"Where is she?" He turned on the Dragon. "Where is Alayna?"

The Dragon gestured across the room. "I wanted to be able to admire her beauty, so I arranged a special place for her."

The bottom dropped out of Slade's stomach as he rushed to the containment vessel that encapsulated Alayna. She stared back at him with unseeing eyes. Her slim body was naked and the bright blue-green dragon tattoo that marked her stood out against her pale skin.

Renewed rage detonated inside him.

He turned to face the monster who had done this. Whatever had cut her face, he wished it had torn her whole head off.

"You killed her, just like the others."

She shook her head. "You killed her. Now it's your turn. Only, you'll be incinerated like the others. Not a single trace will be left."

She slapped at him, but he dodged her hand. The ring she always wore was turned downward so that the ma.s.sive faux stone served as a weapon. A lethal weapon. The Dragon always wore that poison ring. It was her trademark maneuver when taking out an enemy up close.

Slade grabbed her wrist, kept her hand and the ring away from his throat. The carotid artery was her preferred target. This time there was no one here to back up the Dragon and he was physically far stronger than her. It was psychological power she had always held over him. She struggled ferociously.

No more. It was over.

"You wouldn't dare kill me!" the Dragon roared. "I created you!"

From the corner of his eye, Alayna snagged his attention. She stared unseeing at him through the gla.s.s. Sweet Alayna. She had done nothing to deserve this awful end.

Slade ruthlessly twisted the Dragon's hand around and slammed her palm into her own throat. Her eyes rounded in surprise.

He pressed harder, forcing the toxin into her body. Then he released her.

She staggered back, her arms falling to her sides.

He watched without blinking. He wanted to relish every moment of this.

Then he wanted her to burn as she had planned for him.

The Dragon's eyes closed for the last time.

Slade checked her pulse and then loaded her body into the incinerator. He hit the switch as he turned away. The sound of the flames igniting was music to his ears.

Right now he had to find Maggie. And Lucas.

Kennemore was the Dragon's closest confidant and ally. Slade didn't trust him one little bit with Maggie and Lucas.

Slade said one last goodbye to Alayna, then he raced up to the ground level without encountering another living being. He snagged a weapon from one of the downed security men. Those who hadn't been terminated were likely already in the evac tunnel.

He paused at the front entrance of the place he had once called home and listened. No sound of exchanging gunfire, but he could hear voices.

Weapon readied for firing, Slade leaned far enough into the opening to visually a.s.sess the situation.

Maggie was hugging someone. Lucas was on the ground with Jim Colby and Victoria hovering over him.

Slade stepped out into the dusk and headed that way.

He knew the moment Maggie saw him. She stood up and rushed to him, throwing her arms around his neck. "I was so afraid for you."

He let her hug him for as long as she needed to. When she drew back, she had twenty questions. Was he okay? Was the danger over now? Had he slain the Dragon?

Jim Colby approached them. When Maggie looked up, he said, "We have a MedFlight copter en route to transport Lucas to a trauma center."

"Will he be all right?" Maggie pressed.

"I believe so," Jim a.s.sured her. "He's a tough guy."

"Thank G.o.d." Maggie sagged against Slade about the same instant Jim's attention swung to him.

"You're unharmed?"

Slade nodded. "She initiated the evac plan," he went on to explain. "The others...the files for the Code-all of it is escaping through the mountains, as we speak."

"The CIA and Interpol are already on it," Jim explained. "They have the group secured."

Slade felt a sense of relief like he had never before experienced.

It was over.

His attention settled on Lucas. Victoria hovered over him, caressing him and whispering to him. Slade couldn't help wondering what it felt like to love someone that much.

What it felt like to love someone at all.

Maggie smiled up at him. She deserved someone to love her the way Victoria loved Lucas.

Slade wished he could be that man. For Maggie and for the baby.

But he wasn't.

Chapter Nineteen.

Colby Agency, Chicago, October 28, 4:05 p.m.

Victoria was the last to settle at the conference-room table. The others waited silently, the tension thick enough to taste. She immediately reached for Lucas's hand. A week in the hospital had cleared the toxin from his system. He remained a little weak, but he was gaining strength every day. For that she was eternally grateful.

