Todd ThompsonâThe Colby Agencyâs new recruit. Todd is exactly the kind of raw talent the Colby Agency is looking for. Will his natural talent override his lack of experience? Thereâs only one way to find out.
Serena BlackâShe is young but dead serious about her work and finding her friend. But just when she is certain she knows whoâs responsible for her friendâs abduction, a new clue gets tossed into the mix and points her in an entirely different direction. The only thing Serena can be sure of is her growing attraction to one sexy new recruit.
Dr. Charles LandonâA pioneer in his field, could he really murder his wife and unborn child? Everything he has worked for is about to see fruition, but how much is he willing to pay to reach that pinnacle?
Molly LandonâThe only things she ever wanted were her husbandâs love and to have the family sheâd always dreamed of. Is it too late for that now?
Delia NeelyâWas her affair with Charles Landon the reason his wife is missing?
Arthur MilesâHe has every reason to be jealous of his colleague Charles Landon. How far would he go to see him fall?
Nolan FairbanksâHe knows plenty of secretsâ¦The question is can Serena trust him?
A. J. BraddockâColby Agency investigator. A.J. is supposed to keep Todd Thompson on the straight and narrow during his first assignment, but that may prove an impossible taskâeven for an ex-marine.
Victoria Colby-Camp sat at her desk and stared at the neat pile of manila folders Mildred had placed in the exact middle of her clean blotter pad.
It was the same each Monday morning. Mildred gathered the assignment and status reports from each investigator and brought the bundle to Victoria at nine sharp for her perusal. At ten, a standard staff meeting would take place in the conference room. New assignments would be dissected and doled out, old business would be discussed. The work week would continue from there.
The routine never varied.
Victoria sighed, the sound echoing softly in her empty office.
She had no right to feel this way. Life had been extremely good to her for months now. She certainly could not complainâ¦.
And yet, she feltâ¦bored.
Her brow furrowed deeply in denial of her last thought. Perhaps bored was not the proper word. She and Lucas had celebrated their first wedding anniversary a few months ago with a long weekend in the Cayman Islands. Her son was happily married and anticipating the arrival of the first Colby grandchild.
What else could she ask for from her personal life?
The Colby Agency continued to thrive. The cases that walked through receptionâs doors included the most intriguing and challenging from right here in Chicago as well as all across the nationâones that no other agency seemed able to solve in addition to those of longtime, loyal clients.
Still, Victoria felt restless.
She pushed up from her chair and walked across the room to look out at the city she loved. A city pulsing with life, filled with magnificent and innovative architecture. A place rich with colorful and turbulent political history as well as vibrant cultural venues.
There was no other city in the country quite like it. No other place sheâd rather be.
Dozens of memories filtered through her mind, warming her heart. It seemed so long ago now that she and James, her first husband and the father of her only son, had started this agency. She had known even then that the Colby Agency would be something very special. How could it be anything else? James Colby had orchestrated its creation.
But now, more than twenty years later, something was missing. She concentrated hard in an effort to pinpoint the motivation for the fleeting sensation.
This odd emptiness had started almost one month ago. At first sheâd considered that, with her highly trained and efficient staff, maybe she was bored with her level of participation in the business of private investigations. Her right-hand personnel oversaw most of the day-to-day operations. Though she came to the office each and every day and reviewed all activities, she was not personally involved with the execution of assignments.
But her role had always been in oversight rather than execution. Why would she suddenly feel unsettled in that role now? Admittedly, change could be a good thing. With that in mind, and much to the dismay of her staff, sheâd launched a complete overhaul of the agencyâs decor. A smile tilted one corner of her mouth. Unquestionably the renovations were a nuisance, but sheâd hoped that the transformations would fulfill this sense of lacking she suffered.