Wilder Than the Rest: MacLarens of Fire Mountain (5 page)

They’d been in San Francisco two days without contact from the other female agent. Pierce was glad the waiting was over. He gave Penelope a few minutes to get their guest settled before joining her in the library. He was ready to move this assignment forward.

“Hello, Miss Gagnon. It’s a pleasure.” Pierce walked into the wood-paneled room and took a seat near his guest.

“Thank you for receiving me without notice, Mr. MacLaren. I appreciate your courtesy,” Eva said for the benefit of the housekeeper who still stood at the door.

“Please bring us some coffee, Penelope.” Pierce watched as she left the room then turned to face the woman in front of him.

He wasted no time. “Tell me what’s going on.”

Eva arched a brow as her mouth turned up at the corners. “Anxious, Mr. MacLaren?”

“Pierce, and, yes, I’m ready to move this along.” His response was clipped, not rude, yet his impatience was clear.

Eva opened her reticule and withdrew a piece of paper. She handed it to Pierce and watched as he read through it.

“Mr. Theodore Crow?”

“I met him a few nights ago. He’s wealthy, well connected, and has lived in San Francisco for many years. You, Mollie, and I have received an invitation from the mayor’s wife to attend their annual ball and Mr. Crow has offered to make introductions for us.” Eva shifted to look at a beautiful young woman who entered the library, closed the door, and walked toward her. “You must be Mollie Jamison.” She stood when Mollie came to a halt in front of her chair.

Mollie said nothing at first, staring at the woman before her. She was taller than Mollie by at least two inches, slender, with black hair and striking features that gave her an exotic look. Eva was perhaps the most stunning woman she’d ever seen, and the way Pierce looked at the woman told her he agreed. For some reason, the thought of the gorgeous woman working alongside her partner irritated her.

“Mollie, this…”

“I know who this is, Pierce” Mollie cut him off, not taking her eyes from the woman before her. “Eva Gagnon, correct?”

Eva’s brow arched. “That is correct.” She settled back in her chair and looked at Pierce. “The ball will be the perfect place to move about freely and meet the types of people we need to gather information.”

“What ball?” Mollie asked, miffed that Pierce hadn’t sent for her when Eva arrived.

“The mayor and his wife host an annual ball,” Pierce said. “It will be held later this month, and I was able to secure an invitation for us to attend.”

Mollie understood the significance of an invitation to such a sought-after social affair. They could acquire more information in one night than they could learn through weeks of meeting people and searching for answers on their own.

“What do we do in the meantime?” Pierce asked while keeping his eyes on Mollie, uncomfortable with her behavior toward Eva. He’d watched her scrutinize the other agent as if she were the enemy and not part of the team Noah had formed.

“Pierce, you’ll go to the office each day while Mollie begins to make friends with some of the more influential women in San Francisco.”

“And how do I go about doing that?” Mollie had taken a seat between Eva and her partner, effectively blocking Pierce’s view of the other agent.

“You’re quite fortunate in that Torie MacLaren is well liked and accepted in the highest circles. She offered to send letters to some of her friends, asking that they accept you as part of her family. I would expect you to hear from most of the women quite soon.” Eva looked at the small enameled brooch pinned to her dress, popped it open, and checked the timepiece housed inside. “I should be going, but we’ll all meet again soon.”

“I’ll see you out.” Pierce stood and glanced at Mollie. “I’d like a few words with you.” He didn’t wait for a reply before escorting Eva out. Within moments, he’d returned to the library and shut the door behind him.

“Do you want to tell me what that was about?” He walked over to the small bar and poured himself a drink, not offering anything to Mollie.

She watched him open the bottle and take down one glass. She didn’t want to answer. Not because she intended to appear obstinate, but because she didn’t know what had caused her to behave that way toward Eva. Granted, she’d never worked with another female agent and hadn’t expected one as striking as Miss Gagnon, yet that didn’t excuse her odd conduct. She hadn’t been outright rude, yet she’d offered no welcome to the woman who was only doing her job as part of their assignment.

“Well?” Pierce had walked over and now stood a few inches in front of her.

“Well, what?” Regardless of how Mollie felt, it wasn’t Pierce’s place to question her actions.

“Are you going to pretend your behavior toward Eva wasn’t rude?”

“It was no such thing.” Mollie’s retort lacked conviction. She folded her arms across her chest and stalked to the window, drawing back the heavy draperies. She’d taken a walk through the spacious grounds that morning, admiring the flower gardens and various shrubs, and wondered what it would be like to live in a place like this all of the time.

Pierce watched his partner as she tried to distance herself from both him and the subject. She may be frustrating and strain his patience, but Mollie wasn’t stupid. He knew she wouldn’t risk alienating another agent without a reason.

“Are you suspicious of her?” Pierce fished for an answer.

“Of course not. If Noah brought her in, then I’m sure she’s more than capable.”

“Plus, she’s had more experience than you and I combined.”

“Yes.”

“And she’s already accomplished more in two days than we have.”

“I agree.”

“And, of course, there is the fact that she’s a stunningly beautiful woman.” He watched her face for a reaction.

She turned from the window to glare at him. “You find her pretty?”

“Don’t you?”

Mollie didn’t respond. This wasn’t a conversation she intended to have with Pierce. “It doesn’t matter what I think as long as her skills bring us what we need to finish this assignment.”

“So you do think she’s beautiful?” Pierce persisted.

She narrowed her eyes, but didn’t respond. “I’m going upstairs. I’ll see you at supper.” She avoided eye contact as she brushed past him and left the room.

Pierce watched her leave, barely able to restrain a smile until she’d closed the door. Her behavior had baffled him until he realized that his partner might be jealous of the beautiful female agent who was part of their team. From his point of view, there was just one reason one female would be jealous of another, and he was unwilling to go there.

