Page 119 of Rescued Duty

And yet, here she was, in the last place on earth she wanted to be, all because a former coworker had given her those Bronco tickets for her nephew’s birthday and now he was cashing in the favor.

Man, she needed to get this job done and get out. Before anyone knew she was in town.

She killed the engine of her Ford Edge, reached over the almost-empty coffee cup and half-eaten bag of sunflower seeds for her camera in the passenger seat. She held it to her eye, focused across the street at the red Nissan Rogue and the woman behind the wheel. The curly dark hair and round face with glasses came into sharp focus. Penny snapped a few pictures.

She should’ve turned down the job ATF agent Ben Freeman had begged her to take as soon as her target had headed west from Denver. He’d assured her that Emma Kemper wasn’t a criminal mastermind like her bomb-making brother Vince. Which meant tailing her and snapping some photos should be an easy assignment.

But there was nothing easy about beinghere. The sooner she could get the heck out of here the better. Because if Penny didn’trun into someone she knew, the memories themselves would drive her away.

All right, Emma. What are you doing here?

Last Chance County’s little warehouse district wasn’t a travel destination. There was no hotel in this part of town. No Airbnbs or cute rentals. Just some old metal-sided buildings and dilapidated brick storefronts from an era gone by. And Emma was simply sitting in her driver’s seat. This felt more like a purposeful destination. Like she might be here awhile.

Penny used voice commands to make a call.

“Freeman here. Whatcha got, Mitchell?”

“Does Emma Kemper have connections to Last Chance County?” If he knew, he was cunning to have kept it from her when he’d asked for this “itty bitty favor.”

“We haven’t been able to find much about her. That’s why we hired you. Why? Is that where she is?”

“Believe me, I wouldn’t be here if she wasn’t,” Penny ground out. She shouldn’t be so snippy. But…Last Chance. Really?

“Huh. I woulda thought she was heading for Nevada or Arizona, where she grew up. But that’s good that it’s Last Chance. With Jude Brooks there, you’ll have some backup if you need it.”

“I don’t need backup.” She needed to get out of here as soon as possible. “Are you sure she doesn’t have known associates here? I could capture her tonight and bring her in.” Then the job would be done. Favor fulfilled and she could move on with her life and not worry about running into her past.

“Nice try. Emma flew under the radar while we focused on her brother. She has no record, but she might have been sent by Vince to do some of his dirty work. I need you to keep your distance and gather intel, Ms. Private Investigator. No formal charges yet.”

Penny switched the camera to one hand and downed a swig from her cup.

Ugh. She almost spat out the cold dregs of her gas-station coffee. Instead, she forced herself to swallow it. She needed the caffeine.

“Youstillhaven’t gotten anything out of Vince Kemper?” Ben Freeman was sharp and had a rather intimidating presence with his tall, beefy frame. The scrawny explosives expert hardly seemed like a formidable opponent. “I would’ve thought by now you would’ve cracked him.”

“He may be a pasty scrap of a man, but he’s not saying a thing. And he covered his tracks well. We haven’t been able to untangle much here. It’s up to you now to make sure Emma isn’t involved in his bomb-making agenda. And if she is, then maybe we’ll be able to figure out what the endgame is, cuz we’re getting a whole lot of nothing.”

Gee, no pressure. Penny blew out a long breath. This meant staying longer.

“What’s the matter? She get away from the great Penny Mitchell?” He chuckled.

But there was nothing funny about this. Penny was barreling straight toward a disaster if she spent any more time in the area than absolutely necessary.

“I have her in my sights. I just didn’t think this job would bring me to Last Chance County.” She snapped a few more pictures as Emma turned toward the window, giving Penny a better angle of her face.

“Jude can bring her in for questioning or take over if you want to be done. Which, by the way, if you get tired of the wandering lifestyle, he’s requested more staff for the satellite ATF office there in Last Chance.”

“You suggesting I come back to the dark side?” Jude Brooks, her former coworker, had followed a case to LCC, where he’dspent his childhood summers, and reunited with Andi Crawford two years ago. Little had he known then, when he brought Penny in on the case to help capture Diego Ruiz Sosa, the series of events he would kick off. It had been nice to be a part of a case for a while, the thrill and adventure of tracking down a cartel leader. Something different than finding cheating spouses or gathering intel on criminals for the lawyers, or the private security she did for the rich and entitled. Now Sosa was dead, and Jude and Andi were married.

She, on the other hand, was still single—just the way she liked it—and in danger of getting sucked down a rabbit hole if she stayed any longer than necessary.

“Being a federal agent isn’t all bad. Jude has a great thing going there.”

And Jude deserved all the good things life had to offer. Including the tightly knit family he’d recently married into and a place like Last Chance to put down some roots.

So yeah, she’d given up a few things for the sake of being in business by herself. And at times like now, it would be really convenient to have the authority to bring Emma Kemper in. But no way did she want to give control over to someone else. Because those jobs came with bosses. Bosses who led people on, made promises they didn’t intend to keep.

No, thank you.

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