Page 17 of A Colby Christmas Rescue

When she opened the bedroom door, the smell of coffee had her ready to moan. The house was a large one with five bedrooms—each with its own bath—and a large center great room with its impressive balcony and telescope. Oh, and the infinity pool was inspiring even in the window. The steam rising from it this morning told her it was heated.

“Good morning, sleeping beauty,” Abi announced as bread popped out of the toaster.

“Who slept?” she grumbled. She felt confident her grandparents hadn’t slept last night either. Like her, they were probably terrified for Luke. She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about him.

She stilled, then glanced around the room. “Where’s Poe?”

“He’s having a look around outside. Checking out the ride that’s been provided to you.”

Of course he was.Men. “I have some things to do.”

Abi passed her a plate loaded with toast, each slice smeared with a plop of guacamole. “Great. I’ll go with you. Poe can hold down the fort.”

“Sorry, but where I go, Poe goes.” The toast actually looked quite good. He’d chopped up tomatoes and sprinkled them across the top. She took a bite. This time she did moan.

“You need coffee.”

As if it hadn’t been fourteen months, two weeks and three days since they’d seen each other, he prepared her a cup of coffee with exactly the right amount of almond milk creamer.

“What is it you want, Abi?” He was up to something. This was another thing that had kept her awake last night. It wasn’t like him to be so attentive unless he wanted something more than he’d stated. Then again, she supposed it was his job to keep her focused and content until the job was done. Whatever the case, trust was not something she would be tossing out for him.

“It’s my job to ensure you have everything you need and are fully prepared for the op.”

She decided the coffee was too good to spoil with a long conversation, so she ate her toast and drank it while it was hot. When she finished her coffee, she asked the burning question. “Why aren’t you doing the job? Why kidnap my brother and force me to do something I’m sure you can do yourself?” They had talked about this last night and the trust issue, but she still wasn’t convinced he’d been completely forthcoming on the subject.

Abi sipped his coffee and appeared to consider her question. “My employer wants the best and I assured him you are the very best. Think about it—this is not the sort of situation you wish to leave to chance.”

“Your employer has a family member who has an inoperable brain tumor.” It wasn’t a question. They had tiptoed around this issue yesterday too.

“What’s on your agenda?” Abi asked, ignoring her question. “You mentioned things you needed to do.”

She considered the man and wondered what in his life had formed his decision to go down this murky path. His father had been a high-ranking member of the Mossad and after retirement, his role in Israeli politics became noteworthy. But Abi had been raised by his mother in London and he had not chosen to serve either country in any capacity. He served only himself.

“Initial stop—my brother’s condo. I want to have a look around.”

“You believe there’s something more going on than what you’ve been told in your briefing?”

She took her cup and plate to the sink. If he was expecting her to do the dishes because he had cooked, he could forget it. “I don’t believe or disbelieve anything. I simply wish to have a look at my brother’s home.”

He gave a nod. “As you wish.”

“Later we can go over the plan.” She might as well understand how his employer expected this to go down.

“We won’t be going over the plan until we are ready to move.”

This she found troubling. “You’re assuming there’s no room for error in your plan. How can you be so sure the plan doesn’t need to be tweaked?”

“The plan is perfect.”

“There’s no such thing as a perfect plan,” she argued.

He smiled. “I’ll agree to disagree.”

The door opened and Poe joined them in the kitchen. “Morning.” He looked from her to Abi and back. “Everything okay?”

“We’re going to Luke’s condo to have a look around.”

He nodded, his expression giving nothing of his feelings away. “Can we talk for a minute?”

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