She surveyed the faces around her. Jim, Simon, Ian and Slade Keaton. This meeting had been called to clear the air once and for all. She also had a surprise announcement regarding the agreement she and Lucas had reached while he was hospitalized. But that would come later.

"I'm glad we've all finally found the time to meet." The past twelve days had been a whirlwind of activities and changes.

Slade met her gaze and she smiled. This had been the hardest on him. Days of intense interrogation by both the CIA and Interpol had cleared him of any possible charges based on the extenuating circ.u.mstances that surrounded his childhood. He had gone back to Mexico and ensured a proper burial for his sister. Then he had helped the CIA dismantle the Dragon's fortress of horrors. Jim had stepped forward and volunteered to a.s.sist him with both efforts. Victoria hoped a bond would form between the two men; after all, they were brothers in a way.

Ian was first on the meeting's agenda. "Keaton, we've deliberated at length and we've reached an agreement."

Slade looked from Ian to Victoria and back. He was one of the strongest men Victoria had met and still his trepidation was immense. Only because she had come to know him so well could she see that uncertainty. This told Victoria far more than anything else about the man. He cared. Few who had survived what he had, with no nurturing foundation whatsoever, could grow as much. Her son, Jim, had at least had the first seven years of his life to achieve that foundation before being ripped from his real home by a monster not unlike the Dragon.

"Before you say more," Slade spoke up, "I realize that most, if not all, of you have no reason to trust me."

Jim held up a hand. "Take it from me, Keaton. What you did is not the worst anyone at this table has done. If the majority of us weren't prepared to trust you, you wouldn't be here today."

Leave it to Jim to cut straight to the chase. Her son was very much like his father. Victoria was incredibly proud of him.

Slade scrubbed a hand over his chin. "I appreciate your vote of confidence. But I still owe all of you an apology." He laughed and directed the next comment to Jim. "Take it from me, that doesn't happen often."

There were a few chuckles and the tension eased a fraction.

"I have a long way to go," Slade confessed, "but I have every intention of ensuring that the rest of my life matters." He glanced at Lucas. "I finally found the path I want to take and an excellent role model to help me stay on the right track."

Pride welled in Victoria. Lucas and Slade had worked out the details of their relationship. The mutual respect had been apparent. The ground was still a little shaky, but the two had an excellent start.

"With that in mind," Ian continued, "the Colby Agency would like to offer you a position here. Jim and I would also like to extend that same offer to any of your team from the Equalizers, since you don't plan to reopen."

The surprise on Slade's face warmed Victoria's heart. From the moment she had learned that Slade was Lucas's son, she had hoped this moment would come.

Slade laughed. "It would be far more polite for me to say that this is a huge surprise." He shook his head. "But the fact is, I have watched you for nearly two years. Each time you banded together to help those who darken your door or even in support of each other, I was certain the act was just for show. The occasional good deed. No one was that giving and that caring all the time."

Expectant silence reigned in the room.

"But I was wrong. You are not only the best at what you do, you care." He shook his head again. "I'm not sure I measure up to those standards."

Victoria started to disagree but Slade held up a hand.

He looked from one face to the other, lastly settling his gaze on Lucas. "That said, if you're willing to give me this opportunity on a probationary basis, you have my word that I will do everything within my power to meet those standards."

Jim clapped him on the back. "The position is yours, Keaton."

A round of applause filled the room.

The door opened and Mildred Ballard, Victoria's longtime a.s.sistant, led the rest of the gang into the room. Nichole, Ian's wife, Jolie, Simon's wife, and Tasha, Jim's wife, followed, their arms loaded with champagne and gla.s.ses.

Corks popped. Stemmed champagne flutes were filled and pa.s.sed around the room.

Lucas held his flute high for all to see. "A toast." The crowd quieted instantly. He turned to Slade. "To the newest member of the family. Please welcome Slade Keaton, my son."

Emotion made Victoria's lips tremble as cheers resounded in the conference room. This was as it should be. She sipped her champagne, then caught up with her husband and kissed him on the cheek.

