by Debra Webb
By the time he reached his car in the lot outside the restaurant Terrence Winslow was dead.
CAIN ALLOWED his lids to droop so that his guards would think their drug had worked. He slumped forward, careful to keep his respiration slow and even.
“He’s out,” one of the agents said.
Levitt had left the room. But three remained.
All he had to do was wait for the right moment.
“When is that doctor going to get here?” Agent Copeland, impatient or nervous, maybe both, paced in front of Cain. “I don’t like this.”
“The president ordered him confined. We’ve—”
Cain made his move. He bolted from the chair and knocked Copeland into the agent standing closest to him. The third man made a dive for him, but Cain was too fast. One well-placed blow with his foot and the man hit the floor, unconscious. Swiveling, Cain disabled the other two in the same manner. He quickly retrieved the letter opener from the desk and maneuvered it until he’d picked the lock on the cuffs, freeing his hands.
He used the cuffs to restrain two of the men, locking their hands together around the leg of the armoire. The third he bound with the silk tie he wore.
Confiscating two of the weapons and kicking the last one out of reach, he tucked the two guns into the waistband of his trousers, allowing his jacket to conceal them. He took one agent’s cellular phone and communicator so he would be aware of the other agents’ movements.
Now all he had to do was find Caroline and keep her safe until…
He didn’t know for how long. She was considered the enemy. Keeping her safe might very well equate to staying on the run indefinitely.
It was a chance he was willing to take.
“MADAM PRESIDENT.”
Caroline looked up to find Agent Levitt hurrying across her office. “Has Dr. Frasier arrived?” she asked. She’d put a call through to Justin’s personal physician. He would come as quickly as he could get away from his clinic, within the hour, he’d promised. Dennis would be arriving later. With late lunch-hour traffic, she hadn’t expected Dr. Frasier so quickly. She was glad he was here. She’d done all she could. Having to keep Justin confined…it weighed heavily upon her. She should have talked to him and made sure he understood what was happening.
But she’d been afraid her presence would only antagonize him further. His aggressive reaction had concerned her. She shook off the memories. Why hadn’t she realized that all the changes she’d seen in him were pointing to trouble?
“Ma’am, you need to come with me. Mr. Winters has escaped. You’re not safe as long as he’s on the loose. We’ve got every agent and all security personnel on the premises watching out for him.”
“Escaped?”
Why would he run? Had the confinement pushed him over some edge? She stood, squared her shoulders. “Where is Rupert?” He’d had meetings all day yesterday and all morning today, but he should have returned by now. She needed him in on this.
“He hasn’t returned from his visit to the Hill.” Levitt gestured to the door. “Please, ma’am, I need to move you to a less easily accessed area until we’ve contained the threat.”
The threat was her husband. Ire twisted inside her but she wasn’t foolish enough to ignore the suggestions of her chief of security if he felt compelled to have her move. Her secretary had gone to lunch. Aaron Miller and a number of others on her staff were out as well. Her lunch meeting wasn’t for another hour. She relented.
“This way, Madam President.” Levitt led the way from the office.
The corridor was oddly quiet, even for lunchtime. Usually there was someone running about, hustling reports or other correspondence between the White House and the Hill.
“Where is everyone?” she asked, frowning. In all the months since she’d taken residence Caroline had not known it to be this deserted.
“I’ve cleared the area, ma’am.”
Caroline stalled, stared at him in bewilderment. “Cleared the area? Why would you do that, Agent Levitt?”
“I’m sorry, ma’am, I’m not authorized to give you that information.”
She glared up at him. “Agent Levitt, I’m not going anywhere until you tell me what’s going on.”
“You…” He swallowed hard. “You don’t have clearance for—”
Fury blasted away all other emotion. “I’m the president of the United States,” she said tightly. “I have clearance for anything you could possibly know.”
Agent Levitt braced his right hand on his weapon. “I don’t want to do it this way, ma’am.”
As angry as she was at the moment she understood her choices were limited. “You will regret this, Agent Levitt.”
He escorted her in the direction of the Situation Room, a kind of war room that monitored the globe 24/7.
“Vice President Redmond is waiting here for you,” Levitt added as they neared the secure area.
Redmond? What did he have to do with any of this? Caroline’s fury ratcheted up a notch. She should have known.
“Where is Agent Copeland?” she demanded before Levitt opened the door to the Situation Room.
Levitt paused and turned back to her. “I’m afraid he’s been injured, ma’am. Mr. Winters took his weapon.”
A new kind of shock quaked through her. Surely Justin wasn’t involved in this.
“But Justin was restrained,” she countered, searching the agent’s face for some indication of whether or not she could believe what he’d just told her.
“I’m afraid he isn’t who you think he is,” Levitt informed her. “The man you brought back from the hospital is not Justin Winters. He’s an impostor.”
