Where Danger Hides by Terry Odell

Author:Terry Odell
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781476211671
Publisher: Terry Odell

Chapter 19

Dalton maintained an at-ease position while Horace Blackthorne adjusted his reading glasses and leafed through his report on Jillian and Will—the one he’d spent half the night and most of the morning writing. No way he was getting out of this office with his ass unscathed. That Blackie squeezed him in this afternoon made it clear enough. So did the pity on Madeline Scott’s face when he’d arrived for his appointment.

Blackie glared at him. “You did this so I’d send you back into the field, right? After our last discussion about who decides what assignments are suitable for the company, you continue to take matters into your own hands?” He smacked the pages with the back of his hand and dropped them onto his desk.

“No, sir.” He’d run every possible scenario through his head while he waited for Blackie to see him, and the only one that worked was a good offense. With a deep breath, he plunged in. “You made the initial assignment. I followed through and made a decision. I was afraid for a client’s safety, and time was of the essence.”

“Bullshit. This Jillian and her son aren’t clients. I assigned you to investigate Miss Chambers’ concern for missing people.”

“With all due respect, sir, you threw that assignment at me to get me out of the field. It was a pro bono job and you assumed if you put me on mandatory leave, I’d take matters into my own hands. I followed through as instructed. After investigating the situation, Miri—Ms. Chambers—agreed that missing people were not unusual given the circumstances of residents of a halfway house. However, during said investigation, your aforementioned non-clients came to my attention as needing safe refuge from an oppressive situation. Something, as you know, that Blackthorne’s covert operations teams are well trained to handle. I was merely carrying out my training. Sir.”

Blackie waved his hand at him like he was shooing a cat. “Cut the crap and sit down. Aforementioned? Oppressive situation? What the hell’s gotten into you? You eat a dictionary for breakfast?”

Without breaking eye contact, Dalton sat in the client chair. “I stand by my decision. If you want, you can deduct Mrs. Ellsworth’s subsidies from my paycheck.”

Blackie huffed. “I spoke with Grace. She’s taken a shine to your—” he waggled his glasses “—rescued hostages and is willing to foot the bill herself. God knows, she has enough money.” He gave an unexpected chortle. “You charmed the daylights out of her. Nobody’s immune, are they?”

Heat rose to Dalton’s face even as relief inundated him. “I wouldn’t know, sir.”

“Next time, come to me first. I know you’re used to split-second decisions when you’re on an OCONUS op, but domestics are different. There are actually legalities involved. Minor details like our licenses, for starters.”

“Yes, sir.”

“One more thing.” Blackie snapped his reading glasses into their case. “Grace seems to think Andrew Patterson’s migrant project might be edging into some gray areas. Given her history, she’s likely to assume there’s something shady about a summer day in Death Valley, but I told her I could spare someone to do a little discreet checking.

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