She leaned around his shoulder so she could see his face and smiled when he turned his head. “Which bedroom do you intend to use?” she asked innocently.
“No. That can’t happen, Ashley. You know that.”
She released him and turned away, then paused. “Nick?”
He made himself turn to face her, thankful for the deep shadows where they stood. With the Moonlight behind him, he knew she would only see his silhouette. “Yes?”
She stepped back toward him, stopping within arm’s reach. “Why are you fighting what’s happening between us?”
“You know why.”
“But you’re more than your job, Nick. This is scary for me, too, you know. I’ve never been in a serious relationship before, and I—”
“Ashley, we don’t have a relationship, serious or otherwise. Please don’t let a few kisses cause you to think…”
“That you love me? I know that. Of course I know that. I’m not trying to trap you into some kind of a commitment. But we’re both adults. I see no reason why we can’t explore what’s between us.”
“I know of several reasons—at least for now. Once we return to Washington, once we find your family, then we can talk about what may be happening between us.”
“You’re doing it again, you know.”
“Doing what?”
“Patronizing me, patting me on the head and telling me to run along to bed while the professional goes about his work.”
“Damn it, Ashley, that’s not what I mean.”
“What you’re saying is that you are the one who decides when and how any relationship we might have will work. Well, I have a news flash for you, Nick. I’m a part of this equation you seem to be working on. So if all this stuff you’ve been handing me about being attracted to me was said to make me more biddable, then you’ve been wasting your time. I am my own person and I make my own decisions. Do you understand?”
“Yes, ma’am, I read you loud and clear,” he replied sardonically, shoving his hands into his pockets.
“Ooh!” She spun on her heel and marched across the room to the stairs in obvious agitation.
“Ashley?”
She was halfway up the stairs before she finally paused and looked down at him. “What?”
“I would never make the mistake of thinking you could ever be biddable.” He grinned and said, “Sweet dreams, Ms. Sullivan.”
Ashley closed the bedroom door behind her before her knees gave away. She managed to make it to the bed without falling, sinking onto its side in gratitude. She had never been so aroused in all her life. Dear Lord, she’d practically begged him to make love to her! Even worse, he’d turned her down!
How could she have allowed herself to get into such a situation? Kissing him had been the biggest mistake she could have made because she no longer had to fantasize about it. The reality was much more mind-blowing.
It would have helped if he’d been stirred a little, as well.
She pushed off the bed and knelt beside her backpack. Of course he was right, darn him. Maybe that was the biggest reason she found him so annoying. The man never made a false step, no matter what. Even when he admits he’s human, he’s heroic about it. It was enough to drive a person insane.
Now that she was alone, everything that she’d been pushing out of her mind came hurtling back to haunt her. She missed them so much—her dad, her mom, Jamie and Matt. Who could have done such a horrible thing to her family and what did they hope to accomplish?
She’d never wanted her father to worry about her safety. She wondered what her father must be going through, knowing that his entire family had been taken.
Tears slipped down her cheeks once again. How could she survive the pain if she never saw her family again?
Nick added more wood to the fire, his mind still on Ashley. She was something else. More biddable. That’ll be the day.
Well, he’d proved something to himself. He couldn’t trust himself to stay here alone with her. He needed to call Greg Chambers and tell him that he’d changed his mind about the security of the place. He knew that was the wisest thing to do.
He quickly put in the call.
“Don’t you ever sleep?” he asked when Chambers answered.
“Not much. I catnap when I can. What’s the problem?”
“I’m having second thoughts about our staying here. We’re safe enough for the night, but I think we’ll be pushing our luck to be here any longer. I was wondering if you could send a chopper in here in the morning and get us to the Denver airport. We’ve got tickets for that flight already in our pockets. I doubt it would be a problem to get them moved up a day. If we keep this just between the two of us, I don’t think any security will be breached.”
“You think there’s a leak?”
“I think something is definitely wrong. There should have been no way terrorists could get close to that yacht, much less board it and make off with six people, which presupposes that they didn’t kill the two agents who were on board and toss them in the drink.”
“We’re doing some investigating along those lines, going into deep background checks on the agents on both ships. If one of them turned, we’ll find him.”
“What about the chopper? Can you get it here in the morning?”
“Yes, but as late as it is, I doubt we could have it there before noon.”
“Good enough.” He gave him some visual landmarks to pass on to the pilot. “I’ll go out in the morning and stamp out a large X in the snow to help them locate us, but I don’t think they’ll have any trouble, particularly if you go through the local authorities who know the area.”
“I’m not going to tell them who they’re picking up.”
“Makes sense. hopefully we’ll see you tomorrow evening.”
Nick hung up, feeling relieved. They were doing what was necessary. Plus, he felt he could do more once he was back in Washington. Putting some distance between him and Ashley was an added bonus.
