Nick went into overdrive, trying to decide what to do. “I’ll get it,” he said, and went back to the great room. He gave a casual glance upstairs and saw that Ashley’s door was still open. He knew she didn’t hear their conversation in the kitchen. She needed to know what was going on. He’d make his call to Ron here, rather than return to the kitchen.
He quickly dialed the direct number into Ron’s room, and when the nurse answered, said quietly, “Put Ron on, please.”
“He’s asleep, and I—”
He heard Sam coming down the hall. “Now!” he demanded.
“Yes, sir!”
Ron’s sleepy voice came over the wire.
“Hey, partner, thought I’d better check to see how you and Ashley are doing. I trust the two of you made it back to Washington with no delays.”
“Oh, you can count on it, Logan. What’s the matter with you?” Ron asked with more than a hint of irritation. “You been drinking?”
“There are some strange things happening all over the place. You be careful. It’s hard to know whom you can trust these days. Just ask Colin.”
“I take it you’re not alone.”
“Tell Ashley not to worry about her parents. They’re safe for now. I know she’ll be pleased to hear that.”
“Who’s there? Someone I know?”
“Affirmative. Tell Ashley she hasn’t missed much since you guys left.”
“Sam? Is it Sam?”
“That’s right. So how was the flight?”
“Do I need to report this to anyone?”
“What? You’re stuck in Denver!” Nick began to laugh. “You’d have been better off staying here than snoozing in an airport all night. Have you talked with Chambers?”
“I’ll call him right now. What do I tell him?”
“If not, don’t bother. Keep him guessing where you and Ashley are.”
“Oh, my God. Is Chambers in on this thing, too?”
“Never can tell how things will turn out, can we? At least you’ll be able to catch that morning flight. It’s good to know Ashley’s in safe hands. You take good care of her, okay?”
Sam tapped him on the shoulder. “Let me talk to him, okay?”
“Oh, Ron. You won’t believe who stopped in this morning to help me enjoy my first full day of vacation. Remember Sam? He wants to say hello.”
Nick handed the phone over and went to the fire, rebuilding it now that there were only hot coals remaining. He folded the blanket and put it at the end of the couch, together with the pillow. He deliberately showed no interest in Sam’s conversation. He hoped he’d given Ron enough information to keep the ruse going. If Sam was one of those looking for Ashley, he might decide he needed to get to Denver right away.
When Sam hung up, he looked over at the couch and said, “Why aren’t you sleeping upstairs?”
Nick said, “I was. I had this out last night before I went to bed and never put it away.”
“Oh. Ron said everything’s under control at his end.”
“That’s good to know.”
“You know, I’ve been thinking. Since that chopper’s coming here, anyway, I could just hitch a ride back with them. No reason to hang around here and push in on your vacation time.”
Nick smiled. “It would sure be an improvement to coming in on skis,” he replied.
“How about something to eat? I’m starving,” Sam said.
“Sure. I’m afraid I don’t have much that isn’t in a can. The family keeps the power off when no one is here. Of course there’s a generator in the basement in case some of us are here during an outage. I hope I won’t have to fall back on it.” Nick hoped he was making sense, trying to make casual conversation, as though Sam’s visit hadn’t thrown all his plans into complete confusion.
They were just finishing their meal when they heard the distinctive sounds of a helicopter. The sun had not yet appeared, although the sky had lightened. As Nick recalled, Chambers had said their ride wouldn’t be there until noon.
He had a hunch that whoever was out there had not been sent by Chambers.
Sam stood. “Guess I’d better get out there and explain the change in plans. You take it easy now, you hear me?”
“You, too. Thanks for catching me up on the news. Maybe by the time my vacation is up, all of this will be resolved.”
“We can always hope,” Sam said. “See ya.”
A few minutes later Nick and Sam waited on the porch and watched as the chopper landed. Sam ran to the open door and was helped in. Nick waited as it lifted off. He had a hunch they’d be heading for the Denver airport. He’d have to call Ron back in a few minutes and find out what he’d told Sam.
Nick stepped back inside and closed both doors. He returned to the great room. “You can come out now,” he said, raising his voice.
Ashley appeared in the bedroom doorway and sprinted downstairs. “Did you really hear something about my parents?”
“Yeah, I did. There’s food in the kitchen. Why don’t you help yourself? Then we need to get out of here. Too many people have discovered this location for me to feel comfortable.”
As soon as Ashley disappeared down the hall, Nick called Chambers.
“This is Logan. Another change of plans, I’m afraid. We’ve got too many leaks at the moment. I’m going underground.”
“You want me to cancel the chopper?”
“Yeah. I’ll check in when I can. This is beginning to look ugly.”
“Can you tell me what’s going on?”
“Not until we pinpoint some of these leaks. I’ll be in touch.”
As soon as he disconnected that call, he made another. When it was answered, he said, “Harvey. This is Logan. There’s something I need you to do for me.”
