Close Quarters by Emma Harrison

Author:Emma Harrison
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9780375890413
Publisher: Random House Children's Books
Published: 2003-09-09T04:00:00+00:00

9

VAUGHN STOOD IN HIS hotel bathroom, hands braced on either side of the marble sink as he leaned in toward the foggy mirror to check out his bruise. The kidnapper’s punch had left a lovely red welt along the side of his eye, but fortunately it didn’t look like it was going to darken to purple. If there was one thing Vaughn hated, it was showing up to work looking like he’d had his butt handed to him.

He took a deep breath and let it out slowly, straightening up. It felt good to be clean again, free of Barry’s smelly disguise. He slipped into a freshly pressed shirt, savoring the feel of the cool fabric against his skin.

I wonder how Marianna’s doing, Vaughn thought, guessing that she too had hit the shower the second she’d returned. Now she was sequestered in the presidential suite with her parents, deciding what to do next.

For his part, Vaughn was due upstairs at the temporary HQ to go over the new information with his CIA colleagues. A team had taken custody of the kidnappers. Chloe was prepping a report on their identities and their records while other agents interrogated them about La Rappresaglia’s plans. What Vaughn really wanted to know was whether Dominic had been apprehended.

There was a quick rap on his door, and as Vaughn stepped out of the bathroom, Chloe entered. She had her serious game face on—lips pursed, eyes steady.

“What’s up?” Vaughn asked, tucking in his shirt. He reached for the tie draped over a hook on the bathroom door.

“Three of the men they brought in are on the president’s payroll, and one is the brother of one of the suspects,” Chloe said, tapping her fingers on the top of one of Vaughn’s bedside tables. “Toscana confirmed it himself.”

“I knew it,” Vaughn said, shaking his head. “Marianna and I were taken way too easily. Whoever did it had to have total access to her and her family.”

“Yep. And they’ve already copped to being members of La Rappresaglia.”

“That’s great,” Vaughn said, working on his tie.

“Except for the fact that they say the assassin is still at large and they’re refusing to give us any more information,” Chloe told him. She pressed her hand against her forehead and sighed. “The president and his family are freaking out. They can’t believe so many of the people they trusted are involved in this.”

“What about Dominic?” Vaughn asked, yanking on his suit jacket.

“They just brought him in,” Chloe said.

Vaughn’s heart thumped. Dominic was here? “Why didn’t you say so in the first place?” He headed for the door, already planning out his questions and demands. There was something about Dominic that made Vaughn salivate to knock him down a few pegs.

Chloe grabbed his arm, stopping him in his tracks. The strength of her grip momentarily surprised him. It was easy for Vaughn to forget that his fresh-faced colleague had gone through the same training he had—and that she’d excelled at some of the physical tasks it had taken Vaughn a touch longer to master.

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