Raw Talent

Raw Talent
Debra Webb

MILLS & BOON

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Life sometimes throws us painful curves. We can learn

from them and move on with our lives or we can allow

the past to jeopardize our future. This book is dedicated

to a man who has overcome the obstacles life has tossed in

his way. He has risen above numerous adversities and

remained ever hopeful. To my baby brother, John Brashier,

with all my love, this one is for you.

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Gabrielle Jordan—She is one of the Colby Agency’s new recruits, but she isn’t who she says she is. She has one goal: revenge.

A. J. Braddock—He is one of the Colby Agency’s newest and hottest investigators. He is an expert tracker. If anyone can find Gabrielle before she completes her mission, he can.

Trevor Sloan—Sloan has been to hell and back more than once. He will not allow anyone to threaten his family under any circumstances.

Pablo Vencino—Sloan’s most trusted employee.

Valerie Vencino—Pablo’s niece, who learns the hard way that love is blind.

Manuel Estes—Valerie’s untrustworthy boyfriend who will do anything for money.

Detective Hernando Cervantes—He knows there is more to this case than a mere kidnapping.

Chico Vega—An old contact of Sloan’s who can provide anyone with anything most anywhere.

George Fuentes—A man who likes his business and doesn’t intend to let anyone get in his way.

Contents

CAST OF CHARACTERS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

About the Author

Coming Next Month

Chapter One

Florescitaf, Mexico

The cantina looked exactly like the sort of dump Gabrielle Jordan had expected. Based on what she’d read and heard about Sloan, he would fit in at Los Laureles just fine. Her jaw clenched automatically at the very thought of the man who had killed her father. A man who cared for little but himself. She didn’t have to go inside the place he’d once frequented to know the clientele would be every bit as sleazy as the rundown building looked.

An alley sliced between the cantina and an open air meat market next door. The alley as well as the market appeared deserted and about as welcoming as the rest of this side of town. But that was okay. She wasn’t here to make friends or to even tour the sights and sounds of a part of Mexico sheltered from the passage of time.

She was here to settle a score.

She’d traveled all this way to do one thing and one thing only: to watch a man die a slow, painful death.

No matter if she died in the process. No matter how much pain she had to endure to make it happen. She wasn’t leaving until one of them was dead, him or her.

The odor of stale cigarette smoke, alcohol and plain old male sweat met her at the entrance to the cantina. Ancient overhead fans that had long ago seen better days stirred the thick air.

She moved fully into the cantina, feeling the suspicious stares cast her way like razors sliding over her skin. Tables were scattered around the room. Only a few were occupied, but that handful looked meaner than junkyard dogs. The dubious glares quickly evolved into lustful leers that made her shudder inwardly with revulsion. But she wasn’t afraid. Not for a second. If any of these scumbags thought for a second that their ogling would scare her off, they had another thought coming.

Nothing scared Gabrielle. Nothing at all. A girl didn’t spend eighteen months in a Texas prison without getting tough. Not to mention she’d existed her entire adult life for this destiny. No one would get in her way.

Ignoring the audience of onlookers, Gabrielle strode up to the bar and propped against its worn smooth top. “You speak English?” she asked of the man drying glasses behind the bar. He was sixty if he was a day.

“Sí. What is your pleasure, señorita?”

The dingy apron scarcely reached around his considerable girth. His thick dark hair gleamed with the slightest peppering of gray. The wide mustache made her think of old Western movies and the commancheros depicted through clichés exactly like this guy.

“Tequila.”

“Sí.”

He set a tumbler on the bar then filled it without once taking his scrutinizing gaze off her.

Like the others scattered around the room, the bartender would be not only suspicious, but also curious as to her business in town. Tourists were easy to spot. Those watching her had probably figured out by now that she was not a tourist. No mere tourist would stumble into a place like this without running like hell to get right back out the swinging door.

“You come for Cinco de Mayo?” The bartender set the bottle of tequila aside and studied her even more closely as he waited for her response.

Gabrielle downed the shot, relishing the hot burn as it slithered like a wildfire down her throat. “No.” She didn’t see the point in lying. She wasn’t here for any sort of festival. She was here for Sloan. “I’m looking for someone.”

The old man reached for another freshly washed glass and slowly turned it in his hands, wiping away the moisture from its recent rinsing.

Gabrielle tapped her glass to prompt the pouring of another shot. “His name is Sloan. Trevor Sloan. Have you heard of him?”

The bartender tensed noticeably as the tequila splashed into the glass. He shook his head. “I do not know of this man.”

She knew he lied. She’d asked around and though only one person had admitted to recognizing the name Sloan, the woman had told Gabrielle to ask at this cantina.

