The Midnight Hour - Brenda Jackson [42]
Alex nodded. "Finding a former agent who doesn't want to be found isn't easy although not impossible." He studied Drake for a moment then asked, "Why do you want to find Victoria Green?"
"It's a personal matter."
Alex's lips tightened and a few moments later he said, "You know usually I'd turn down a job like this. I respect any agent's desire to build another life for themselves and put the past behind them." He stared at Drake and Drake stared back, determination and sheer stubbornness firming his jaw. Alex sighed. "But in this case, I'll make an exception and get on it right away."
Drake let out a breath he hadn't realized he had been holding. "Thanks. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."
Alex's lips eased into a smile. "I believe that." He then took another sip of his lemonade and glanced around the bustling party. He went still as something-or someone-caught his attention. Out of curiosity, Drake followed his line of vision.
Christy Madaris.
The young woman was standing next to Corinthians near the grill and holding one of Kyle and Kimara Garwood's kids on her hip. She appeared to be in a happy mood and was laughing at whatever it was Corinthians was telling her, and seemed not to have noticed the attention she was getting from one particular person.
"That's the Madaris brothers' youngest sister, isn't it?" Drake asked when Alex just sat there, staring, not saying a single word.
"Yes, that's her."
"She's kind of pretty, don't you think?"
Just like he'd known he would, Alex tore his gaze away from Christy Madaris and looked at Drake. He gave him a tight smile before saying, "Yes, I think she's kind of pretty."
The harshness in Alex's tone of voice almost made Drake chuckle. Alex was acting like a male animal marking his territory and Drake wondered if he knew he was also courting danger. Anyone who knew Justin, Dex, and Clayton Madaris also knew that when it came to their baby sister, they had a tendency to be a little overprotective.
"So you think you'll have the information I want in a week?" Drake asked when he saw Alex's gaze had wandered back to Christy Madaris again. She had returned the little girl to the Garwoods and was standing off to the side talking to her three brothers.
"Although I assume Victoria Green will have covered her tracks well, I'm hoping it will take less time than that for me to find her. I have a knack for finding people, especially those who don't want to be found," was Alex's reply, without refocusing his gaze on Drake.
"Interesting," Drake murmured, as a small smile pulled at his mouth. And he wasn't talking about Alex's efficiency.
Christy Madaris shook her head as she met the glares of her brothers, Justin, Dex, and Clayton. "Hey, you guys, let up. I'll be turning twenty-two in a few months, not to mention that I'll be graduating from college in six weeks. Don't you think it's time to get over the overprotective kick the three of you have been on for the past twenty years?"
Justin leaned back against a huge oak tree. "All we want to know is who's the guy you're going out with tonight?"
"How old is he?" Clayton threw in.
'And who's his people?" Dex Madaris added.
Christy raised a brow at the third question. "Who's his People?"
Dex shrugged. "Yes. Who's his family?"
Christy gently pushed the reddish brown curls back from her forehead. "No one you would know. David and his family moved here recently."
"Then we'd like to meet him," Justin said, smiling.
"And I'd like to meet them," Dex added, not smiling.
Christy frowned. "What the three of you mean is that you'd like the opportunity to scare David off but it won't work. I've already told him about the three of you and how you operate. He doesn't mind meeting you and in fact he's looking forward to it and found it rather amusing that you behave this way."
Dex crossed his arms over his chest and narrowed his gaze. "Since he finds it so funny maybe we ought to really give him something to laugh at."
Christy raised her eyes upward, totally exasperated. "You know there's going to come a