Colleen placed a fourth picture on the desk. Fiona’s stomach quivered when she saw who it was. Those gorgeous eyes. That sensuous mouth…
“The threat against Langworthy could very well be genuine,” Colleen said. “And if it is coming from someone close to him, it’s imperative you keep your eyes and ears open and report any suspicious activity or behavior in that regard directly to the DPS.
“However, our main objective is Langworthy himself. A man with his wealth and power could easily hire someone to snatch a kid with very little risk of getting caught. That’s where you come in, Fiona. You have to watch his every move while making sure he doesn’t suspect your real motive.”
“He won’t,” Fiona said with a little more confidence than she actually felt. She had a feeling pulling the wool over Josh Langworthy’s eyes would be no easy feat.
“While Langworthy is our primary target,” Colleen continued, “virtually everyone in his campaign and even certain family members remain suspects. By going in as his fiancée, you’ll not only have access to Langworthy’s staff, but to his friends and family as well. It’s a tall order, Fiona. To operate effectively on the inside, it’s crucial that everyone connected to Langworthy be convinced that you and he are engaged. Are you prepared for what that means?”
“Of course.”
But a shiver eased up Fiona’s spine as a sudden image of Joshua Langworthy formed in her head. She could almost feel the power of his presence, the intensity of that magnetic blue gaze.
And for the next several weeks, she would have to pretend that she was in love with the man.
It was a dirty job, but somebody had to do it.
CHAPTER TWO
AFTER A CLOUDY MORNING, the afternoon turned crisp and clear, the kind of brilliant fall day that carried both a memory of summer and the promise of winter in the chilly air. Snowfall in late September wasn’t unusual in the higher elevations, but so far the autumn had remained mild and dry, and rather than an exhilarating snowmobile ride up the mountain, Josh had been forced to make the long trek to the cabin on horseback.
Not that he minded. The scenery was spectacular this time of year.
He stood on the porch of the cabin, one hand propped on a wooden brace as his gaze scanned the endless blue sky, broken only by the powerful thrust of the majestic snow-capped Rockies. And all around him, a yellow sea of aspens.
The setting was so calm and pristine that Josh was almost, but not quite, able to forget the ugly confrontation he’d had with his campaign manager before he’d left the office that morning. He’d already been fairly wired from his meeting with Wiley Longbottom and Fiona Clark, and the last thing he’d needed was to tangle with a hothead like Nell McKenna.
“You’re what?” she’d all but screamed when he’d called her into his office and told her of his plans. “Tell me this is some kind of bad joke.”
“It’s no joke.” Josh purposefully kept his voice low and reasonable in order to offset her quick temper. “I’m taking a couple of days off. I’ll be back first thing Monday morning, but in the meantime, you won’t be able to reach me.”
Nell sucked in a sharp breath, her blue eyes simmering with fury. “Have you lost your mind? You can’t just disappear for two whole days. You think Houghton is going to roll over and play dead while you’re gone?”
“No, I don’t. I’m sure Governor Houghton will continue to campaign just as he has been,” Josh said. Which meant his opponent would continue to sling mud as fast and as furiously as he could.
Nell leaned forward, her black hair sweeping across her smooth cheeks as she planted her hands on his desk. “Campaigns are won or lost in the weeks between Labor Day and the second Tuesday in November. You risk our momentum by taking off two hours let alone two days at such a critical time.”
“I’m not asking for your permission,” Josh snapped, his own temper flaring. “My mind is made up. I’m doing this. When I get back, I’ll throw myself into the campaign twenty-four hours a day. I’ll glad-hand my way across the state and back if I have to. But right now, I need you to cut me some slack, Nell.”
“I wish I could do that, but my job is to get you elected governor. And I can’t do that if you decide to go traipsing off to God knows where just when I need you the most.” When Nell saw that her argument was falling on deaf ears, she pounded her fist on the desk. “Damn it, this isn’t just about you, Josh, and what you need. My reputation is on the line here. If we lose this election, I’m through in this state. No one will hire me.”