Gabrielle cradled the glass for a moment before indulging her thirst. When it came to good tequila, one shot was never enough. “That’s not the way I heard it.” She stared directly into the man’s eyes, let him see her unyielding determination. “I understand you know him quite well.”

He slung the drying cloth over his shoulder, shelved the clean glass behind him, before leaning across the bar toward her. “What is your business with Mr. Sloan?” he inquired quietly, as if it was not safe to speak of the subject in public. The suspicion in his eyes had evolved into something along the lines of anger.

Gabrielle wasn’t intimidated. She inclined her head and met that lethal glare head-on. “It’s personal.”

His gaze narrowed. “Personal can be dangerous, señorita.”

She smiled; the reflection captured in the mirror behind the bar wasn’t pleasant, she noted in her peripheral vision. Good. She wanted him to know she didn’t like his games. “You’ll either tell me where I can find him, or you won’t. But don’t waste my time, señor.” She said the last with a warning tone of her own.

Sloan had obviously made himself a few friends in town. Or, maybe, they were all afraid of him. She didn’t really care which it was, she simply wanted an answer to her question.

How the hell did she find him if she couldn’t get anyone to talk?

The file she’d taken from the Colby Agency hadn’t given his specific address, just the general vicinity. She’d spent twenty-four hours checking out the surrounding area with no luck at all. Flat-out asking about his whereabouts carried a significant risk, but she was tired of wasting her time. She needed a location. Now. Today. No more playing hide-and-seek. Not to mention someone at the Colby Agency would likely warn Sloan the moment her breach was discovered. Time was not on her side.

The bartender turned his back on her and went about the business of checking his stock of liquors.

Gabrielle swore under her breath. Another dead end. There had to be someone around here willing to give her a location.

“What do I owe you?” No point hanging around in this seedy joint and killing more time. He’d made his decision and she wasn’t going to change his mind.

The bartender shifted slightly, just far enough to make eye contact with her. “You owe me nothing.”

Nothing? What was the deal with this guy? She reached into the pocket of her jeans and dragged out an adequate number of pesos. Whatever this guy’s problem, she wasn’t about to leave owing him a damned thing. She slapped the money on the bar. “That should do it.”

He glanced at the payment then at her. “Your money is no good here, señorita.”

Now she was plain old ticked off. “Why the hell not?”

He faced her squarely, braced his hands on the counter and looked deeply into her eyes, his intent unreadable. “I do not accept payment from the dead.”

Never one to squander her hard-earned cash, Gabrielle snatched up the money and walked out. She didn’t spare a glance for any of the scumbags staring after her. To hell with all of them. She wasn’t beaten yet.

All she had to do was to stick with it. In her experience, patience and persistence paid off. She would find Sloan. Maybe not today. But soon.

And then she would kill him.

Just like she’d dreamed of for three long years.

Some girls fantasized about their first date or their first kiss, maybe the first prom. Not Gabrielle. Ever since she’d been old enough to understand what betrayal and murder really meant, she’d dreamed of finding her father’s killer and having her revenge.

She’d survived a childhood in pure hell, with a drunken mother who had given her just one thing: the understanding of why her life had stunk from the moment she’d been born.

Gabrielle’s father had been a special investigator for the State Department. He’d traveled extensively, hadn’t even been there when his only daughter was born. His work had turned particularly ugly, forcing him to, in effect, abandon his only child, to protect her. But he’d called, her mother had insisted, once in a great while when it was safe. If he’d ever sent money, Gabrielle’s mother had blown it on booze.

And then, just before Gabrielle’s eighteenth birthday, the calls had stopped, according to her mother. It wasn’t until she’d graduated high school a few months later and was poised to enter college on an academic scholarship that Gabrielle had learned the truth of what happened. An old enemy had murdered her father. The State Department had disowned him. The newspapers had called him an assassin, a cold-blooded killer. Gabrielle hadn’t needed her mother’s pathetic ramblings to know what that meant. She remembered watching a television interview once about a man who had given his all to his country and then been abandoned to cover their involvement in certain activities. Her father had deserved better. So had she.

Her mother had fallen even more deeply into her depressive state and then promptly proceeded to drink herself to death, literally. Gabrielle had buried her the day before she’d been supposed to head for college. She’d realized something painful as shovel full after shovel full of dirt had been tossed atop her mother’s cheap coffin. She was alone. Completely alone. That was when the need for vengeance had begun to eat at her like a rapidly spreading disease.

She’d gone off to college as planned, but sticking to that hard-earned and long-awaited agenda for her future had fallen by the wayside as she’d formed a new goal. Obsessed about it really.

