk and complain. Like that would do any good. The desk clerks she’d encountered so far looked about as interested in their work as fence posts.

      A loud crash accompanied by the sound of breaking pottery, the table lamp, she surmised, launched her into action. She’d just reached for the phone when a rap on her door paralyzed her.

      It wouldn’t be the people next door since she could still hear them shouting. It was too late for someone from the Equalizers to be dropping by… wasn’t it?

      Standing there in the middle of the room wouldn’t answer the question. She moved quietly to the door and checked the peephole.

      Spencer Anders waited on the other side.

      She had to admit, considering the ruckus next door, she was relieved to see him. After sliding the chain free of its catch, she opened the door.

      It wasn’t until she came face-to-face with him that the possibility that he’d arrived bearing bad news formulated in her sleep-deprived head.

      “Have our plans changed?” She tried to steel herself for what might be coming, but there wasn’t any way to adequately prepare. She wasn’t sure she could handle bad news. Not now, after she’d gotten this close. She was packed, the tickets had been purchased.

      “May I come in?”

      In her experience when a person avoided answering a direct question then there was a problem. Her heart started to pound in anticipation of the worst.

      “Sure.” She managed to back up and open the door wider. “Is there a problem?”

      He closed the door behind him, leaving her with nothing to hold onto. Whether it was the look on her face or the trembling that had started along her limbs, he appeared to comprehend her mounting hysteria.

      “There’s no problem. We’re right on schedule.”

      She might have exhaled some of the tension just then if the ranting in the other room hadn’t chosen that exact moment to explode all over again.

      “Excuse me.”

      Spencer Anders pivoted, opened the door and walked back outside.

      Confused, Willow followed as far as the door.

      He turned and held up a hand for her to stop. “Stay there.”

      As ordered, she didn’t move. Several seconds passed before she realized that she didn’t have to stand here like this just because he said so. By then his banging on the door next to hers had silenced the shouting in the other room and startled her so that she couldn’t think to move anyway.

      What was he doing?

      The neighboring door burst open. “What the hell do you want?” the man towering СКАЧАТЬ