“I never made you any guarantees when you signed on,” he reminded her coldly. “You knew the risks.”
“Yes, but I never thought you’d pull a stunt like this just weeks before the election. My God, do you have any idea the kind of hours I’ve been putting in? The stress I’ve been under?”
“For which you’ve been well compensated.”
Her dark eyes glittered with hurt. “I thought we were partners in this.”
Lately, Josh had come to believe that his idea of a partnership differed a great deal from Nell’s. He sensed she was starting to hope for something more than a business relationship, and the last thing he wanted was to give her the wrong impression about their future.
“We’ll talk about this when I get back,” he muttered. “Right now, I’m out of here.”
He’d walked out of the office without another word, but he knew that wasn’t the end of it. When Nell got a burr under her saddle, she could get downright nasty. But he’d deal with her when he returned on Monday morning. He’d deal with Wiley Longbottom, as well, and a certain blonde named Fiona Clark who, for whatever reason, had agreed to the DPS director’s absurd scheme.
For the next two days, Josh planned to do nothing but bask in the quiet beauty of the mountains. The cabin had always been a place that kept him grounded, kept him focused, kept him humble. He’d been born into a life of wealth and privilege, but in the wilderness, he was just an ordinary man.
Not that he wasn’t grateful for all his advantages. There’d been a time when he’d fully appreciated the fact that Langworthy money could acquire for him the fastest cars, the hottest girls and entrée into the coolest nightclubs in the country.
Then had come a cold dose of reality. With all that wealth and privilege came expectations and obligations. By the time he’d turned eighteen, his father had had Josh’s whole life mapped out for him. Four years of an ivy league university, followed by Harvard Law School, and then a position at one of the most prestigious law firms in Denver where he would be groomed—not for the courtroom, but for his first run at public office.
All the preparations, of course, were building toward the culmination of Samuel Langworthy’s hopes and dreams—the governorship of Colorado, perhaps an eventual U.S. Senate seat, and then, if all went as planned, a run at the White House.
Unfortunately, Josh hadn’t shared the same vision. He’d enrolled at the University of Colorado, and when his father threatened to cut off his funds, he’d taken a construction job during summers and on weekends to put himself through school.
The manual labor had been an eye-opening experience and had given him a whole new perspective on life. It had made him aware, for the first time, of an entirely different world, one that didn’t revolve around sports cars and ski seasons and the trendiest nightspots.
Those years had taught him a lot about himself and about the kind of person he wanted to be. They’d also taught him a lot about his father, and how far he was willing to go to get what he wanted. Josh had eventually gone to Harvard Law, but on his own terms. He and his father had made a tentative peace over the years, but the chasm that had developed back then had never completely been bridged.
And so it was strange, Josh supposed, that somehow, in spite of all the clashes, they’d come full circle. He was doing exactly what his father had always wanted him to do.
Five years ago, or even one year ago, Josh could never have envisioned himself in politics. But when he’d be
en approached by a group of local businessmen, the prospect of unseating Todd Houghton had intrigued him.
In Josh’s opinion, Houghton was a disaster waiting to happen to Colorado. He’d spent the past six months lobbying Congress for a repeal of the 1972 Biological and Toxic Weapons Convention Treaty with an eye toward bringing a government-funded research lab to the state.
Such a lab, he argued, would infuse the depressed economy with jobs and federal monies. But Josh knew that it could also unleash the kinds of horror that had only existed in Stephen King novels until now. Houghton had managed to cleverly gloss over the risks, and Josh had felt a fierce obligation to call him on it.
But it wasn’t for entirely altruistic reasons that he’d decided to throw his hat into the ring. He was his father’s son, after all, Josh thought grimly.
He put up a hand to shade his eyes as the whop, whop, whop of a helicopter sounded over the treetops. As his gaze lifted, something flashed in the distance, like sunlight bouncing off a mirror.
