Hello My Angel - Sue Brown Page 0,1

as the office for the chauffeurs. Halfway down the path, Josh looked over his shoulder to see the others hadn’t moved. Max talked animatedly to Cal and Gil, the borrowed coat almost flying off his shoulders. Josh frowned, wondering if he should rejoin them, but then Cal put his hand on Max’s shoulder and gave him a small shove in their direction. Josh gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to stomp back and rip Cal’s hand away from Max.

“Easy, tiger,” Lillian murmured, urging Josh toward the door of the gate house. “He’s all yours.”

“As long as he remembers that,” Josh growled.

“You can remind him of his responsibilities later, but first we need to dry off before we all get colds.” She grimaced as Max sneezed again. “It might be too late for the kid.”

“Kid?”

“He’s very young,” she whispered.

“Yeah,” Josh agreed with a sigh.

He yelped as she smacked the back of his head.

“What was that for?” He glared at Lillian who scowled back.

“Why are you beating up my boyfriend?” Cal asked as he joined them by the door.

“Your boy was being an idiot,” she said tartly.

“Wasn’t,” Josh muttered.

Lillian sniffed and opened the door.

“I still love you,” Cal whispered in Josh’s ear.

Josh shivered and it was only partly from the cold. He felt a whisper of a kiss against his temple, then a small shove to get him inside the house.

The office area was wonderfully warm and dry, and they all headed toward the hearth, jostling with each other for the heat from the blazing fire. Lillian came in with a laden tray, handing Josh the largest mug.

He accepted it for the apology it was, thanking her graciously before taking a long slug. The warmth and caffeine burned a welcome path through his body and he drained the mug before turning to Cal. “I’m gonna call Rick and Dave. They can look into Ileana Ramirez.”

Rick and Dave, muscle, drivers, and now two of Josh’s closest friends, were back at the agency as the funeral had been family only.

“Tell them to talk to Stephen,” Cal said. “He was Jesse’s assistant. Gil, call Dominic. We’re going to need to talk to Jesse.”

Gil gave him a grim nod. Josh knew what he was thinking, what they were all thinking. What the hell was this news going to do to Jesse when he found out this was tied up with him?

Cal turned to Max who seemed to be dozing as he stood by the fire. “Max.”

Max jumped and opened his eyes. “Yeah? I’m awake.”

He yawned and rubbed his eyes. Lillian handed him a mug and he smiled as he thanked her. God, the kid was young.

“Okay, I’m ready,” Max said to Cal.

“How did you find out who she really was?”

Josh accepted more coffee from Lillian and took another long slug. He had a feeling he was going to need to sink a lot of caffeine before he faced the answer to this question. Caffeine and nicotine. Josh pulled out his damp carton of cigarettes only to shove it back in his pockets at Lillian’s disapproving frown. Dammit.

Max licked his lips and his eyelids flickered. He was clearly nervous. Josh’s spidey-senses tingled. What illicit activities had he been up to? The young man was in forensic tech. Chasing the trails left by the bad guys was his job. But from Max’s reaction, Josh had a feeling this was something not authorized by the agency.

“Max?” Cal prompted.

“Look,” Max started, already sounding defensive. “I wasn’t involved with the case. I wasn’t even on the team.”

Cal nodded. “So…?”

“But I came across Chyna’s application to join the agency.”

Max’s cheeks flamed at Josh’s derisive snort. Cal fixed Josh with a stare and Josh shrugged. Whatever. Max’s illegal activities weren’t his concern.

“Go on.”

“I recognized the address she gave as her home. The address she gave the agency when she applied three years ago is a kebab shop.” He flushed again. “It’s near where I live. I go in there on my way home from work. It piqued my interest and I did some digging. All the other addresses are fake too.”

Max pulled out his phone and although his hands shook, whether from nerves or cold, he tapped away at the screen. “I tracked Chyna’s movements since she arrived in London and before she applied.”

He handed Cal the phone.

Josh leaned in to look and saw a string of London-based addresses. “Third one down is a Tesco near Paddington. It’s near where Rick lives.”

“These addresses are all fake too,” Gil said. “Real places, but she