Flashback (Kendra Michaels #11)

“I have an intern who’s desperate for something to do. He’s taking a semester off from USC to intern for me. I wanted a blind student, but she got a better offer from a Wall Street firm at the last minute. So I got Zack. He’s studying online marketing, which I already have covered pretty well.”

“I’d hate to impose.”

“He’s an intern. These kids sweep floors, pick up dry cleaning, and walk dogs for course credit. At least he’ll be doing something that’ll give him some useful skills in the real world.”

Kendra thought about it for a moment. “Okay, fine. It makes sense to put all that information into some kind of searchable order.”

“Definitely. And it’ll be a relief for me to not have to come up with stuff for him to do. I’ve been a one-woman show for so long that it’s a real effort for me.”

“I’ve been telling you to get an assistant. You’re practically running a media empire alone out of your condo. Maybe this will show you how to delegate some of the work you’ve taken on.”

“We’ll see.” Olivia took a long sip of her wine. “Maybe you could use an assistant yourself. You’ve been crazy busy even when you’re not moonlighting as a crimefighter.”

“Don’t remind me. I’ve been playing catch-up from those three weeks I spent in Spain.”

“I still think you should have stayed longer.”

Kendra smiled. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d felt so relaxed and happy. Maybe too happy. Spending three weeks in a Marbella beach house with an exciting, beautiful man who adored her. How could it not be paradise? “Lynch wanted me to stay another two weeks, but I have clients back here. On our last day, he bought the beach house we were renting so we could go back whenever we wanted.”

“Wow. You left that part out when you told me about the trip.”

“It made me a little uncomfortable. The trip was supposed to merely be a two-week vacation. All of a sudden it seemed to be something else.”

“The guy bought you a multimillion-dollar beach house. That’s the kind of discomfort I could live with.”

“He didn’t buy it for me.”

“Did he give you your own set of keys?”

“Yes, but—”

“Aha. He did buy it for you. He obviously wants you to go back there with him as much as you can.”

“Well, it’s been almost a month, and I haven’t seen him since.”

“Which foreign capital has Lynch been toppling, or saving, now?”

“I lose track. In our last phone conversation, he said he was in Geneva, but I swear I could hear gunfire in the background.”

“Of course. Those Swiss love their assault rifles.”

Kendra laughed. Adam Lynch was a former FBI agent who had spent the last several years as a freelance agent who brokered sensitive deals all over the world. He’d helped negotiate prisoner releases, peace accords, and whatever else needed to be done in the pressure-cooker situations that were his specialty. He was often out of the country for weeks at a time, and Kendra admitted she appreciated the emotional distance it allowed her to keep from him. Lynch could be overpowering, and she was never certain how deeply she wanted to lose herself and her independence when she was with him. During those weeks in Spain she’d felt as if she’d been on an emotional roller coaster. Kendra leaned back on her couch. “Okay, I have to admit, he can be fascinating and I find myself missing the guy.”

“Good,” Olivia said. “And you know, it wouldn’t be the end of the world if you told him that?”

“Heaven forbid. He thinks quite enough of himself. Everyone treats Lynch like a combination 007, Sam Spade, and one of the Marvel superheroes. It’s difficult enough to keep a reasonable distance.”

“I believe you’d manage to do it. Though it might be more interesting just to dive in and enjoy.”

“Which you would probably never do.”

“Just a thought…”

Assholes.

A couple of total and complete assholes.

Paula Chase turned off the I-5 freeway and took the road that led to her suburban home in San Marcos. She’d been spitting expletives during the entire drive from the downtown San Diego Police Headquarters, where she’d been trying to convince two arrogant young detectives that they needed to give more attention to the Morgan sisters missing persons case. They’d insinuated that Chloe and Sloane might have left on an impromptu road trip to Mexico or Las Vegas.