Or a rifle scope, he thought suddenly.
Then he brushed the concern aside as he watched the helicopter top a ridge and fly directly toward the cabin.
For a moment, he thought the chopper might actually try to land, but it continued on an easterly course, straight up the face of the mountain.
Sightseers, he decided, but for some reason, a flicker of unease traced along his backbone. He scanned the slope again. This time, there was no flash of light. No discernible movement at all. No one was there.
But Josh couldn’t shake the notion that someone had followed him up the mountain and was out there even now, watching him from a distance.
To what end, he could only imagine.
* * *
FIONA HELD HER BREATH as she watched the chopper’s approach. It was flying low, as if searching for a place to land, and for a moment, she wondered if Colleen and Ryan had been right after all. Josh Langworthy was feeling the heat from the meeting this morning and he’d come here to rendezvous with whomever he’d hired to kidnap little Schyler.
The inaccessibility and remoteness of the cabin would make it the perfect place for such an assignation, but Fiona couldn’t help feeling a measure of relief when the helicopter flew over the cabin and headed straight up the mountain.
She refocused her binoculars on Josh Langworthy. From her position two hundred yards from the cabin, she could observe his every move, even the slight flicker of his very long and very curly eyelashes. The powerful lenses brought him up close and personal, so to speak. Fiona had no trouble at all discerning the clear blue of his eyes, the classic contours of his jaw and chin, the firm yet slightly erotic set of his mouth.
The impact of the man’s charisma through the binoculars was only slightly less devastating than being in the same room with him.
So what was she going to do when she was alone in the same room with him? Fiona wondered.
Cross that bridge when you come to it, a little voice advised.
Right now, she had to keep herself focused on the task at hand. Observing Josh Langworthy. Every gorgeous inch of him.
He’d changed clothes before heading off to the mountains. Instead of the expensive business suit he’d had on earlier, he now wore jeans, rugged boots and a faded jean jacket over an ordinary white T-shirt. Very cool. He hardly looked the part of heir to the Langworthy throne, but even the rustic attire couldn’t detract from the air of confidence and privilege that seemed to surround him.
Fiona watched him watching the helicopter, and after the chopper had disappeared into the glaring sunlight, he turned suddenly to gaze at the mountains. For a moment, she could have sworn he was looking directly at her, and she quickly shrank back against the rocks. She could still see him through a crevice between the boulders, and she let out a long breath of relief when he turned and went back inside the cabin.
After he was out of sight, she kept the binoculars trained on the cabin, then slowly lifted the glasses and scanned the countryside. The craggy face of the mountain provided dozens of hiding places, as did the thick woods that surrounded the cabin. But Fiona had been at her post even before Josh arrived, and other than the chopper, she’d seen nothing out of the ordinary. Nothing at all suspicious. If a would-be killer—or a kidnapper—lurked somewhere nearby, he’d managed to elude her.
Governor Houghton’s accusations aside, Fiona still had a hard time believing that Josh would have anything to do with his nephew’s kidnapping. But as Colleen and Ryan had both pointed out earlier, such a scenario wasn’t without precedence. If there was a chance, no matter how slight, that he could lead them to little Schyler, then it was imperative they keep him under close surveillance.
And that was why Fiona was here.
After the call had come in to Colleen’s office that Josh was on the move, Fiona had rushed home to pack a bag and then had been whisked off to DPS headquarters where a chopper had flown her to a rendezvous point a few miles down the mountain from the cabin. She’d continued to her destination on horseback in order to better conceal her approach.
Shifting into a more comfortable position, she settled in for a long wait. Surveillance had never been her strong suit. The monotony wore on her nerves and blunted her sharpness.
At some point, she’d make contact with Josh. But not yet. More than likely, if a rendezvous with the kidnapper had been planned, it would take place by cover of darkness. By then, other night creatures would be on the prowl as well. Wolves. Coyotes. Bears.