Sometime during his rounds of checking to make certain all the doors and windows were safely locked, Nick decided to sleep downstairs. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust himself to sleep in the room next to Ashley’s. It made more sense to him to stay close enough to the fire to replenish it. Thank God his family had left all the chopped wood that he’d found stored in the basement, seasoned and dry.
He should have told Ashley to leave the bedroom door open to allow the heat from the fireplace to warm her room and the attached bathroom. He went upstairs and listened at her door. After this length of time she was probably asleep.
Nick opened the door and peeked inside. As he’d expected she was in bed with the covers pulled around her ears, her back to the door. The angle of the moon provided a night-light for the room. He didn’t want to disturb her, so without saying anything, he left the door open and returned downstairs.
Nick found a pillow and some blankets in the hall closet. Without bothering to undress, he stretched out on the couch and fell asleep within minutes.
A pounding on the front door brought Nick from a restless sleep several hours later. He bolted off the couch, his weapon in his hand before his feet hit the floor. He glanced at his watch. It was a little after four o’clock in the morning.
He moved silently to the door, thankful that his grandfather had installed a camouflaged peephole to the side of the door so that he could see who was outside.
He was not relieved to discover that Sam Masters stood there. There was no way that Sam should have been able to find him. The fact that he was here spelled trouble.
“Logan? I know you’re in there watching me. I need to talk to you, buddy. We’ve got an emergency on our hands.”
Nick quietly backed away, then bounded up the stairs and into Ashley’s room. She was still asleep. He placed his hand over her mouth before whispering her name.
She jerked awake, her eyes wild, until she saw who stood there. Then she quieted. He leaned over her and said, “Grab your things and get i
nto the bathroom. Get dressed and stay as quiet as you’ve ever been in your life. Something’s going on and until I can find out what it is, I need to convince someone that you aren’t here. Do you understand?”
She nodded.
He smiled and whispered, “Good girl.”
He waited until she was safely inside the other room. Then he sprinted back down the stairs. He could hear Sam’s voice.
“I know you’re wondering how I found you. Well, you’d better be glad I did. Just let me in, will you?”
Nick took time to check the perimeter of the area. The moon gave off enough light to show only Sam’s ski tracks were leading to the house. That didn’t mean there weren’t others waiting behind the line of trees in the distance.
He went back to the door.
“C’mon, Nick. Stop fooling around. I know you’re there. I can see the smoke coming from the chimney. It’s freezing out here. Give me a break, will ya?”
Nick made certain his shirt was out, then placed his pistol in his waistband at the small of his back and unlocked the inner door. Then he unlocked the outer door. Sam immediately pulled it open.
“Don’t let the heat out,” Nick said grumpily, deliberately turning his back on Sam. “What in the hell are you doing here in the middle of the night?”
“Trying to save your neck. You sure don’t sound particularly grateful.” He slipped off his gloves and blew on his hands. “Got any coffee? It’s miserable out there.”
“There are closer places for coffee, you know. What are you doing here?” he repeated, turning and facing Sam in the middle of the great room.
Sam ignored him while he pulled off his cap and jacket, then sat down and un buckled his boots. Nick continued to watch him without expression.
“How did you find this place?” Nick asked.
Sam just shook his head wearily. “You went to ground, Nick, so I figured you had to be around here somewhere close. This property has been in the Logan family for several generations. It wasn’t hard to locate on a plat. And you were smart, coming here. Really smart.”
“Look, I don’t know what you’re doing here, but I finally got a few days off for my belated vacation, and I don’t appreciate your uninvited visit. So if it’s all the same to you, I’d like to go back to bed and get some sleep.”
“Vacation? Don’t give me that! I know you and Ron have Ashley here. The news is out and you’re in danger. That’s what I’m trying to tell you.”
“And you’re full of it, Sam. Ron and Ashley left Colorado late yesterday. They’re probably in D.C. by now.”
Sam straightened slowly, studying Nick carefully. “That’s bull and you know it.”
“Do I?”
“There’s a chopper coming to pick you up later today. If the three of you get on it, you’ll never be heard from again.”
“Really? I don’t know anything about any chopper. Why would anyone want me?”
“Not you. They’re after Ashley.”
“Too bad. They won’t find her here.”
The tenseness in Sam’s body suddenly released and he grinned. “Damn, you’re good. But I always knew that. So you aren’t working the detail, is that what you’re saying?”
“That’s what I’m saying.”
“Then you’re staying one step ahead of them.”
“Ahead of who?” Nick asked suspiciously.
Sam looked around. “I really need some coffee. If you’ll make some, I’ll try to fill you in on what’s been happening.”
“That would be nice.” Nick walked down the hallway to the kitchen and headed for the coffeepot. He said nothing, waiting to hear what Sam had to say.
“Remember what I was telling you earlier? That there was something going on?”
“Yeah, I remember,” Nick said without turning around.
“They’re making their move.”
“By grabbing the president’s daughter? How do they know she isn’t with the president?”
