Page 1 of Death Wish

CHAPTER ONE

JESSE PHELPS WALKED into Brent Maddox’s outer office and stopped in front of Gloria, the CEO of Fortress Security’s gate keeper. “Good afternoon, Gloria.”

She smiled. “Good to see you again, Jesse. Go right in. Brent is waiting for you.”

“You know all things. Mind giving me a hint about what this meeting is over?” He had to admit to some trepidation. Brent had never called him in alone, always with his team. His team, however, had scattered to the four winds and wouldn’t return to the area for another week.

“Sorry, my friend. I know nothing. Even if I did, I wouldn’t tell you. My boss is a hard taskmaster.” Her eyes twinkled, belying her words.

“Stop pumping my administrative assistant for information,” Brent said from the doorway of his office. “Get in here and find out for yourself.”

“Yes, sir.” Jesse winked at Gloria and entered Brent’s office.

“Take a seat.”

He sat in a comfortable visitor’s chair in front of Brent’s massive oak desk. “What’s this about, sir?”

“First, sorry to interrupt your time off. I need a favor.”

“Name it.” Brent rarely asked for favors from anyone. That he felt the need to do so increased Jesse’s unease. No matter the favor, Jesse felt obligated to say yes. After all, the boss had put his reputation and his life on the line to protect his people more than once.

“An undercover assignment.”

His blood ran cold. “Sir?” He didn’t take undercover assignments, not since he left law enforcement. He hated those assignments as a Texas cop and swore never to take another one.

However, Jesse and his teammates owed Brent. And for ask him this favor while his team was out of the area was even more unusual.

“We accepted the assignment this morning, and you’re the best person to handle part of this job.”

Alarm bells rang in Jesse’s head. “Part of the job?”

A slight smile curved Brent’s mouth. “Caught that, huh?”

“And you’re delaying. I won’t like this, so spill it already, sir.”

“I’m sending you in with a partner.”

He stared. A partner? Many scenarios raced through his mind as he waited for the blow he knew lurked in the offing. He wasn’t wrong. “Who’s my partner?”

“A computer hacker.”

No. Way. The only hacker he knew willing to take on any challenge was Simone Kent. But she wasn’t an operative. “Simone?”

Brent inclined his head.

“Sir, she’s not a trained operative.”

“She doesn’t need to be. You are.”

“No.”

His boss’s intense gaze bored into Jesse. “You’re refusing the assignment?”

“I’m asking you to assign another hacker.”

“None of the other hackers we employ are operatives, either.” He remained silent for a moment. “I could send you in with Zane, I suppose.”

“He has a family,” Jesse said flatly. “Although no one is better at hacking than Z, he has responsibilities. His wife and son need him.” Jesse knew well the dangers of going undercover. Anything could go wrong and usually did. You made plans? Good for you. They wouldn’t work without big changes on the fly. Such was the nature of undercover assignments.

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