Find her father’s killer and make him pay.

Her new goal hadn’t actually formulated so clearly or easily…at least not at first. She’d tried to put the past behind her. She’d truly attempted to focus on her studies but luck had, apparently, been against her all along. She hadn’t made encouraging friends. The only acceptance she had found was with those who’d grown up much as she had, with absent or pathetic excuses for parents and a lack of funds. Maybe that was the reason her bitterness had taken such deep roots. Her mother’s words had haunted her and her new friends’ cynicism had nurtured her growing hatred for the raw deal life had dealt her.

Thus her new determination had been born. Make the man responsible for her final kick in the teeth pay.

As far as Gabrielle was concerned, the man, Sloan, was responsible not only for her father’s death, but for her mother’s, as well. Not that her mother had ever been much of a parent, but she’d been all Gabrielle had in the world. Sloan had taken that away from her.

Gabrielle doubted she would survive the coming face-off to get on with her life, but maybe that was her true destiny. This business would have been finished two years ago if she hadn’t been framed by a so-called friend. She’d spent eighteen months doing time for someone else’s stupidity. She’d tried to fight it at first, but with no money and her only legal counsel having been assigned by the court, she’d pretty much been screwed from the outset. So, she’d sucked it up and done the time. Used it as a learning experience, a chance to hone her focus. If she could survive prison, she could do this. No problema.

All she had to do was find the bastard known as Sloan.

Someone around here would slip up and give her the information she needed. She wouldn’t give up until she had the information she needed.

Both her mother and her father had allowed life to get in the way of a decent relationship with their daughter. Their combined shortfalls had forged a strength in her that was relentless. One she hadn’t recognized herself until a few months ago. She would not allow anything to get in her way. She wanted to do something right just once. And this would be it.

Sloan was dead already.

He just didn’t know it yet.

Chapter Two

A.J. Braddock had worked at the Colby Agency a short time, but during that brief stint he had learned many things. For one, Victoria Colby-Camp never misread a client. She hired only the very best in the business of private investigations and her ability to make things happen was uncanny.

But in the past twenty-four hours everything had changed.

Gabrielle Jordan, aka Gabrielle Hanson, had fooled everyone, including the invincible Victoria.

The twenty-two-year-old woman had hired on as a new recruit, had performed exceedingly well during her short training, and then promptly disappeared, with a sensitive Colby Agency file in tow.

Whatever the young lady’s story, she was in serious trouble. Not with the authorities, A.J. considered, but with Victoria. No one double-crossed the head of the Colby Agency and got off scot-free. No. Victoria would make this right if it was the last thing she did. That was the other thing about his boss that A.J. admired so, she was fiercely determined.

An emergency meeting of the staff had been held a few hours ago and A.J. had been appointed the task of tracking down Gabrielle Jordan and bringing her back to face Victoria.

Several others, Simon Ruhl and Ian Michaels included, had wanted the assignment but, using her usual astute judgment, Victoria had recognized the need for total objectivity.

The way A.J. understood the situation, most everyone at the Colby Agency knew Trevor Sloan, or at least had been living with tales of his legendary story for years. To that end, all concerned felt extremely loyal to the man and would do whatever necessary to see that he suffered no additional drama in his life.

Trevor Sloan had lost one family, had almost given up on life in general, when a woman and her son resurrected him. Sloan had not only found love again, but he had also discovered that the son he’d thought long dead was, in fact, alive and well. Victoria would allow nothing to interfere with Sloan’s newfound happiness.

However, in typical fashion, the boss also understood that Gabrielle Jordan had a story of her own. Once she broke her cover, it didn’t take the agency long to get the story on her. The young woman deserved the opportunity to know the full truth and to resume her life without the bitter, ugly baggage of the past.

In A.J.’s opinion, Gabrielle Jordan needed a wakeup call—Marine style. But first and foremost, he had to find her and stop her emotionally charged plunge into self-destruction.

Trevor Sloan was no one to mess with. He’d been to hell and back a couple of times and he likely had no desire to return. He wouldn’t let anyone threaten his new family or his hard-earned happiness.

A.J. felt confident he could handle the situation. He’d worked closely with the new recruits Victoria had hired last month. Todd Thompson had proven his worth on the job. His ambitiousness had, at times, been tedious, but he’d come through in the end. Victoria had chosen well.

Gabrielle had actually been the one A.J. had assumed would stand out from the small herd of new recruits. She’d proven resourceful, dedicated and anxious to make her place here at the Colby Agency.

If he was entirely honest with himself, he’d admit that she had earned more than his professional respect. He’d been attracted to her from day one. How could he not be? Gabrielle had a fire in her that burned with such heat he couldn’t help being drawn to her. She wanted to learn, wanted to be the best. He’d admired those qualities.