Chapter 12
It was early afternoon when Nick and Ashley came out of the trees and saw Harvey’s car waiting at the county road. The snowplow had saved them miles of trekking on the mountain. Ashley was grateful they didn’t have to wait for a ride, although the trip down the mountain hadn’t been as strenuous as the one they’d made to the cabin.
She was excited to know that, if the agent had been right, her family was still alive. Anything that Nick wanted to do at this point was fine with her. She had been impressed that he wasn’t taking any chances with her safety.
If he was wrong, then Nick was going to be in deep trouble with his supervisor. He was taking lots of chances with his career in order to protect her. How could she not love a man like that?
And that was the trouble she was having. After a very restless night filled with some R-rated dreams, she’d had to face the truth about her feelings for this man. She’d tried to convince herself that it was merely a crush. She really wasn’t buying that explanation, however.
If anything, his manner toward her had become even more brusque today than it had been before. The difference for her was now she understood why. He was determined to treat her as part of his job without a personal involvement. The more impassive and distant he was toward her, the more she knew how much he was fighting his own reactions.
Once they returned to Washington, she was going to confront him about his attitude. Did he really think if he ignored his feelings, they would just go away?
Not if she could help it.
“You two don’t look any worse for the wear,” Harvey said, greeting them with a wave of his arm. “Need some help taking off those things?”
Ashley knelt and unfastened her skis. “No, but if I don’t see a pair of these things for a while, that will be just fine with me.”
“Got all the skiing you wanted, eh?” he said, smiling, as he took the skis and worked to get them into the back of his car.
“I really appreciate your help, Harvey,” Nick said, leaning inside the car to help guide the skis. “You’ve been my ace in the hole during this entire operation. So far, no one knows that you’ve been helping us.”
“Guess that’s good until you find out who you can trust and who
you can’t, right?”
“Have you talked to Ron?”
“Yep. Went in to see him right after your call. Checked with the doctor. They say it’s too soon to be moving him. We agreed he was as safe there as he would be anywhere.”
“Maybe. I wish I knew if Chambers is a part of this. After all, he’s the one who sent us out to that isolated airport in the first place.”
“He also sent someone to look after Ron who knows how to protect him,” Harvey replied. “Right now, you have one agent’s word against another’s. Until you have the facts, you’ll just have to keep all your cards close to your chest.”
The three of them got into the car, Ashley once again seated between the two men. Nick stretched his arm across the back of the bench seat and she unobtrusively leaned into him, allowing her head to rest against his arm. She could feel his body tense, but he didn’t move away.
“Everything else go okay?” Nick asked.
Harvey laughed. “Yep. All your belongings are here in the trunk. We can transfer them into your new wheels.”
Ashley looked up at Nick, her cheek brushing against his neck. “What wheels?”
“I had Harvey rent us a car.” He looked past her. “Is it in your name?”
“That’s right. No way anyone is going to put that name with you.”
“Good.”
“Keep me posted on how things go, now, you hear?” Harvey said miles later when he pulled into a mall parking lot beside a late model, dark blue sports sedan. He reached into his pocket and gave Nick an envelope. “Here’s the paper work and keys.”
Nick got out and unloaded their bags from the trunk while Ashley grabbed their backpacks from the rear seat.
“I keep finding myself in your debt, it seems,” Nick said.
“Don’t worry about it. Just look after our gal, here.” Harvey turned to Ashley. “Hope everything works out for you.”
“Thanks, Harvey. Thanks for everything.”
Nick helped her into the car before getting in on the driver’s side. She waved at Harvey beforeturning her attention back to Nick. “Are you planning to drive back to D.C.? Not that I care, you understand,” she reassured him with a smile. “I think being on the move will keep anyone from locating us.”
“We’re going to New Orleans.”
She stared at him in disbelief. “New Orleans? Why in the world would we go there?”
“If I can believe what Sam told me, we should be able to locate your family there.” He glanced in the rearview mirror beforeturning to head south. “We should be down there in about three days if the roads aren’t too bad. Once we’re out of these mountains, we should be able to make some time.”
“Sam told you my parents are in New Orleans? How does Sam know?”
“Good question. This may well be a wild-goose chase. At least I think I convinced him that you and Ron are headed back to Washington and that I’m on vacation. There’s no reason for him or anyone to be looking for us together.”
“What about Greg Chambers?”
“My gut feeling tells me he’s trustworthy. But there’s a leak somewhere, or Sam wouldn’t be getting the information as fast as we are after Chambers specifically told me Sam wasn’t in the loop. At least Chambers didn’t question me when I called and canceled our ride.”
“Did you tell him about Sam?”
“No. There’s a chance that Sam is doing what he can to help. Time will tell. In the meantime, we’re on our own.”
“Today is New Year’s Eve,” she said after they had been driving for a while. “I imagine Trish and the rest of them are getting ready for the big party at the lodge.” She looked over at him. “Has the news gotten out about my dad being missing?”
“According to Chambers, Freeman hoped to keep the news from reaching the public for as long as possible.”
She sighed. “Good luck on that one. What will he do if reporters start asking about the family?”