Fiona was a city girl through and through. The idea of wild animals roaming about was more than a little disconcerting.
A twig snapped behind her.
She whirled, automatically whipping her gun from the back waistband of her jeans.
But she was too late. Josh Langworthy had gotten the drop on her.
CHAPTER THREE
“OH, HELL,” Fiona muttered. She hadn’t heard a sound until he was right on her. There was no excuse for such sloppiness.
But the tableau wasn’t without comic appeal, she had to admit. There they stood, each with a bead drawn on the other—Josh in designer denims that made him look hip and cool, if a bit Ralph Lauren-ish, and Fiona in her faded and torn bell bottoms that made her look, well…underpaid.
Josh, however, didn’t appear to appreciate the absurdity of the moment. He kept her firmly in his rifle sights, which Fiona did not take as a good sign.
“Looks like a standoff to me,” she quipped. “Why don’t we call it a draw and put away our weapons?”
She held up her hands in good faith, letting her gun dangle from one finger, then slowly returned the weapon to her waistband. To her relief, Josh lowered the rifle to his side. But his icy stare alone could have dropped her at twenty paces.
“How did you find me?” he demanded.
His voice, deep and sexy in spite of the chill, sent a thrill up Fiona’s spine. “I followed you.”
He seemed momentarily taken aback by her candor. Something flickered in his blue eyes. Fiona wanted to believe it was uncertainty, but she didn’t think Josh Langworthy had ever had a moment’s self-doubt in his life. “How did you get here?”
“On horseback, just like you.” She didn’t bother to explain that an informant at the stables in the tiny hamlet of Crystal Falls where the Langworthys boarded some of their horses had called to let them know that Josh was on his way there. Armed with that information, it was an easy matter to project that the cabin would be his ultimate destination.
“You must have had a tail on me in Denver,” he said coldly. “For how long?”
“We’re concerned for your safety, Mr. Langworthy,” she evaded. “Someone may want to kill you. It’s our job to keep him—or her—from succeeding.”
He gave her a long appraisal. “You know, there’s one thing I don’t understand about this whole scheme. What’s in it for you?”
The resentment in his voice made Fiona wince. “What do you mean?”
His jaw hardened. “Just what I
said. You’re not a cop or a federal agent any longer. What are you getting out of this?”
She shrugged. “My salary plus expenses.”
“Who’s paying those expenses, Ms. Clark? Who’s your client? My opponent?”
“Of course not.”
“My father, then.”
The contempt in his voice shocked Fiona. “Your father? Why would you think that?”
“I have my reasons,” he said bitterly. “Is it true?”
“No, it’s not true. Look, you already know why I’m here. But if you have doubts about my experience or my credentials, I suggest you take them up with Wiley Longbottom. Or with my boss at the detective agency. Her name is Colleen Wellesley. I’ll even give you her number.”
“Don’t bother. I spoke to her on my way up here. I’ve also spoken with the special agent in charge of the FBI field office in Chicago.”
As they’d known he would. “And?”
“You come highly recommended,” he said grudgingly.
She gave him an approving nod. “So you had me checked out. That’s good. Now you know why I’m uniquely qualified for this assignment. I was with the FBI for eight years. During that time, I worked dozens of kidnapping cases. They became something of a specialty for me. That’s why Wiley Longbottom came to me for help. Given the circumstances, I would think you’d be grateful for my expertise, as well.”
But gratitude was not exactly the emotion glimmering in his eyes, Fiona noted.
He cocked his head slightly. “So you do think there’s a connection between the threat on my life and my nephew’s kidnapping?”
“That’s what I’m here to find out.”
“By posing as my fiancée.”
The blatant sneer in his voice prodded Fiona’s temper. “We’re on the same team here, Mr. Langworthy. We have the same objective—to find your nephew and bring him safely home. And if we can keep you alive in the process, so much the better. I’m good at what I do, but it would make my job a whole lot easier if you would lose the attitude.”
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