Caroline had thought that nothing else could shock her but she’d been wrong. She shook her head. “That’s ridiculous. Now tell me what’s going on, Levitt, while you still have the chance. Where is everyone?” The entire West Wing of the White House couldn’t have been evacuated without her knowledge.
“Ma’am, you’ll have to ask Vice President Redmond about that.”
Fury ignited deep in Caroline’s belly. How dare Redmond set in motion this kind of backhanded insubordination?
“Ask Mr. Redmond to meet me in the Oval Office,” she said pointedly. “I know my way back there.”
When she would have turned away Levitt drew his weapon.
Caroline froze.
“Think about what you’re doing, Agent Levitt. You don’t want to make the same mistake twice.”
“They’re waiting for you inside, ma’am.”
This wasn’t supposed to happen here. She was supposed to be safe here.
“Drop your weapon.”
The harsh command came from behind Levitt. Justin’s voice. Relief surged through Caroline making her knees weak. Levitt look as startled as she did relieved.
Levitt relinquished his weapon and adopted the hands-up stance.
“What’s going on, Jus—”
A blur of abrupt movement cut off her words. Levitt crumpled to the floor.
“Let’s go.” Justin snagged her by the arm and started dragging her forward.
“Did you kill him?” Horror echoed through her. She stared up at the man forcing her to run in order to keep up with his pace. An impostor. Not who you think he is. The words whirled inside her head.
“I didn’t kill him, but he would have killed me.”
All the things she’d noticed as different about Justin: his ability to disable a highly trained agent with one swift move, her husband knew nothing of hand-to-hand combat or even self-defense for that matter. Not even a few lessons would have made him this savvy.
Dear God.
She dug in her heels, drawing them both to a halt. When his impatient gaze collided with hers she demanded, “Who are you?”
Chapter Fourteen
“There’s no time to explain.”
Cain headed straight for the one egress route no one would anticipate. This one led to the parking area outside the West Wing. The passage was originall
y designed to ensure the presidential driver made it to the car before the president.
Caroline stalled once more. “I’m not going with you.”
Cain hesitated at the top of the stairs that spiraled downward, leading to their only hope of escape.
“I can explain.” He took her by the shoulders and pulled her closer, allowing her to read his eyes. “Trust me.” He mentally echoed the words, urging her to hear. She blinked, startled by the way he could touch her thoughts.
“If we don’t go now, we’ll both die.”
She shook her head. “Just tell me who you are. I have to know…first.”
The hurt shimmering in her eyes tore at his chest, fueled the new emotions he had not as of yet conquered.
“My name is Cain. I came to protect you.”
She’d thought the truth would somehow provide some sense of relief but she’d been wrong.
She was too stunned to fight the forward momentum as this man—Cain—pulled her along behind him down the winding staircase. The passageway smelled musty with disuse, the lighting was poor.
She blinked. This man—this impostor—had said he’d come to protect her.
But could she believe him? The only thing she knew about him was his name.
No. That wasn’t right. She knew him intimately. Knew the feel and taste of his body. Knew the way her own body reacted to his touch…his possession.
He had saved her life…what? Twice now. Maybe he had been sent to protect her. But by whom? And why were her own people turning on her in droves?
Where the hell was Rupert? He’d been out of pocket for the better part of the last two days.
None of this made sense.
She stopped, slowing his efforts to hurry once more. “If you only came here to protect me, why the ruse? Why pretend to be my husband?”
He didn’t bother to answer her questions. He just kept jogging forward, pulling and tugging her every step of the way.
Why had he made love to her if he was only here to protect her?
Why…?
Belatedly another fact sank through the haze of confusion.
Justin was dead.
This man was not her husband.
He wore the wedding band she’d given her groom on their wedding day.
He pushed through the final doorway, which looked like just another section of wall on the outside. No one would ever have guessed that it opened and led right up to the Oval Office. But it was impossible to open from the outside.
He stopped at the first car they reached and tried the door. When it didn’t open he moved to the next.
“How did you get Justin’s wedding band?”
Her breath trapped in her lungs. Had he been the one to make those calls? Or maybe he’d forced Justin to make the calls? Justin had to be alive, otherwise how would he know all the things he knew?
“Where’s my husband?” she demanded, fury solidifying her courage.
The door on the fourth vehicle he tried opened. He pushed her toward the front seat but she fought to get loose. “I’m not going with you!”
He used his weight to pin her to the car. “Get in the car, now!”
The savage glower emanating from those piercing blue eyes left no doubt that he would use force if she did not obey his order.
She scrambled inside, determined to escape through the passenger door. He was too fast for her. He had the door closed and the locks engaged before she could clamber across the seat.
“You won’t get away with this,” she warned.
“I already have.”
He did something violent to the steering column and seconds later he’d started the engine. He shoved the gear shift into Drive and roared away from the parking slot.
“Get down,” he ordered.
“Not until you—”
“Get down now!”
