Winds of Deception (Enigma Series Book 2)

by Tierney James

  Opening a drawer, he moved aside some dish towels until he found the one he’d been saving; the one with his blood on it along with a paper towel he’d wrapped inside the folds. He’d cut himself shaving a few days earlier and used it to blot the mess. He threw it in the island sink as he placed the crumpled paper towel beneath the espresso box. The message written days earlier would reveal being a victim of a conspiracy.

  The London Fog raincoat dripped a puddle beneath the barstool as planned. He stepped in the water with his dirty tennis shoes as he threw the jacket over his shoulder. Dragging his feet toward the garage door, then his coat, he created the appearance of a muddy trail on the marble floor.

  Thunderous rain bands blew in the open garage as he slipped into Amon’s nondescript compact. As the car moved in reverse onto the flooded street, the speaker hoped by morning he would be President of the United States. Timing was everything.

  Chapter 14

  Vice President Warren McCall leaned back in his chair as his wife threw an Indian blanket across his lap. She felt his head again for fever. It was cool to the touch. Better, she thought. Taking the Dr. Pepper from the Secret Service agent as he quickly entered to look for himself at the VP, Dr. McCall added a straw before handing it to her husband.

  “He’ll live, Terry. Don’t fret. I knew he shouldn’t have eaten that sushi last night with the Inuit folks who invited him in. But does he listen?” She turned her eyes back to her husband who spent most of the night hanging onto the toilet for dear life. “Lesson learned. Right, Honey?”

  The VP frowned as he took a sip of his Dr. Pepper. “Yeah. Yeah. Here I am stuck inside listening to you instead of out there with my Inuit buddies fishing my heart out. They’re going to think I’m a wuss.”

  “You are a wuss, Dear. Now relax and catch up on your reading. Here’s the e-reader I bought you for your birthday. The Old Man and the Sea is already downloaded,” she giggled trying to tuck the blanket around him. “Read this and be glad you can’t get into that kind of trouble.”

  He offered a grumpy “Humph” as his doctor wife left him with the Secret Service agent. “How are things in Washington, Terry? Anything going on I should know about?”

  Terry smirked. “Looks like the hurricane will hit pretty close to D.C. The president is speaking to a teacher conference or consortium thing tonight. Prime Minister Levi showed up and is tagging along.”

  The VP frowned as his brow wrinkled in bewilderment. “Levi? I wasn’t informed of any visit?”

  “Last minute I think.”

  Vice President McCall yawned, laying the e-reader on the lamp stand then picked up a western he’d brought along for his fishing trip. “The Israelis don’t do last minute. I’d bet my next fishing trip the president has known about this for some time. He should trust me more.”

  “Yes, sir.” The agents knew it was easier to agree. “Can I get you anything, Sir?”

  “No thanks, Terry. You’re a good man. Oh, turn on the Weather Channel, will ya? I’m hoping everyone in D.C. is as miserable as me.”