He’d been able to control his body’s response to Mollie over the last few months, even though it had become increasingly difficult. He found Mollie to be the most achingly beautiful and annoyingly desirable woman he’d ever met. Before their partnership, he had spent many hours fantasizing about her. Now, he had to ignore his normal reactions, and treat her like anyone else he worked around—except they were partners and forced to be together almost every day.

If he could bed her, let his strong attraction run its course, he’d be able to get her out of his system, and his automatic response to her would end. He was certain of it.

Chapter Four

New York City

Lee studied the latest message from Eva. Even though it had been four years, he still felt a twist in his gut whenever he heard her name or saw her, which, thankfully, wasn’t often, and generally from far away. He hoped to keep her at a distance for this assignment, at least several thousand miles away. The telegram he held in his hand caused that hope to fade with each word.

Eva recommended that they’d be able to accomplish more with another agent, someone from wealth who had a high enough pedigree from the East Coast that no one would question him. She’d leave the final decision to Lee.

It was cloaked as a recommendation, even though both Eva and Lee knew otherwise. She had a knack for making her demands known, even if they appeared subtle to those unfamiliar with her tactics.

What bothered him above all else was the fact that there was no one he could think of who fit the description of the perfect agent—no one except him. If she’d been hinting for him to travel to the San Francisco, she would have said it straight out. She hadn’t. He knew he was the last person she wanted in her presence, not after what happened four years before.

Lee grabbed the message and marched across the hall to Alex McCann’s office, knocked once, then entered. Alex looked up from his desk.

“What do you need, Lee?” Alex knew Hatcher well enough to know the man had little time or patience for small talk.

“Advice.”

Alex tossed down the pen in his hand and sat back. “All right.”

“Eva Gagnon has requested another agent. Someone well trained with the right social standing to act as her suitor and escort in San Francisco. I need your help to identify someone.”

Alex McCann handled many off-the-books investigations for Noah Dodd and several other well-placed government employees in various agencies. His company was working behind the scenes on the current assignment led by Noah and Lee. A request for a certain type of agent with specific skills wasn’t unheard of, and was most often passed by Alex for his input and approval.

“Ty Bonnefield would fit the requirements nicely, however, he’s in the middle of a four month assignment for another agency. John Hamilton would be an excellent choice if he hadn’t broken his leg on his the job. He’ll be laid up for months.”

Alex pulled open a desk drawer and pulled out some files. He thumbed through the stack, setting a couple aside and placing the rest back into the drawer. He opened the first, closed it, then picked up the second file to read the contents.

“Owen Kendall. He’d be perfect. About your size, excellent skills, from a wealthy family with banking interests in New York and Boston. He’s a lawyer by trade, graduated from Columbia, and keeps a home in the city. If I’m not mistaken, I believe he may also have a house in San Francisco that was left to him by one of his relatives.” He looked up to see that Lee’s face had turned to stone.

“No, not Kendall. There must be someone else.”

“There is only one other person I know who could make this work.” Alex folded his hands on the desk and leaned forward.

“Who is that?”

“You.”

Lee stood, shoved his hands in his pockets, and paced to the large set of windows that looked out onto one of the busiest streets in New York. He had a love-hate relationship with this city and some of the people in it. He loved it for the same reasons he hated it. Privilege and power were wielded without regard for those who stood in the way. Educated, wealthy scions with questionable character and back room business dealings were revered, while those who made their money through honest hard work and respect for the law were spurned. He’d been born into privilege and affluence, was an almost embarrassingly wealthy man from a well-respected family, yet he still felt the chains that came with the opportunities which had been handed to him. That he hadn’t been disinherited by his father still amazed him.

He turned back to Alex. “I can’t.”

“It’s been over four years. You’re both professionals. I’m betting the two of you could pull this off better than any other two agents.”

“Perhaps, but we could just as easily fail.”

“She’s over it.”

“So she’s told you and everyone else.” He ran a hand through his thick auburn hair and took a deep breath, never moving from his spot by the window. “Eva believes I destroyed our marriage. She may never trust me again. This assignment is too important. It’s not worth the risk.”

“Then Owen Kendall it is.” Alex closed the file. “I’ll contact him today and set up a meeting for tonight.”

“No, not Kendall,” Lee hissed then walked back to his chair in four long strides.

“For God’s sake, Lee, there isn’t anyone else.”

The room fell silent as Lee struggled with a decision that could mean success or failure for their current assignment—an assignment that, as yet, wasn’t fully understood by anyone. Alex was right. There were few men who could meet the needs of this job, and only two of them were available—he and Owen—and there wasn’t a chance in hell he’d let Kendall get anywhere near Eva.

He stood and straightened to his full six foot four inch height. “I’ll make travel arrangements for San Francisco.”

Alex nodded, knowing that this was not the best solution. But it was the only one they had under the circumstances.

******

San Francisco

“Mr. Dunnigan. It’s good to see you.” Pierce stood in the lobby of the large building and extended his hand to the man who’d once hired him to work on a decoding case. Pierce’s current assignment included a cover as an employee of Dunnigan Enterprises in the San Francisco offices.

“Hello, Pierce. It appears that life is treating you well.” Louis Dunnigan accepted the offered hand then indicated that Pierce should follow him upstairs to the third floor. “Here you are.” He opened the door to one of the offices facing the main street and waved Pierce inside. “As you can see, your office is furnished with everything needed by an executive of my company. Although Dunnigan Enterprises purchased the building, it is used by several of my companies, including Taylor-Dunnigan Cattle & Timber. Since you know most of the people involved in Taylor-Dunnigan, that is what we’ll go with for your cover. You’ll be helping us expand our timber, lumberyard, and cattle operations in northern California.”