Read COLLATERAL CASUALTIES (The Kate Huntington mystery series) for Free Online Page A

names and other identifying information.
                After the first few minutes, Rob put his sandwich down. He was used to hearing some pretty wild stories from his clients, but this was mind-boggling. Kate had worked with a spy ? And now somebody was trying to kill the guy.
                Holy crap!
                “I feel bad,” Kate said. “He wanted Skip’s help and I said no.”
                “You did the right thing. There’s no way you all should get involved in this.”
                “I know, but I still feel bad. What if something happens to him or his family?”
                Rob was a little afraid to ask the question hovering in the back of his mind. Kate tended to be protective of her clients. He chose his words carefully so he wouldn’t sound like he was putting the man down. “How sure are you that this guy isn’t having some kind of mental breakdown?”
                “Trust me, that thought has crossed my mind a dozen times since Monday. But I’m about ninety percent sure he’s as sane as you or me, and what he told me is all too true.”
                “I feel for the guy, but I still say leave it alone. And stay as far away from him as you can get.”
                Rob picked up a sandwich from the platter and put it on Kate’s empty plate. She ignored it. Not a good sign. She normally had a voracious appetite.
                “That didn’t help you feel better, huh?” he said.
                “Yes and no. You’ve validated my own reaction, but there’s more. I got him some names of other private investigators from Skip–”
                “Then you’ve definitely done all that you should.”
                Kate shook her head. “He needed a detective to help him verify this ambassador’s identity. Then he’s going to report the guy to the CIA. The man will be shipped home to be executed as a traitor. So no matter how this mess turns out, somebody’s going to die.”
                Before Rob could point out that this wasn’t her fault, she jumped up and paced around the room. “Then I come back around to thinking he’s crazy. But I know he’s not. I worked with him for three years, walked with him down into the bowels of emotional hell, and he never cracked, not even a little bit.”
                She stopped and turned toward Rob. Her eyes were shiny with unshed tears. “All he ever wanted was to have a loving family. Be the guy with the white picket fence and the mini-van full of kids.”
                Rob grabbed for her hand before she could start pacing again. He pulled her down onto the chair next to him. “And he’s had that. Years of happiness he wouldn’t have had without your help. But now his past has caught up with him, and there’s nothing you can do about that. Nothing you should do about that. It’s sad. It’s horrible. But it’s not your problem. You’re a therapist, not a spy! And as for the ambassador, he made his bed as well. He’s had three decades of the good life but now his past has come back to bite him.”
                “Okay, that helps.” She wrapped both her hands around his big paw and hung on tight. “Dear God in Heaven, please keep him safe. Keep his family safe.”
                Rob knew she didn’t mean the ambassador. He stood and pulled her up to give her a hug. “Try to let it go, sweetheart.”
    ~~~~~~~
                Kate found it somewhat easier to put aside her worries about Miller on Thursday. Her talk with Rob had helped. After a day of focusing on her clients’ various issues, she was packing up her briefcase and looking forward to dinner and a relaxing evening with Skip and the kids.
                When the phone on her desk rang, she toyed with the temptation to let it go to voicemail. Finally the responsible part of her