“Because they’re holding him and his family at this very moment.”
Nick spun around, spilling some of the coffee grounds.
“I thought that would get your attention.”
“How do you know that?”
“Nick, there are somethings it’s better that you not know.”
“How do I know you aren’t feeding them information? Did you tell them she might be here?”
“Yes.”
Nick stared at him with disgust.
“I knew they would be checking here soon enough,” Sam said in a rush. “It was a trade for information, and what I needed to know was more valuable than what I passed on.”
“You’re saying that a chopper plans to come here to the cabin? Who’s sending it? Chambers?”
“I’m saying that you don’t really know whether Chambers is part of this or not. And until I get more information—which I’m trying to do as fast as I can—I’m telling you not to trust anyone who says they’re here for Ashley.”
Nick shook his head. “Anyone who shows up here looking for Ashley is in for a surprise. They’re going to be disappointed when all they find here is a burned-out agent trying to get a few days of R and R.”
“How did Ron manage to get her away?”
“He arranged to have a friend of Ashley’s pick them up.”
Sam didn’t say anything. After a while he said, “I forget that Ashley grew up in this state.”
Nick smiled. “Good thing, huh, or she’d be a hostage, too.”
“Not if I can help it. That’s why I’m here.”
“What did you have in mind?”
Nick poured the coffee and sat down across from Sam. The scene was reminiscent of their visit earlier in the week, with one major difference. Nick no longer trusted Sam. He intended, however, to hear what he had to say in hope of better understanding what was going on.
“Well, if she’d still been here, I was going to have you guys come with me. I know of a safe house where no one would think to look for her.”
“It’s probably better this way, though,” Nick replied slowly. “I’m sure she would rather be in Washington where she can hear any news of her family.” He took a sip of his coffee, then asked, “What can you tell me about the president? How did they get to him? The yacht was under constant radar surveillance. Didn’t anyone pick up that something unusual was going on?”
Sam smiled. “They used a massive surge of electromagnetic energy from a new technological marvel—confused all the machines, including the ones on board the yacht. The confusion gave the invaders the time they needed to get on board and subdue any opposition they ran into.”
“So you’re working with these people, is that right?”
“That’s what they think is happening. I might have shown some interest in what they were doing early on, before they became so radical in their ideas. By that time I decided the safest thing I could do was play along and see what information I could get. Only a handful knew that the plot included abducting the president and his family. By the time I found out about it, there was nothing I could do. That’s when I thought of you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah. If anyone could help him now, it would be you.”
“How?”
Sam leaned back in his chair. “It was a damn good plan, you know. The people needed on board were carefully chosen. They followed all the procedures, so that the reports came back on schedule with no suspicions being raised. They rendezvoused with an oil tanker. The Sullivans’ sons were captured first and placed on board the tanker, which made getting mom and dad to cooperate a great deal simpler.”
“I can imagine. Where’s the tanker now?”
Sam grinned. “That’s the beauty of the deal. They plan to dock in New Orleans, following the regular schedule of the tanker. Once they reach New Orleans, the ones behind this will go public, stating their demands and announcing they hold all the cards.”
“We can’t let this get out to the media.”
�
�Tell me about it.”
“So why aren’t you in New Orleans to see about his release?”
Sam shook his head. “Because they don’t trust me that much. I’m being watched because of my connection with the establishment.”
“I see. And whoever is behind this is against the establishment, is that it?”
Sam laughed. “Yeah…so that should narrow down the number of suspects to about half the country’s population, right?”
“They recruited you in order to use you.”
“That pretty well sums it up, yeah.”
“Now you want to turn that around.”
“I’m doing my best without getting myself killed. It’s getting dicier with every day that passes. Why do you think I came in here at night? I needed to warn you not to get on that chopper and to tell you about the Sullivans.”
“What are the contingency plans if their demands aren’t met?”
Sam looked down at his coffee. “I don’t want to think about it.”
“Do you know what their demands are going to be?”
“I would just be guessing, but I have a fair idea.”
“Is it something the government would accept?”
“Who knows? Do you want to take the chance? Somebody needs to get down to New Orleans to be there when that tanker arrives. You’re the only one I trust with this information. What you do with it is up to you. I’d just be careful giving it to anyone in Washington whose agenda may not coincide with the successful release of our presidential family.”
“My God, Sam. Are you accusing everyone in Washington of being in on this thing?”
“No. What I am suggesting is that since it has happened, there are those who would use it to further their own gains without ever being exposed.”
Nick shook his head. “I wish I had your confidence in my abilities, but I don’t see how I can do anything. I’m way overdue for a leave, and I’m pretty much marooned here. I just hope that Ron and Ashley are all right. Maybe I’ll put in a call to him and see if they made their connections with no problems.”
“Good idea.” Sam looked around the room. “Where’s the phone?”
The President's Daughter Page 13