Free Her First Vacation by Jennie Leigh

probably a bruise from where
he’d slapped her, but otherwise she was unharmed. The moment he got away from
Garret, Colin intended to make a call and have someone pick the girl up and
make sure her father didn’t try to pull a similar stunt again. It would also
keep her from telling anyone that she hadn’t actually been raped. He nodded
toward the bar.
    “Let’s go get another drink.”
    Garret nodded, then led the way
into the bar. They downed a couple more drinks while Garret pumped Colin for details
about the event. Colin made it up as he went, lying with so much ease and skill
that it left him feeling even dirtier than he already did. He hadn’t really
hurt the girl, though there was no doubt he’d scared her badly. And he had hit
her because he’d known he had to. Garret wouldn’t have been satisfied with
anything less. Knowing he’d done what he had to do didn’t make it any easier to
live with, though. The girl might have avoided being raped, but she would carry
the fear with her for a long while before it faded. And he would carry the
sound of her screams for the rest of his life.
    Back aboard the ship he took a long shower, knowing it
wouldn’t wash away the filth that cluttered his soul. He’d worked undercover
far too long. He’d gone places and done things that he knew he’d never be able
to forget. There were times, like today, that he was forced to act in ways that
made him feel physically ill just so his cover wouldn’t be blown. What he’d
done to the girl today had hardly been the worst act he’d ever committed in the
name of his job. He sincerely hoped it would be the last time he ever had to
cross that line, though. He’d been ready to get out before this assignment came
up. He’d have turned it down if it wasn’t for the fact that the agent Garret
had killed had been someone Colin considered a friend. Hell, Charlie Cook was
the closest thing to family Colin had. And Garret had killed him. They didn’t
know much about precisely how he’d died. There hadn’t been enough left of his
body to make that determination. The one thing they did know was that Garret
had pitched his body over the side of the ship. The current pulled him straight
under and into the propellers. Colin had spent a lot of time praying that
Charlie had been dead before he went over the railing.
    There’d been no witness, no clues. There was no doubt that
Garret Palmer was responsible, though. Charlie’s last report had indicated that
he worried Palmer was getting suspicious of him. Obviously, he was right.
Palmer hadn’t even slowed his illegal activities down. In fact, all the
indications were that he was more active than he’d ever been. There were all
kinds of theories about why. Colin worried that it might mean he was getting
ready to disappear. One final big job and he’d vanish without a trace. He had
the money and resources to make it happen. If he succeeded Colin knew no one
would ever see him again. He’d change his appearance and name and start over
somewhere else. Colin had no intention of letting that happen. He was going to
bring Garret Palmer down hard, along with as many of his associates as he could
find. Whatever it took, Palmer was going to pay for Charlie’s death.
    Something had happened. Claire could feel it as surely as
she could feel the texture of the cloth napkin she had gripped in her fist. For
the past days she and Colin had spent every morning together. They’d talked
about all kinds of things, and she believed she’d gotten to know him quite
well. She certainly knew him well enough to recognize that there was a new kind
of tension about him tonight. That wasn’t the only thing that had changed,
though. It was evident that whatever had happened had somehow brought him and
Garret closer together. They’d appeared to have a casual friendship before, but
tonight it was obvious that their relationship had gotten tighter.
    It made her uncomfortable. She didn’t particularly care