Page 18 of A Colby Christmas Rescue

“Sure.”

“Let’s take a walk,” Poe suggested. “Outside.”

“Sure.” She flashed a smile for Abi. “We’ll be just outside.” She wanted a look around out there anyway.

On the way out the door, Jamie grabbed her coat—the one provided with the other items for this op. Poe had nothing but the windbreaker he’d been wearing in LA. Not exactly suitable for December in Tennessee.

Once they were outside and walking around the infinity pool overlooking the wooded valley below, Poe turned to her. “What’s the deal between you and this guy?”

With all that was going on, this was what he needed to talk about?

“Nothing.” She surveyed the valley and the house that sat in the middle of those woods. The house was their target. Getting in and out of there with the surgeon in tow would never be easy. Whatever Abi thought, the sort of man who had a body double on staff no doubt had serious protection wherever he went. He would not go with Jamie willingly.

On top of the idea that there was a good chance they would end up dead just for trying to get to him, there was the idea of what would happen if they were successful. The authorities wouldn’t rest until they solved the case. Beyond that, there was the concern that the surgeon could end up injured or dead.

Luke could end up injured or dead.

So many things could go wrong.

“Come on, Jamie. I can see there’s a connection. How do you know this guy?”

“I bumped into him late last year after an assignment for the agency. He attempted to infiltrate my cover. The op was over, so I don’t know why he bothered. Maybe just to see if he could. To flirt.”

Poe held up his hands. “Maybe I don’t want to know.” He visibly shook himself. Maybe from the cold. “So I’ve thought about the layout down there.” He looked toward the surgeon’s home. “The security protocols he used the last time he hosted a party and his personal security team are detailed in the package Abi provided. The chances of getting in and out of there will be slim. Very slim.” He shook his head. “I have a really bad feeling about this.”

She smiled sadly. “It’s not like I have a choice. I have to try.”

“I did some research on Case as well. He’s not exactly known as Mr. Personality. I don’t think your friend’s employer understands that he could very well refuse to do the surgery.”

Jamie had considered this could be an issue. “I suppose we’ll just have to convince him somehow.”

“But we can’t make him,” Poe argued. “We can put a gun to his head, but we cannot make him do the surgery. Torturing him or shooting him won’t be an option.”

“You’re saying you don’t think the plan is a good one.”

He moved his head from side to side. “The doctor will need proper motivation.”

Jamie thought of the photos of the doctor and his family she had reviewed. “He has a kid. A little girl.”

Poe nodded. “Ten years old. Take the kid for leverage and there won’t be any trouble getting him to go along with whatever he’s asked to do. I’m guessing that’s why Abi isn’t sharing more details. He knows you aren’t going to like it.”

Fury roared through Jamie. “On top of that, it’s another reason why he isn’t doing this on his own. He’ll focus on the kid while you and I whisk away the surgeon.”

“That’s what I’m thinking. There’s a hell of a lot of room for error, especially with a kid in the mix. I don’t like this, Jamie.”

She swore. She hated when people used kids for leverage. “I don’t either.”

A quick review of their options was pretty straightforward: do as they were told or do as they were told. “We’ll go with the plan as far as we can,” she said, feeling suddenly tired. “From there, we’ll do what we have to do to ensure everyone survives.”

“This friend of yours,” Poe said. “Any suspicions he’ll double cross us when the job is done?”

“There’s always that chance. We just need to be ready for anything that comes our way.”

Jamie’s attention shifted to the house. Abi was watching them from the other side of the wall of glass. He knew a lot more than he was sharing.

The question was, would it get them killed?

Douglas Avenue,

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