Aegis Group Task Force

Volume 1: Stolen RiskMonday. Aegis Group Offices, Seattle, Washington.DAYS LIKE TODAY JAMIE Silva was glad he lived across the country from his family. He took the stairs two at a time while his oldest sister regaled him with his brother's indiscretions at family dinner. Mainly, their little brother had the nerve to be anything but a Cowboys fan.There were worse crimes in Jamie's book, but he wasn't about to tell his sister that. She'd switched to Spanish, which was never a good thing."Hey? Hey, I've got to go into the office." He smothered a chuckle. "I'll call him and we'll work this out."More like Jamie would call their brother and convince him to lay off the shit talk. It was football, not World War III."You do that. When are you coming home? And when are we meeting this latest girlfriend of yours?" his sister demanded."Soon, I hope." Jamie had a good feeling about this one. Maybe she was the one?They ended the call as he reached the floor that compris

Wednesday. Fundraiser, Washington, DC.TABBY GRISSLER GLANCED AT the empty seat next to her and sighed. Days like today were when she missed the presence of her best friend the most. They'd often made the charity circuit together. As executives of large companies, someone had to do it and if they had each other, well, they'd often made a night out of these things. But now Tabby's best friend and partner in crime had a new life, a fiancé, a baby. Everything Tabby had always wanted.She reached for her glass of water. It wouldn't fill that void inside of her, but it would keep her from ordering something stronger. Without her best friend around Tabby didn't enjoy these events as much. The less she drank, the earlier she would go home and get to video chat with her adorable goddaughter. Not that the baby did much besides sleep these days. Looking at that little human with its ten little fingers and ten little toes filled Tabby with equal parts joy and misery.The sleepy baby was

Wednesday. Pool Hall, Washington, DC.JAMIE WAS GOING TO hell on an express bus and there was no way to change his ticket.Tabby had her long red locks twisted up using nothing more than a pen she'd taken out of her clutch. She rocked the simple black sheath dress, filling it out in all the right ways."Okay, red ball, corner pocket," she announced.He eyed the shot. Easy enough.Unlike most women he'd taught to play pool, Tabby was actually soaking up the lesson. The woman had a competitive streak a mile wide on top of being a wet dream come to life with those flirty smiles and adorable freckles.What the hell was he doing?Jamie squeezed his eyes shut and heard the crack of ball on ball.There'd been a moment before leaving the fundraiser when he could have slipped her phone and been done with it. But then he'd gotten lost looking at her and the chance was gone."I did it," Tabby cheered.Jamie pasted on his smile and closed in on his very tipsy competition. Ye

Thursday. Task Force Headquarters, Washington, DC.JAMIE SAT IN LOGAN'S office, the lights out, the evening playing in his head.Tabby had given him a dozen opportunities to make his move and complete his objective. Instead of doing what he was sent here to do, Jamie had allowed himself to get lost in playing his part, in the getting close to her stage of things, he hadn't realized just how far he allowed it to go until it was too late.Sitting here in the dark it was easy for Jamie to see how things would have gone if he didn't have the task of bugging Tabby's phone. Their chemistry had brought them together, but it was her inclination to laugh, to see the good in things that had kept conversation rolling. He'd been interested in her, what she said. And yeah, the packaging was hot as hell.If it were just up to him, he'd have taken her back to his place or gone to hers. He'd have called into work and done everything in his power to woo her into giving him a chance. Things w

Thursday. Astor Home, Newport Rhode Island.DALTON ASTOR FLIPPED THROUGH the plans dealing with his pre-Congressional bid. There were things to be done prior to announcing it, and those had to start now. Even if he was a shoe-in. it was arranged. A done deal. He just had to go through the motions and not screw up.Despite being born with the last name Astor, he wasn't related to the more famous family bearing the same name. No, Dalton's family were the kind of people who'd scrounged to make their empire, creating something from nothing. He'd learned early in life that those who reached for what they wanted were the true successes.His office phone began to ring.He glared at the black phone. Hadn't he said he wasn't to be bothered?Dalton ignored the call, pushed to his feet and crossed to the door. He jerked it open and glared at the young man sitting behind the chrome and glass desk."What did I tell you?" Dalton snapped."I know." The young man held up his hands. "B