At this time of night, the Alliance Agency was deserted. Friday night was usually the night when the team went for a drink, the singles mostly, as those in couples preferred other kinds of entertainment. He wasn’t into the single scene, not tonight anyway.
Malco looked around at the darkening gym and stood, finished wiping himself and the equipment off, and ignored the dull pain in his amputated limb. One he knew would never go away.
Once in the locker room, he removed his training prosthetic before hopping into the shower. He was done quickly, efficient as usual.
Back in fresh clothes, he debated heading back to his place when his phone rang. His bosses, Shane Rhodes and Emme Wallace, had founded the Agency and ran a tight ship. During the weekend, if there weren’t any outstanding cases, one person had to operate the emergency line. More often than not, Malco volunteered for it. It was a good reason not to join the others. He was a team player without a doubt, but he felt out of place outside of work, and bars brought back uncomfortable feelings.
He whipped out his phone, but it stopped ringing. The number was hidden and whoever it was hadn’t left a message.
He put his phone down, finishing buttoning his shirt and tucking it in his jeans when it started ringing again and stopped once more before he could answer it. Again it was a hidden number.
Sliding his gun into his holster, Malco went to the front desk to call Shane when his cell phone rang once more, and he got it in time.
“Alliance Agency, Aguilar speaking.”
“Shane! I need to speak to Shane now!”
The woman on the other end sounded calm but out of breath. He wasn’t sure if he recognized her identity or not.
“Shane Rhodes is unavailable right now. How may I…”
“I’m heading to the Agency right now. Is there anybody there?”
This time, Malco was on the move, going to the command center and checking the screens that showed the vision from the security cameras.
“Ma’am, who are you? Where are you?”
“Damn it! Put Shane on the line! I don’t have time for this.”
There was more shuffling on the line, and someone cursed in Spanish, a bad word he understood well.
“Ma’am. I can’t help you if you don’t give me more details.”
For a second, he wasn’t sure if the mystery woman had hung up on him, but the background noise told him she was still there.
Nothing on the cameras so far, and until she gave him more information, there was no way he was calling for back-up. It could be a dud call, a weirdo.
However, her voice was familiar, if only he could remember.
She came back on the line. “Listen, I don’t have much time, I have someone after me—a bad guy. I know Shane. He can help me. Please tell him I need him.”
Malco heard the panic in her voice, and saw movement coming from the east end area on the monitors. “I see you.” And she wasn’t alone. The woman was running like the wind, but there were two men about thirty feet behind her. How she could run at that speed and still talk on the phone was a miracle. “Head straight for the side of the building. You’ll see a gray steel door. I’ll meet you there.”
Sprinting toward the door, he took his weapon out and unlocked it but didn’t disarm the alarm, knowing it would alert the team without him having to make any calls.
He cracked the door open and saw her. Barefoot, her hair blowing in the wind, she was dressed in a suit, and when one of the streetlights caught her, he recognized the face. Frida Montalvo. The lawyer had been called on for a case involving Kingsley, one of the team members, the year before. When he’d last seen her, Ms. Montalvo had been dressed up prim and proper, a true professional in a curve-hugging suit, her dark hair in an artful twist. Calm, composed, and ruthless, the woman running in his direction now looked like she’d been in a fight, her clothing torn with stains covering her skirt and blouse.
Malco wanted to open the door and shoot at her pursuers, but it would put her at risk. If they hadn’t used their guns so far, there had to be a reason.
Frida didn’t slow, and at the very last moment, Malco opened the door wider and she flew in, tumbling to the floor behind him. His sudden appearance at the door deterred the two pursuers, stopping them dead in their tracks just as Malco could identify them. They disappeared in the dark, and with one last look around, Malco closed the door, locking it tight. Nobody would be able to enter, Alliance’s founders had made sure of that.
His cell phone rang and Emme’s number appeared, but Malco ignored it, instead, turning on the lights and going to the woman. Sweat had dampened her clothes, and she was breathing hard, her muscles quivering and shaking. There was blood on her skirt, but it was the state of her feet that caused him to wince. Her long shiny hair hid her face as she struggled to regain her breath.
He knelt beside her and gently pushed her hair aside. She turned her face and their eyes locked. Her dark eyes shone like onyx, and in them he saw fear, but also strength and determination he’d rarely seen in another human being. When her eyes focused on him, he felt her relax an inch, as if she felt if she let go any more than that, something bad would happen.
He stroked her wet cheek, and Malco swore she leaned into his touch before straightening.
“I need to speak to Shane. Now.”
Chapter Two
The pain in her feet was the only thing keeping her mind from going over the helpless fear she’d felt when she saw the man walk out of her
