Page 16 of The Big Fix

I didn’t have time to go over his terrifying résumé. “I promise you, he could kill all of us in seconds if he wanted.”

Arden snorted. “I could break that guy in half.”

“Let’s go,” I said tiredly, and when we reached him, I got a smile from truly one of the most beautiful men I’d ever seen in my life. Up close, I heard Arden catch her breath.

“Okay, then,” Jing murmured beside me.

It was strange. I should have been angry with both of them, and myself, for noticing the stunning good looks of the man as we stood under the shadow of Owen’s possible death. But maybe because of that, the brief reprieve of being mesmerized for a few moments by the gorgeous man with porcelain skin, jet-black hair, dark eyes, and perfectly sculpted features, was allowed. The fact that he could pull off an all-white suit and not look pretentious was impressive.

“Lee,” I greeted him.

He glanced at the two stunning women on either side of me, smiled, then turned back to me. I was surprised when his lazy smile fell away, and instead of the normal indolent, taunting visage, I got something between concern and seriousness.

“Colonel,” he said, then turned to his companions.

“Namaste,” the officer greeted me, offering his hand. His shiny black hair was slicked back, and his skin was the olive brown prevalent among the mixtures of Indian and Chinese in the region. “Welcome to Kathmandu.”

“Thank you,” I replied.

“My name is Yadav, and it is my pleasure to assist you. The hangar space is yours for a week. Mr. Lee has informed me of what is needed and has tasked me with making sure the proper permits and paperwork are submitted to immigration for the duration of your stay here.”

“I have all the documents you’ll need,” Arden chimed in, smiling at the man. “Is there someplace we can go over them?”

“Yes,” Yadav said, gesturing deeper into the hangar, where I saw an office. “Please.”

As they left, I looked to the woman in the suit, and she held out her hand to me. “Dr. Annika Lens.”

I took her hand in both of mine. “Jared Colter. Thank you for accepting my invitation on such short notice, Doctor.”

“It felt more like a summons from Mr. Hawthorne,” she said with a gentle smile. I noted the honey-blonde hair in a messy bun that I suspected had been pristine when she’d left home, wherever that was. “But as he’s both generous and protective of my time, I know this is an emergency. I’m a bit jet-lagged from the overnight flight from Brussels, but otherwise none the worse for wear. You can count on my best.”

“Good.”

Dr. Lens wore no makeup, her nails were short and uncolored, and the only jewelry she wore was a plain gold wedding band and gold studs. The no-nonsense demeanor was grounding, and I immediately warmed to her. I would have my answers. She was, I was certain, one of the best forensic investigators in the business; otherwise Darius wouldn’t have sent her.

“Come,” she said with a tip of her head. “I’ve created a makeshift lab in the back of the hangar. Mr. Lee provided me a DNA sample of Mr. Moss.”

I glanced at Lee, who shrugged.

“How?”

“It’s us,” he said, like I should know better. “Darius said Owen’s DNA was needed, so we got it here. You think you’re the only one who can get things done?”

I did. Often. And that wasn’t fair. There were a lot of people out there just as capable and competent as I was. My hubris got in the way sometimes, as well as my ego. I got into the habit of thinking that if I wanted something done right, I had to do it myself. But that wasn’t the case, and my friends, all of them, though with many different skill sets, were more than ready, willing, and able to help me.

What I appreciated even more, in that moment, was that Dr. Lens didn’t say “the subject in question” or some such, as a doctor who didn’t know me or Owen might have. She’d said Mr. Moss, and that must’ve been Lee’s doing.

“Are you done staring at me?” Lee asked. “Shall we accompany Dr. Lens?”

“Yes, I—” I couldn’t stop looking at him. I’d never known him to be thoughtful.

“He’s not some nameless person,” Lee began slowly. “If this is Owen, I’m here to assist you with whatever’s next. If it’s not, and this is some sort of ruse, then this man, whoever he is, needs to go home as well, does he not?”

I nodded.

He turned from regarding me and gave his attention to the doctor. I did as well.

“It was a good reminder when Mr. Lee corrected me earlier,” she explained. “I don’t interact with the living much, and I tend to forget at times that these are people, loved ones, and not merely bodies to be inspected.”