Her beauty hadn’t helped the situation. Ignoring how gorgeous she was would have been completely outside the realm of reason. Long black hair, gray eyes that reminded him of glittering silver in the sunlight.

Not once had he allowed their time together to move beyond the bounds of a working relationship. He knew better. The military had long ago drilled that rule into his head. Fraternization was against the rules.

He’d figured he would get past the little infatuation. Hell, he hadn’t been involved with anyone in too long to talk about. He should have seen this one coming, but he hadn’t. Now, here he was, charged with the duty of going after her and bringing her back.

He could do it. And maybe it was better this way. Those weaker emotions, the ones he attempted to keep in check, likely needed this lesson in futility. He had to remember where he stood in the grand scheme of things. He could not permit close personal relationships. It wasn’t as if he didn’t understand the situation.

All he had to do was to remember the deal—like it or not.

As the door to Victoria’s office opened, A.J. stood to greet the woman herself. He booted all other lingering thoughts from his head and focused on the realities. He had a job to do. End of story.

“Good evening, A.J.” She smiled. “Please, sit.”

As she strode around her desk to her own chair he noted that she looked as elegant and calm as ever. One would never know that the agency was in the middle of a major crisis.

He settled back into his chair as she did into her own. “I’m ready to leave immediately. I’ve taken the liberty of arranging air as well as ground transportation. My flight leaves in three hours.” It was the earliest flight he could get with one stop too many, but it was better than waiting until tomorrow.

“I appreciate your preparedness, A.J. But let’s have Elaine cancel your arrangements for the sake of time and convenience. The agency jet will take you to a private airfield near Florescitaf where ground transportation will be waiting.”

Surprised, A.J. acknowledged the change with a nod. “Outstanding. I can be ready within the hour.” He wasn’t going to argue with private transport. He just hadn’t expected to be allowed such a privilege. His experience in the Marines was that only those who had achieved a certain level and paid their dues were permitted the most advantageous perks. He had to remember that the private sector did things a little differently. It would take some getting used to. Elaine, the agency’s receptionist, would take good care of him.

Victoria passed a manila folder across her desk to him. “Your mission is fairly straightforward, as you know. Find her and bring her back. She won’t like it, but if she wishes to avoid official charges, she will be cooperative.”

The file contained all the pertinent information the agency had on Gabrielle, which wasn’t that much, but it was enough background for A.J.’s needs. He already knew her, understood how she thought to a degree.

He closed the folder and fixed his gaze on the woman waiting for any questions. “I need to understand just how far you want me to go in order to stop Miss Jordan’s plans for vengeance.” In spite of his efforts, he found himself failing to breathe as he waited for her response.

Victoria held his gaze for several seconds before answering. During that time he saw a glimmer of uncertainty in her eyes. That surprised him. He’d never once known her to waiver, would have wagered against it. He couldn’t tell if her hesitation was a good thing or a bad one as far as Gabrielle’s fate was concerned.

“Miss Jordan is operating under many misconceptions that make her judgment unreliable. My preference would be for you to intervene and, without significant incident, bring her back here.” She paused a moment, seemed to drag up her courage. “However, preventing her from reaching Sloan and his family is priority one.”

Her expression turned grave as she went on. “If she reaches him, her fate is out of our hands. I would prefer that didn’t happen. I’ve tried without success to contact Sloan or his household helper Pablo. If we’re lucky, he and his family are away. But he could return any moment.” Victoria pressed A.J. with a look that conveyed a great deal more than her words. “I need you to do whatever it takes, A.J. We have to stop this train crash before it happens, if at all possible.”

The decision was made. He had his orders. Personal feelings had no place beyond this point.

“I understand. I won’t use excessive force unless absolutely necessary, but I won’t hesitate should the need arise.”

Victoria nodded. “We’re in agreement then.”

“I’ll report in as often as possible.” He pushed to his feet.

“We’ll keep you posted with any information we gather on this end.”

A.J. nodded once before turning to the door. Every second he wasted was one that might cost Gabrielle Jordan far more than she wanted to pay. That was one way in which he could help her in all this.

“One last thing, A.J.”

He hesitated at the door and faced Victoria again. “Yes?”

She stood behind her desk, that atypical uncertainty haunting her expression once more. “You’re certain you feel comfortable with this?”

He wasn’t entirely surprised by her question. It pained her to ask. That much was clear. Also very clear was her reasoning, elaborating was in no way necessary. “I’m one hundred percent certain, ma’am.”