  The agent nodded and did as the vice president requested before leaving the room.

  ~~~

  Realizing Carter walked at her side with a bit more purpose than most of the conference goers, Tessa cocked her head to steal a glimpse of the ex-astronaut. His blond hair, cut close, appeared to be hinting at a touch of gray around his ears. The blue-gray eyes searched their surroundings with a hawk-like determination in hopes of locating her uncle who meant the president harm.

  Carter was handsome, maybe too much so. Women found him irresistibly charming. Tessa wasn’t proud of the fact that she did as well. The difference between her and the hordes of women who fell for every compliment, lie and exaggeration he fed them was that she found them ridiculous. NASA hadn’t liked their heroes to draw that kind of publicity. Managing to make life unbearable by restricting his social activities, Carter left to work for President Buck Austin. Years forced his once celebrity status into oblivion. The public possessed short memories when it came to their astronauts. Without a spacesuit you could count on being invisible. Tonight being invisible worked in their favor.

  “Are you staring at me because you’ve decided I’m way better looking than Hunter, or is there something else you want to tell me?” Carter turned his eyes on Tessa momentarily before slipping his arm through hers, then looking away.

  Unsuccessful at trying to pull free of Carter, she realized his grip only tightened. Forcing herself to relax, she teased him with a smile and patted his arm. “What’s our story, Theodore Carter Johnson? Are we former friends or lovers?”

  Surprised at the coyness, Carter stopped as they entered the ballroom where several hundred tables were draped in white table clothes. He lowered his mouth to her ear and felt a wayward curl touch his lips. “Let’s go for lovers. Your friends will probably remember me.” He grinned, pulling down her hand into his. “I mean who wouldn’t? Maybe you’ll find that an interesting option someday.” She shot him a disgusted look. “Then again, I’m afraid a mutual friend of ours might just send me straight to hell if I tried anything.”

  “My uncle catches you being inappropriate he’s likely to choose a target besides the president. He’s the one you should worry about. He’s not a big fan of the government.”

  “Whatever did you do with that sweet and innocent Grass Valley housewife I met last year?”

  “She fell in with a bunch of conspirators who play mind games with innocent people.”

  Tessa spied her friends several tables from the front. They stood watching their approach with drinks in hand. Shelly, clearly the stronger of the two, eyed them mischievously as if she’d discovered a great secret about her perfect friend. By the time they reached the table, the tarnish to her good girl reputation fell into shambles, without the slightest possibility of an acceptable explanation.

  “Ladies, we meet again. I had no idea you were friends with my old flame.” He smiled with unabashed elation at seeing them. Without hesitation Carter kissed each of Tessa’s friends on the cheek before looking back at her with something like adoration. “Sorry. I stole Tessa away when I saw her wandering around looking for you. We had a little catching up to do.” The smile suggested a little more than catching up.

  “I’ll bet.” Shelly spoke as her lips took a sip of a dirty martini. “How is it you’re here?”

  “Helping out at the Air and Space Museum.” He pointed at Kate. “I thought I saw you there today.” He worked a kind of quarterback charm on the women. “Care if we join you?”

  “Sure. I want to hear all about your old flame.” Shelly shifted her eyes to Tessa as if expecting a great revelation.

  Tessa grinned, revealing clenched teeth. Narrowing her eyes at Carter, she addressed her friends. “So everyone have a good day? I never got around to asking.” She knew her voice sounded trite.

  Too many emotions surged through her veins; Chase’s passionate rescue the evening before, being cornered by him in a dark room and now on the arm of the former astronaut. Throw in an uncle bent on killing the president, a hurricane that threatened a blackout and a couple of friends who suspected her of having an affair; it was astonishing that she hadn’t collapsed into a blithering idiot. Yet she stood cool as a cucumber, participating in Enigma lies, to protect the president.

  Carter slipped an arm around her bare shoulders. “Chilly, Baby Cakes?” He smiled sensing a move to be free from his touch.

  Shelly eyed her before taking a sip of her drink. “Baby Cakes?”

  “It’s a long story, Shelly,” Carter laughed. “But…”

  “Never mind,” Tessa snapped. “He calls everyone that, even the dog.”

  “You know I got rid of the dog when you left.” Again the grin and examining eyes. “You really are a looker in that dress.”

  Shelly and Kate looked incredulously at their friend over the rim of their glasses.

  Tessa felt her embarrassment buckle beneath the anger that threatened to
