Page 21 of High-Priority Asset

Agent Rogers was a petite woman with long, straight dark hair framing her narrow face and elfin features. She looked between them, finally setting her gaze on Dutch. “Based on your mission objectives, the limited amount of time you had to prepare and your lack of undercover experience, I gave you the relevant information you needed to be successful.”

Leaning forward, Dutch put his forearms on his thighs. “There’s some maniac she’s terrified of who’s making her life hell.”

“Chad Ellis,” Agent Rogers said matter-of-factly. “She has a restraining order against him.”

“What?” His elevated tone drew Draper’s gaze and a reproving head shake. Dutch took a breath, trying to calm down. “I’d call that relevant.”

“First, Ellis hasn’t been in the picture for months.”

“He showed up today in a restaurant where we went for lunch.”

Agent Rogers straightened, a glimmer of concern passing over her face. “That’s not good.”

“You don’t say. Isabel hightailed it out of there and I had no clue why. If I’d known, I could’ve confronted him. Warned him to stay away from her.”

Agent Rogers folded her arms across her chest and studied him. “Did Isabel tell you about Ellis?”

Dutch sat back. “No. I overheard her talking about him afterward in her gallery.”

Agent Rogers nodded slowly. “So, if you saw Ellis, a man you’re not supposed to know, sitting in a place that he’s not supposed to be, intimidating Isabel from afar, you would’ve done what? Went over, jerked him out of his chair by his shirt and threatened him?”

“Sounds about right,” Draper said. “That’s precisely what you did with Prindle when things didn’t go the way you’d expected.”

“And you would have blown your cover,” Agent Rogers said in a soft, firm voice. “Believe it or not, I’m trying to help you. According to your profile, if you had known about Chad Ellis, your initial response to Isabel would’ve been overly protective and caused her to withdraw from you rather than endearing her.”

“Speaking of my profile, why did you pick me?”

“How would be a better question,” she said. “After discussing the situation with Marshal Draper, I did some research on Isabel Vargas with the help of our cyber unit. We issued a warrant and requisitioned her dating profile from a top-tier online matchmaking site and discovered she has a type. Not only physically.” Agent Rogers gestured to Dutch. “But she’s also attracted to men who are highly intelligent, but have a middle-class background, energetic, passionate, socially dominant and who exhibit appetitive-aggressive traits. Three out of the four she dated from the site also rode motorcycles and expressed an interest in extreme sports. In short, they were adrenaline junkies. Does this sound familiar?”

Dutch restrained the sigh building in his throat and refused to concede that she had just described him, although he wasn’t certain about the appetitive-aggressive bit. “How me and not someone else?” He couldn’t be the only guy in the USMS fitting that profile.

“The situation presented discriminating factors. No one from California could be used because of the data breach. We needed a single male, late twenties to early thirties, who wasn’t on an active assignment, had been with the USMS less than three years and had a background we could tinker with, filling in your work history. The fact that you both lost your fathers in your early teens was a bonus. You were perfect. No one else came close to your numbers. Algorithms don’t make mistakes.”

That explained the easy, natural connection he formed with Isabel, but it also raised an important question. “This Ellis guy, are you saying he and I are alike?”

“Not quite. With Ellis, she deviated from her usual type. She met him at a function, not online. From what I can tell, Ellis exhibits psychopathic traits, which is quite common in the corporate world. Charming, arrogant, risk taker, no remorse, a master manipulator. Whereas you’re honest, noble, and during your US Marshals assessment displayed a high degree of empathy. All strengths that could also be a weakness in this situation. The emotional handling required here is a delicate balance and having all the facts from her file would’ve hurt your ability to forge a bond with the asset.”

Asset again. Dutch gritted his teeth. “I want to see the complete file.”

“I have to advise against that. In this case, less is more where the asset is concerned. If you want to see more on her uncle, that’s fine. But you need to trust that I’ve given you everything you need to succeed.”

“I don’t know you. I don’t trust you. I need all the facts or I can’t do my job effectively.”

Agent Rogers turned to her computer and typed away on her keyboard. “I just emailed it to Marshal Draper and cc’d Deputy Chen-Boyd.”

The hyphenated name wasn’t a surprise to Dutch. Allison had never used Boyd around him, but some days she wore a wedding ring and some days she didn’t, like someone with unresolved feelings going through a separation.

“But I must warn you,” Agent Rogers said. “Give serious consideration to how you’ve interacted with the asset so far and what’s elicited a positive response. Don’t deviate from that. Above all, don’t let details that you’re not supposed to know slip.”

Dutch stood and shook Agent Rogers’s hand. “Duly noted.”

Chapter Seven

“Thank you for squeezing me in. I need this emergency session,” Isabel said, grateful for John’s help and happy that she kept extra workout gear in her trunk.

“No problem. We’re here to help.” John clasped her shoulder. Tall and built, he carried himself with the same confident awareness as Dutch. “What’s up?”

“The guy I told you about popped up today out of the blue.”