Drawing in a deep breath, she nodded once, banishing the uncertainty he’d seen in her expression. “Very well then. Based on your experience and your objectivity in the matter, I am of the opinion that you are the best man for the job. However, if you feel the need for backup, all it takes is one call. I’ll leave that to your discretion.”

“I understand.”

“Of course it will be best if I can contact Sloan ahead of your arrival,” she went on, apparently only then deciding to mention this part. “In the event that doesn’t work out, tell him that I’m trusting him to do the right thing on this. Even pure evil can occasionally spawn something good. He’ll know what I mean.”

A.J. left Victoria’s office with only a vague idea what her message to Sloan meant, but he felt no need to question her orders. He had learned well from his career in the military that there were times when a soldier didn’t need to know every detail about a mission. He simply needed the know-how and the determination to carry out the assignment.

Knowledge was a very powerful tool, no doubt. But, at times, knowledge could be a stumbling block to achieving the greater good.

This was one of those situations.

He appreciated that Victoria practiced what she preached. She had complete faith in his ability to get the job done. To his relief, much of that faith was based on his word. He strongly believed that a man was only as good as his word. It pleased him that his new employer shared that belief.

Just another reason he couldn’t allow any personal feelings he’d foolishly allowed to develop to get in his way of doing his job. He needed his work, needed that kind of focus in his life. There wasn’t room for anything else. Not anymore. He had to keep that truth in mind and stop permitting wishful thinking from overriding good sense.

A.J. considered his plan of action as he stopped by his town house for his bags and drove to the airfield where the Colby Agency jet would be waiting.

Picking up Jordan’s trail wouldn’t be difficult. Florescitaf was a small village and an attractive young urban woman would stand out. Since she didn’t know the location of Sloan’s private residence, she would have to ask questions or go on a grid search of the surrounding area. Either way would be time-consuming as well as risky as far as keeping a low profile.

Once on board the agency jet, he used his time to brush up on his Spanish. He hadn’t used the language in ages, but getting his point across wouldn’t be difficult. An hour later he felt confident with his spotty vocabulary so he took some time to consider his target.

Gabrielle Jordan was very young, only twenty-two. She’d spent eighteen months of that young life in prison. The first six months of that time she’d made a fuss about being innocent, including writing several appeals herself, none of which were taken seriously by her court-appointed attorney. So she’d shut up and done her time.

She’d gotten out only a few months before applying for a job at the Colby Agency. Her ability to create a false identity was commendable if misguided. She hadn’t missed a trick. Case in point, she’d fooled one of the top private investigation agencies in the country.

He had to smile. The woman had herself some real brass ones, that was for sure. He closed the door on that line of thinking. From what they’d learned in the past twenty-four hours, she was the only child of an alcoholic mother who claimed Gabriel DiCassi as the child’s father. DiCassi had been Trevor Sloan’s arch enemy and an international assassin. A standoff between the two men had ended in DiCassi’s death.

Apparently, Gabrielle held Sloan responsible for her father’s death. Victoria had estimated, based on comments Jordan had made to coworkers at the agency, that she believed her father to have been a great man. She’d spoken highly of him and her wistfulness related to his death had been apparent during those conversations. Of course she hadn’t once mentioned his name. Now she was apparently out for revenge.

A.J. closed the folder and relaxed into the aircraft’s luxurious leather seat a little more deeply. He found it difficult to understand how a parent could lie to their child, or neglect their offspring for that matter. By all accounts, Gabrielle fell smack into the category of the abused and neglected. That sort of childhood twisted a person’s thinking. He could only imagine how it felt to have no one in the world to depend on. He wondered if that was the reason she’d worked so hard to be the absolute best she could be. She’d had no one to count on but herself.

Though his father had been a strong disciplinarian, A.J.’s formative years had included a secure and loving environment. He’d earned his hard knocks as a military man. He’d jumped in at age seventeen and then spent the next fifteen years proving what he was really made of. An injury and the life-threatening infection that followed during his time in Afghanistan had ended that career. He didn’t talk about it. He shifted in his seat. Victoria was the only person at the agency who knew about it. His physical shortcoming prevented him from future military service, but it didn’t stop him from being a damned good investigator.

Being chosen by Victoria Colby-Camp as one of only a few new hires was proof enough.

A.J. Braddock wasn’t down for the count by a long shot. He still had some good years in front of him.

With his experience in the desolate mountains of Afghanistan, tracking one misguided young woman in Mexico would be a piece of cake. He would not fail in this mission. Victoria was counting on him. And he needed his work at the Colby Agency to give him something to look forward to, to hang on to. He wasn’t ready to give up on being all he could be. No matter what the doctors said.

He wasn’t dead yet.