tell the truth. But the approach of two men dressed in uniform choked the words back. She knew them. They’d met a year earlier when she’d been snared into Enigma. Their eyes slid down her body before turning to Carter.

  “Hey, buddy!” Carter stuck out his hand to shake the Marine’s. “I see you’re back on your feet.” A year earlier Tessa had managed to topple the man with no more than a broomstick, giving him a concussion in the process. “Tessa, do you remember First Sergeant Cooper? The last time you met…”

  Tessa tried a dazzling smile, but the sergeant didn’t reciprocate. “Yes, of course.” She realized her mistake when he took her outstretched hand in a vice grip response. He looked younger than she remembered. With a nod he released her hand matter-of-fact.

  The second man participated in a mission led by Chase at a lab in Knoxville, Tennessee. Forced to tag along brought her into contact with the worst sort of people. His ‘awe shucks’ grin and twinkling brown eyes was a sharp contrast to his partner. “Tessa. I didn’t know you would be here.” He took her hand and pulled her close enough to kiss her lightly on the cheek like a familiar friend. “How’ve you been?”

  “Great until I got here,” she sniffed as her eyes cut to Carter. “How’s the leg?”

  He slapped his right leg lightly and laughed. “On a night like this it gives me a little pause.”

  Crazy as it sounded, Tessa saved him from a Libyan terrorist by pepper spraying the killer. Even so, the soldier still took a bullet in the leg. He glanced at Shelly and did a double take. “Hi. I’m Ken Montgomery.”

  Shelly sat her drink down and extended her hand. “Ken, I want to be your Barbie.”

  Ken laughed. “Barbie it is. Who’s your friend?”

  Kate stepped forward shyly, trying not to make eye contact with Ken’s buddy, the Marine. “Kate. So how is it you guys know Tessa?”

  Marine First Sergeant Tom Cooper offered his hand to Kate in a friendly shake. “Let us join you for dinner and we’ll tell you all about it.” Tessa caught the beginning of a cover-up.

  It wasn’t hard to figure out that Carter arranged baby sitters for her two friends. At least if all hell broke loose they’d be safe. Nothing could protect those men from Shelly and Kate, she thought with amusement. Telling her friends half-baked lies and shimmers of the truth might ruin her already damaged reputation once and for all. Someone needed to catch her up to speed when the evening was over so she didn’t trip over some fabricated storyline. Revealing the danger the country faced, with any luck, would stay a secret to the general public.

  People took their seats when waiters began placing salads on the table. Friendly noise filled the ballroom over the tinkling of water glasses and silverware. Tessa tried to focus on the nonsense chatter of her friends flirting with the soldiers seated next to them, but like Carter, her eyes took on that danger scan, hoping to locate her uncle before he did anything stupid.

  Oblivious to the guests as they started their salads, Tessa noted men at other tables who failed to take the appearance of an academic. Their toned bodies didn’t look like teachers who’d feasted on one too many cupcakes in the teacher’s lounge. She spotted Zoric across the room, looking sullen and intense, sitting with a group of older teachers who ignored him. She’d never seen him in a suit. It softened him, she realized, and wanted a chance to tell him how handsome he looked if their evening ended on a positive note.

  Two tables away sat Dr. Ervin, listening attentively to those around him, but failing to be drawn into the conversation. His eyes, too, scanned the room except for the moment he looked at her and nodded. She realized in that instant the professor was more dangerous than he appeared. Even from her position she could see a shoulder harness bump under his suit coat.

  The thought of Chase surfaced. Could he be with the president? Then it occurred to her she should be trying to locate her uncle instead of obsessing over a man who clearly gave little regard to her sense of values.

  The night before flooded back into her head as she laid down her fork and took a sip of ice tea. Remembering the pounding rain, the feel of the concrete table beneath her body, clouded her vision of the hundreds of people around her. His dark eyes excavating into her psyche brought back the realization that she’d crossed a line of no return.

  Touching her forced a violent reaction at first, but as Chase protected her from harm, the resistance crumbled with what could have been a passionate moment. With a gun exploding in her ear and blood mingling with the puddles on the ground, Tessa knew Chase was not a man to offer romantic dinners or tantalizing words of love. Sickened at her foolish school-girl crush, she tried to refocus without much success.

  In the last year each day she said a prayer for him or wondered about his safety. Sometimes he’d haunted her dreams with passion and other times with lethal force. She’d never known a real American hero until the day he saved her from Libyan terrorists. They’d started out as untrusting partners then forged into an awkward partnership. Wondering if their paths would ever cross again, she realized now he would force his will on her for as long as Enigma found her useful.

