Free Operation Blind Date by Justine Davis Page A

unusual organization.”
    “Yes.”
    He left it at that, because it was the simple truth.
    They left the car and went up from the car deck inside to the small restaurant, quickly selecting a couple of bowls of the famous clam chowder. When they were done with the rich soup, they stepped outside to watch the water slip by. The wind had picked up on the middle of the sound, kicking up whitecaps, but the wide, solid boat churned through with a minimum of fuss or reaction.
    “These are the only boats Amber will voluntarily get on,” Laney said. “Anything else makes her violently seasick.”
    “They are pretty steady,” Teague acknowledged.
    “Amber’s the only person I’ve ever seen who could get queasy standing on a dock.”
    Teague chuckled. “It’s all about the idea for some people, I guess. Or maybe the visual.”
    Laney smiled. Lifted her hand to brush back an errant strand of dark hair caught by the breeze of their passage. Tilted her head back to lift her face to the sun, still warm in these last days of summer. For a moment she closed her eyes.
    She had to be tired, Teague thought, free for the moment to study her openly. Tired of feeling helpless. And responsible. He knew too well how wearing that was. And yet she’d insisted on coming along, when she could have just as easily stayed home and waited. He admired her quiet determination, the fortitude that had enabled her to start a business at a time when there were few riskier things to do, her loyalty to her friend, her gentleness and love for the animals she cared for, her generosity to the creatures not lucky enough to have a home. He admired many things about Laney Adams.
    And in that moment, there in the sun, with her thick lashes resting on her cheeks, her thick, dark ponytail waving slightly, Teague admitted there was more to his urge to help this woman than that it was just what Foxworth does.
    The warning bell that went off in his mind then was oddly distant, would have been easy to ignore, if it hadn’t been for the fact that she was, in fact, a client. That was a line he didn’t dare cross. He didn’t know how Quinn would deal with that, and he didn’t want to be the first to find out. Hayley may have softened him a bit personally, but the leader was as tough as he’d ever been. He had high standards for Foxworth, and that hadn’t changed a bit. Teague doubted it ever would. It was one of the things that made him proud to be part of it all.
    They were two-thirds of the way over when his cell chirped a text message. There was a stretch in the middle of the crossing where reception was almost nonexistent, so he checked the time sent. It had been, in fact, about eight minutes ago. He quickly read the message. When he finished, Laney had opened her eyes and focused on him.
    “More confirmation,” he said. “She didn’t go to Canada.”
    “What?”
    “Those texts you got were sent from here. Or there, rather,” he finished, gesturing with a thumb over his shoulder, back toward Seattle.
    She took the news steadily.
    “Charlie again?”
    “No. This was from Liam. You haven’t met him yet, he’s been off at a seminar, but he’s got ways we don’t even ask about so Quinn asked him to check this out.”
    “Handy guy to have around.”
    “On your side, anyway. He’s a tech head, almost as good as Ty, but also field-trained. He’s our best tracker, both virtually and in reality. Looks as innocent as a puppy, and he uses that, too. He could have easily gone the other way if Quinn hadn’t plucked him out of a mess of trouble and put him to work for us.”
    “Your Quinn seems to have a very good eye for talent.”
    He blinked. Had that been a compliment, in a subtle way? Or was she just being polite, making conversation?
    Doesn’t matter. Eyes on the prize, and that does not mean her.
    Chiding himself seemed to work, for the moment at least. Odd, he’d never had a problem keeping things cool before. Of course, with Quinn and Hayley