She hunkered down in the seat until he had passed through the gate. He waved and then sped up, leaving the White House grounds behind.
“Where are you taking me?”
Was it possible that this was indeed Justin and that he’d slipped completely over some edge? Had he caused all this confusion—the threats on her life—by following the voices in his head? Did he believe he was someone else?
She thought of the way they’d made love.
This wasn’t Justin.
On some level she’d known it all along.
This man was not her husband.
“I’m taking you to safety until I can determine the next step.”
The sound of his voice startled her.
She jerked around and stared at the man behind the wheel.
He glanced at her, regret heavy in his expression. “There is no one else you can trust right now. You must believe that if you believe nothing else.”
“Where’s Justin?” she demanded.
“He’s dead. He didn’t survive the crash.”
Cain sensed he had injured her with that statement but she said nothing. There was no time to discuss the issue further. He drove as fast as he dared knowing that by now word had spread of his escape, as well as her abduction. Those in power would attempt a while longer to keep the events that had transpired out of the media. Time, however, was their enemy.
Just as it was his.
“Where are we going?”
“To the home in Bethesda where you grew up,” he said, seeing no reason to keep the truth from her at this point.
She stared at him in disbelief. “Why are we going there?” A new kind of fear stole across her face.
“Your mother is in no danger,” he assured quickly. “We’re going there because they won’t think to look there first.”
She said nothing more until they reached her mother’s home.
“I don’t want her involved if it’s going to endanger her in any way.”
Apparently she still suspected that he intended to harm her in some way.
“Your mother is in no danger from me and neither are you.”
Whether she believed that or not, she got out of the car without force when he’d parked it three houses down from her childhood home. He moved up onto the sidewalk behind her and ushered her toward the safety of the home.
They needed time to develop a strategy. To access necessary funds. To consider who they could trust. Her mother fell into that category. Until they determined who was behind the threat to Caroline…they could trust no one else.
Lora Mattson was not home. Caroline used the hidden spare key and let them into the quiet house.
Cain locked the door behind them and quickly closed the blinds on the front of the house.
He turned to her then. “Sit down and I’ll tell you all I know.”
As he spoke her face turned paler, her fingers alternately clenched and relaxed, but it was her eyes that did the most damage to his newly discovered emotions. The hurt there cut so deeply he found it hard to draw a breath as he gave her the details of his mission and the threat to her as he knew it.
He did not tell her the facts that would endanger her life, such as his true identity as an Enforcer or about Center.
At the end of his dissertation she sat silently for a moment then said, “I think I need a drink.”
Caroline stood on shaky legs and moved toward the sideboard her mother used as a bar. She poured herself a hefty serving of Scotch and took a long sip of it.
She closed her eyes and savored the soothing burn. How was she supposed to believe all that he had told her? It was too…too incredible.
“Do you have proof?” She whirled on him, the alcohol shoring up her courage.
“Look at my face.” He gestured to that handsome face that looked exactly like her dead husband’s. “Think about the scar. It’s gone already. Or hadn’t you noticed?”
She blinked and then focused on the place where the scar had been. He was right, it was completely gone now. She had noticed. She remembered thinking how strange it was that it seemed to fade. But then she’d dismissed the th
ought because she’d fallen in love with the man.
He rolled up his sleeve and ripped away the bandage covering the gunshot wound he’d received only a few days ago. The damage was scarcely visible. Impossible. How could he have healed so fast?
After downing another swallow of her drink, she glared at him. “All right, so you’re different…genetically superior. But how can you do that?”
“I can do many things, but none of those things changes the fact that I’m helpless to keep you safe for more than a little while longer. We must know who is working against you.”
“That’s easy.” She set her glass aside, figuring anything more than this little buzz would be a bad idea right now. She needed to be able to make decisions…run for her life. “Redmond. He wants me out of the way.”
“I think he was just a pawn Winslow was using to get what he wanted.”
“Winslow? Congressman Winslow?” What the hell was he talking about? She winced inwardly. Her luncheon engagement would be looking for her. As would Winslow. But, at the moment, she had bigger issues.
“Winslow wanted you to divert funds from Project Eugenics to one called Genesis.”
She nodded. “That’s right.” She’d caught Justin looking at that report. “You read the report. You know what he wanted,” she accused.
“Those funds are what this is all about. He used you. Your father’s file was a fake.”
Disbelief struck her hard. She laughed, a sound sorely lacking in humor. “You expect me to believe that all of this…” She waved her arms magnanimously. “The taunting calls, the letter, the attempts on my life…all of it was because of a possible funding shift?”
He nodded. “I can’t tell you anything more about Project Eugenics. Only that its continued existence is essential to this nation’s security. No one, not even you in your capacity as the president, would survive the fight to bring it down.”
She shook her head. “Wait.” She paced the width of the room, trying desperately to grasp his words, but they were far too insane. “You’re telling me that my own people would kill me over a few million dollars?”