  The disquieting sensation of seeing him again the night before and now here at the conference forced her to acknowledge the danger facing her was not just her uncle making an assassination attempt on the president. Chase murdered the self-respect she held so dear, knowing she may have fallen in love with him.

  Tessa would make sure the infatuation boiling inside her never surfaced. She’d given her heart to another man, her husband. Only Robert would remain true to her. Men like the captain preyed on hero worship. He could never love just one woman.

  She sighed with resignation.

  “What? Did you see something?” Carter leaned in to her ear.

  Tessa turned away and glanced around the room. “No. Just nervous,” she whispered. “And scared. Very scared.”

  Carter reached for her hand she let fall in her lap. She lifted her eyes to his and felt surprise at seeing the humor gone from his face. “I’m sorry you got dragged into this again. But you need to concentrate. You just might be able to save you uncle. I saw an old picture of him, but I’m sure he’s altered his appearance. Are you with me?” Tessa squeezed his hand. “Okay?”

  Tessa nodded. “I’m good.”

  The meal progressed but neither she nor Carter ate much. Her friends laughed and flirted with the companions placed to distract from the seriousness facing the president. With their attention effectively diverted away from the mayhem lurking in the shadows, Tessa found freedom to scan the crowd. Waiters began pouring coffee and serving dessert when Carter appeared to lift his chin ever so slightly. He resisted touching his earwig.

  “Ladies.” Carter spoke as he pushed his chair back. He took Tessa’s elbow and pulled her up. “Tessa and I are going to get some air before the president speaks.”

  Shelly waved a dismissive hand without a glance their way. Kate, hanging on every word of her Marine, didn’t appear to have heard the announcement.

  “What is it, Carter?” Tessa stayed close when they headed toward a side door leading to the service entrance for waiters. Carter took one last glance at the ballroom, looking up towards the closed off balcony with mild concern.

  “The president wants to speak to you.”

  Tessa put on the brakes and spun around in front of her escort. “Excuse me?”

  Carter broke concentration as he appeared to drink in the close proximity of the temporary Enigma agent. His mischievous grin turned up at one corner of his mouth as he let his eyes drift around her face then her hair before letting them fall to bare skin above the bodice of her dress.

  Landing a soft fist on his chest, Tessa snarled. “Stop it. I hate it when you do that, by the way.” She could feel the color rising in her cheeks. “Why?”

  “I already told you, Tessa.” He moved her forward by spinning her around and taking her hand. “The president wants to talk to you.”

  “About what?”

  “The weather? Tha
t dress you’re wearing?” He felt her try to squirm out of the hard grasp of his hand. “Your uncle is my guess. Ready?”

  They exited the service area into a long hall that appeared to lead outside to the alley. Four Secret Service agents held the double doors open. Even though the rain and wind was deafening it couldn’t cover the sudden smell of garbage wafting into the corridor. Tessa remembered that Ronald Reagan had often commented on knowing he’d arrived at a speaking engagement by the smell of the garbage at some obscure rear entrance.

  Several other agents carrying umbrellas towered over another man with his head down. He seemed to burst into the hall, shaking his black coat then straightened to his full six foot frame. His eyes took everything in as if he expected something to occur without warning. It appeared almost ironic to see such big men remove the president’s coat with gentle care and respect. Although she couldn’t hear him speak, Tessa watched President Austin mouth “thank you” as he stepped forward. His eyes lifted, and then zeroed in on her and Carter.

  In that suspended moment in time, Tessa realized when their eyes collided; the president was no different than the Enigma agents she’d thrown her fate to. The steel resolve in his walk, the threat in the eyes of undetermined color, reinforced the understanding that here was a man used to getting his own way. There wasn’t a lot of gray area with this president.

  Unconsciously Tessa eyed his body looking for a pistol bump. She found none. Stories circulated from time to time that the Secret Service removed weapons from his living quarters and his office on more than one occasion. He once admitted in an interview he was just making sure he was ready in case the protection detail needed help.

  Rumors of sweeps when the Russian or Chinese Ambassadors planned a visit were common knowledge. Although he respected the Israelis, the Secret Service knew better than to allow him any wiggle room. His nickname among the agents varied from The Lone Ranger to Roy Rodgers, depending on the president’s mood.