The Shadow Hunter Read Online Free

okay, despite her ensemble. Her reflection stared back at her with cool hazel eyes that revealed little of what she felt inside. Lately, it was just as well that no one knew what she was feeling.
    She entered the reception area, passing through a metal detector, then handed a carry-on bag to the security officer at the front desk. “Came straight from the airport. Keep this nice and safe for me, okay?”
    The guy frowned at her. “I didn’t know you were still working for Travis.”
    “I’ve been away for a while. Now I’m back in the saddle.”
    His frown didn’t waver. “Well, ain’t that great news.”
    She wasn’t surprised at his hostility or at the cool stares that greeted her as she hurried through the maze of corridors. Only a few people at TPS knew exactly what role she had played in the Devin Corbal disaster, but throughout the firm it was common knowledge that she had been involved somehow, and that her involvement had cost Corbal his life.
    She walked past conference rooms, workspaces partitioned into cubicles, and private or semiprivate offices. Roughly half the offices, she noted guiltily, were empty now. TPS was thinning out its staff, making massive cutbacks to stop the hemorrhage of money. Only the most essential employees had been retained, performing the services that were the backbone of the company—threat assessment, personal protection, and investigation. Before long, maybe they would be gone as well, and this office suite would be occupied by insurance salespeople or stockbrokers. She didn’t want to think about that.
    She reached Travis’s corner office and nodded at his assistant, Rose, receiving a squinty glare in return. “You’re late,” Rose said, her tone implying that this was the least of Abby’s sins.
    “Just buzz me in.”
    “Hold on.” Rose took her time activating the intercom. “Mr. Travis? Miss Sinclair is here.”
    Over the cheap speaker, Abby heard Travis’s tinny voice grant her admittance.
    “Yes, sir.” Rose looked at her. “You can go in.”
    “Thanks a lot.”
    Abby crossed the anteroom to Travis’s door. She was turning the knob when Rose said, “This client’s important to us. You might try keeping her alive.”
    Various rejoinders ran through Abby’s mind. She swallowed them all. Sometimes the best thing to say was nothing at all.
    She entered Travis’s office and found him in conference with a blond woman instantly recognizable as Kris Barwood and a somewhat older, heavyset man who had to be her husband.
    “Better late than never,” Travis said as he rose from behind his desk.
    Et tu
, Paul? she thought, but all she said was “My plane was delayed.” Her gaze widened to include everyone in the room. “Sorry to keep you all waiting.”
    Introductions were made. Howard Barwood had a firm handshake of long duration. Kris, no surprise, looked exactly the same in person as she did on TV. Having met a number of celebrities over the past two years, Abby had learned that the beautiful ones really were beautiful. The notion that the camera performed some alchemical transformation of ordinary folks into superstars was a sop to the envious multitudes.
    “You just flew in from out of town?” Howard asked.
    “Yes—which explains my less than professional attire. I only brought casual clothes with me on the trip.”
    “I hope we didn’t interrupt your vacation.”
    “No, I was working another case, actually. Got done last night.”
    “I thought TPS only handled LA clients.”
    “This wasn’t a TPS case. I haven’t worked with TPS”—
since Devin Corbal
, she nearly said, but caught herself—“in a few months. I’m an independent consultant. I work with a variety of firms all across the country. Paul left a message on my answering machine yesterday. I got back to him first thing this morning, and he told me a little about the situation you find yourselves in.”
    “Situation.” Kris Barwood leaned forward in her chair, balancing her hands