“I would imagine they will give periodic reports on how much the family is enjoying the fishing trip.”
“I bet Jamie and Matt are so scared. I wish I was there with them. Do you think the family is being held in the same location? I hate to think about them being separated and alone.”
“It’s anybody’s guess at this point. Sam may be having a big laugh right now, if he discovers I’ve left the cabin. He knows me well enough to know that I wouldn’t sit on the kind of information he gave me. I’d act on it.”
“So he may be watching for you.”
“He may send someone else, but if so, I can think of no reason for me to be watched, unless he wants to take me out before I can act on the information he gave me. At the moment, I can’t figure out what Sam’s game is and where I fit in.”
“You’re going to be watching for anyone interested in us, though.”
“You bet I am. hopefully, if Sam is having me watched, whoever is looking for me will think I’m traveling alone, so they may overlook a couple traveling together. Another thing in our favor is that they have no way of knowing that we’re driving. After checking plane, train and bus schedules they might check car-rental places. If so, they won’t find anything in my name.”
“What if they recognize me?”
He gave her a quick sideways glance and said, “You’re doing just fine. You haven’t looked anything like your photographs all week. It’s no wonder no one has recognized you.”
She gave him a sunny smile. “That’s the best compliment you’ve ever given me.” She paused, then added thoughtfully, “Actually it’s the only compliment you’ve ever given me.”
“Chalk one up for me,” he said tersely.
“You don’t want to be reminded of how you feel about me, do you?”
“I’m not going to get into that kind of discussion with you, all right? Find another topic of conversation.”
Ashley peered through the wind shield at the snow piled on either side of the highway and noticed that it was already dark, even though it was just after five o’clock.
“Do you intend to drive through the night?”
“No. But I want to hit the New Mexico border before we stop. We’ll be traveling as Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Cameron.”
“But we don’t have any ID to that effect.”
“If we find ourselves in need of ID, we’ll have more serious problems than using an alias.”
Ashley settled into the corner of the car and closed her eyes, content to be on the road with Nick. Her eyes blinked open. “What are we going to use to pay for gas and lodging? You can’t use your credit cards, can you?”
“I’m in luck, there. I generally travel with extra cash in case of emergencies.”
“If you run low, I have some you can have.”
“Fine.”
She closed her eyes again and eventually Ashley fell into a deep sleep.
When she opened her eyes, they were parked in front of a small motel. “Where are we?” she asked, sitting up straighter and blinking.
“We crossed the New Mexico border a few miles back. I’m not going to be able to drive any more tonight.” He rubbed his eyes and arched his back, then peered through the wind shield at the well-lit motel office. “I hope they have a vacancy.”
“I can drive, if that would help.”
“No. You need your rest, too. If they don’t have a vacancy, I’ll have them check the area for me for an available room somewhere.”
Ashley watched him get out of the car and stretch before he shrugged into his heavy coat and walked across the parking area to the entrance of the motel. She found herself fascinated by the way the man moved. She could sit and watch him all day long without becoming bored. Mmm-mmm. He was really something.
Because of the large plate-glass window, she was able to see him ring the small bell on the desk, then wait. He looked around the small lobby, then glanced back to the desk when a sleepy room clerk came from a back room in answer to his summons.
She watched Nick pull out his wallet a
nd hand the clerk some cash. He waited until he was handed a key and what was probably the receipt, then came back outside. He slid behind the steering wheel and said, “He finally managed to find us something. It’s a room they generally set aside for the district manager of the chain. The only drawback is there’s only one bed. It’s a king-size, but—”
“I promise not to attack you in your sleep, Agent Logan, sir. You may build any barriers between us to make you feel safer from me.”
“Very funny.”
“Well, you could afford to lighten up just a little, Nick. You’ve managed to get us this far without incident. I don’t see a problem now. We’re both adults. I think I can share a bed with you without my lust over powering us both.”
He turned his head slightly so that the light from the motel fell across his previously shadowed face. “I’ll remind you of those words later, Ms. Sullivan.”
One side of his mouth actually quirked up into a sort of smile.
She found that half smile adorable.
He drove slowly, watching the numbers. “There it is—second floor on the end, near the stairs.”
When he parked, Ashley got out and walked around to the back of the car. Nick was already there opening the trunk. “I can carry my things.”
“You sure?”
“Positive.” She turned away and started across the parking lot.
“I wish you wouldn’t do that,” he said, coming up fast behind her.
“Do what?”
“Walk off without me. I want you to stick as close to me as glue, do you understand? We’re still not out of the woods on this trip, even though I think I’ve managed to confuse everyone as to our whereabouts.”
“I wish you’d make up your mind, Nick,” she said in a low voice. “One minute I’m supposed to see you only as a professional, the next you want me sticking to you like glue.”
“A mere figure of speech and you know it. Don’t try to dodge the issue.”
“Me? Dodge an issue? Not on your life. I’m willing to confront all issues. You’re the one hiding behind your badge.”
The President's Daughter Page 14