"I am so proud of you, Lucas." She wrapped her arm around his. "You are an amazing man."

Lucas lifted an eyebrow and eyed her skeptically. "If we're taking another vacation, let's go north this time."

Victoria laughed. "I'm not b.u.t.tering you up for a vacation." She searched his face, her thoughts turning serious. "You're still sure about what we discussed?"

He nodded. "One hundred percent."

Antic.i.p.ation sang through her veins. "Shall we?"

"Absolutely."

Victoria squeezed his arm before moving to the conference table to refill her flute. She tasted the sweet wine and then lifted it high to garner the room's attention once more.

When all was quiet, she began with a nervous glance at her husband. Victoria actually felt giddy. "I have two very important announcements." A rumble went around the room. Simon, Ian and Jim exchanged a look. They were aware of her first announcement, but they knew nothing of the second.

"For more than a quarter century the Colby Agency has operated solely from Chicago. Until four years ago we had used the same building for all that time." She searched the faces of the people who made up her extended family. The most honorable and compa.s.sionate men and women to be found anywhere. She loved them all. "Our clients come to us from far and wide. We serve their needs with the utmost discretion. We are the very best."

More applause and cheers reverberated in the room.

"But we want to do more. With that in mind, the Colby Agency is branching out. We're opening an office in the great state of Texas next spring." Victoria waited for the applause to settle once more. "Simon will be heading the office." She sent Simon a pointed look. "He has been informed that he may not recruit from this office." Laughter roared. "He may, however, borrow help for a time to get things off the ground. Simon is scouting locations now. We should have a new Colby address soon."

Victoria waited with her second announcement while cheers and congratulations were exchanged. This was Simon's moment. He deserved the well-wishes and congratulations.

Besides, it gave Victoria a moment to fortify herself with another gla.s.s of champagne. Watching these wonderful people inundated her with second thoughts. Were she and Lucas doing the right thing? It was the biggest decision they had made since deciding to get married.

Mildred, not only Victoria's longtime a.s.sistant but also her closest girlfriend, huddled with Victoria. She took Victoria's free hand and squeezed it. "Don't lose your nerve, Victoria," she urged. "You and Lucas deserve this."

Mildred was right. Victoria hugged her and nodded. "We do deserve this."

Mildred clinked her gla.s.s with Victoria's, then rejoined the crowd.

Lucas moved to Victoria's side. "Shall we?"

Victoria's lips slid into a smile. The timing was right. She lifted her gla.s.s once more and waited for the excitement to settle.

"I have one final announcement." She met Lucas's gaze. "Lucas and I have decided that it's time to retire."

The shocked silence that Victoria had expected fell over the room. She took a breath and forged on. "We're looking for a winter home in Texas, so we'll be frequent visitors at both offices. But we will no longer be involved with day-to-day operations." She surveyed the astonished faces. "We leave the work in trusted hands."

Jim raised his gla.s.s. "Hear! Hear!"

The cheers and congratulations erupted in the room. Tear-filled hugs were exchanged. Victoria personally a.s.sured each member of her staff that she and Lucas would always be around.

Eventually she made her way to her office for a moment alone.

Victoria trailed her fingers across her well-polished mahogany desk-the same desk James had used. It was one of the few pieces that had survived the explosion four years ago. She smiled at the memories of how they had searched for weeks to find just the right offices and then the perfect pieces of furniture. They had made love on this desk the night after it was delivered.

Her eyes burned with the recollection of the pain that had come next. Jim's abduction, then her husband's murder. A lone tear slid down her cheek.

Victoria took a deep breath and moved to the window. She looked out at the city she loved and serenity settled over her. Though this wasn't the exact window, the view was the same. This view had helped her find comfort during those days when she wasn't certain she could survive another day. When Jim was missing, she would watch the children go by, searching each face for her son's. After her husband's death she had used the view as her private theater for replaying the precious moments she and James had shared.

Victoria turned back to the desk and considered that she and Lucas had sat across from each other at this desk for all those years as she survived the agony of crushing loss. He was there for her every step of the way. And he waited patiently as her respect and friendship grew into a deep, meaningful love.