Lynn Ames - Beyond Instinct

by Lynn Ames

  “Thank you, sir.” Sage’s voice was full of awe.

  “Once you are fit again, I’d like you to come to work here with my African task force. I understand you’ve got extraordinary insight into the West African peoples, and I expect you would have much to contribute to the shaping of our policies in that part of the world.”

  “Thank you, Mr. President. Sir, if I might be so bold as to ask, how is it you know so much of what happened?”

  The president smiled enigmatically. “I’m the president, my dear. It’s my job to know. Oh, and your friend Sabastien says hello. I’m putting him to work in our counter-terrorism unit. He certainly has a penchant for being able to get around any electronic security obstacles.”

  Vaughn laughed. She, too, had been wondering at the president’s familiarity with the specifics of their exploits. Now she understood. Leave it to Sabastien to send an e-mail report directly to the president.

  The three women emerged from the West Wing a short time later, while the majority leader stayed to brief the president. Vaughn looked up at the clear blue sky and took in a deep breath. Today was a great day for the good guys.

  “I’m going to get going,” Justine said. Vaughn thought the ploy less than subtle. “Sage, you’re going to keep in touch, right?” Justine gave her a hug.

  “I promise.”

  “And you’re going to see the orthopedic surgeon I recommended?”

  “Yes, yes.”

  “Vaughn,” Justine faced her. “You need at least a week of bed rest, and don’t argue with me.”

  “I wouldn’t dream of it,” Vaughn said. She pulled Justine into a hug. “Thank you for everything. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “I’ve got to say, you sure know how to show a girl a good time.” Justine backed away from the hug and waved as she walked away.

  “Vaughn—”

  “Sage, don’t.” Vaughn struggled to keep her voice from breaking. If she gave an inch now, she’d sweep Sage into her arms and carry her home. Sage just needed time—that was all. She would get over this crush and find someone more suitable. Still, the look of hurt on Sage’s face was nearly Vaughn’s undoing.

  “You look tired. Are you okay?” Sage asked. She lowered her eyes and stared at her feet.

  Vaughn’s heart cracked a little more. “I’m fine, thanks. Nothing a little sleep won’t cure.”

  “Right.” When Sage looked up, tears shimmered on her lashes. “I know you don’t want to hear it, but I need you to know meeting you was the best thing that ever happened to me.”

  Vaughn’s eyebrow disappeared into her hair line. “Sage, since you met me, you’ve been kidnapped, beaten, shot at, seen people killed…”

  “I know all that. But I’ve also been more alive than I’ve ever been, and I understand now what it feels like to be in love.”

  No, Sage. You can’t be in love with me. “The president is offering you a fantastic opportunity,” Vaughn said, abruptly changing the subject.

  “Yes, he is.”

  “You’ll take it, right?”

  Sage sighed. “Yes, Vaughn, I’ll take it.” Sage’s voice cracked and tears rolled down her cheeks. She looked miserable, and all Vaughn wanted to do was take her in her arms. Instead, she put her hands in her pockets.

  Finally, Sage broke the silence. “What about you? Are you going to take the president up on his offer?”

  “I don’t know yet.” Vaughn shifted uncomfortably. It was so hard not to reach out—not to give Sage something—not to offer words of reassurance and comfort.

  “Oh.”

  “I’ve got to go.” Vaughn suddenly felt an irrepressible urge to bolt. If she stayed any longer, she might… “Take care of yourself, Sage.”

  “You, too, Vaughn.” Sage started to walk away. Her head was bent and her shoulders sagged. When she’d gone several feet, she turned around one last time. “I love you.” She glanced longingly at Vaughn one more time, then hurried down the sidewalk.

  When Vaughn was sure Sage was out of earshot, she said, “I love you too, Sage.” She balled her hands into fists in her pockets and walked in the opposite direction.

  It took everything she had not to turn around and go after Sage. In a few months, or a year, this would all be behind them. It didn’t matter what Vaughn wanted—Sage was about to embark on a new and exciting chapter in her life, and Vaughn would content herself with watching from afar, just to make sure Sage was all right.

  In the meantime, Vaughn would find some out-of-the-way place to rest, recuperate, and figure out what to do next. Perhaps she could even convince herself that the last two weeks had never happened. Perhaps…

  EPILOGUE

  Vaughn squinted in the bright sunlight, quickly donned her shades, and headed to the taxi stand at Dulles International Airport. She had missed her connection and was more than two hours late. The jury was scheduled to begin deliberations earlier that morning in the trial of Edgar Fairhaven.

  Both Senate Majority Leader Stowe and the assistant United States attorney prosecuting the case assured Vaughn that the verdict was little more than a formality. She hoped she wasn’t too late. Former Secretary of State Brian Pordras and former Ambassador to Mali Raymond Dumont had testified for the prosecution in exchange for reduced sentences. The detailed information they supplied implicated Fairhaven as the mastermind behind the drug-smuggling operation, Sara’s murder, Sage’s kidnapping and attempted murder, and the attempted murders of Vaughn, Justine, and Senate Majority Leader Stowe.

  Vaughn settled herself in the backseat of the taxi. “Federal Courthouse, please.” As the cab weaved in and out of Washington, D.C. traffic, Vaughn reviewed the events of the trial.

  The majority leader’s comprehensive, succinct testimony added to the weight of the prosecution’s case. Vaughn’s heart-wrenching account of Sara’s death and Sage’s rescue resonated with the jury and made the crimes seem all the more personal and heinous. Justine’s description of Vaughn’s injuries and the desperate race to save her life solidified the case for the conspiracy to commit murder, and Sage’s harrowing recitation of her time in captivity virtually slammed the door on any chance Fairhaven had for freedom in his lifetime.

  Vaughn frowned. She had argued privately with the prosecutor that there was more than enough evidence to convict Fairhaven without Sage’s testimony. She would’ve done anything to spare her from having to relive her trauma.

  When she lost the argument, Vaughn considered showing up in the courtroom to offer what moral and emotional support she could. In the end, she stayed away and relied on Justine’s accounts of how Sage was faring.

  “We’re here,” the cabbie said.

  Vaughn paid him, grabbed her bag, and got out. She checked her watch. If she was lucky, the jury might still be out. She hustled into the building only to find a large crowd milling around outside the courtroom.

  From a distance, she caught a glimpse of Sage. Even after so long spent apart, Vaughn’s heart still skipped a beat at the sight. Over the course of the eight months of soul-searching, she finally had come to accept that she was in love with Sage. She just wasn’t sure she was ready to do anything about it.

  Sage looked beautiful. She wore an expensive, sharply cut suit that accented her trim figure. Her hair was lighter than Vaughn remembered, and her cheeks had a healthy glow.

  Sage must have sensed her presence, because at that moment, she turned and their eyes met through the throng of people.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, if you’d take your seats, the jury is coming back.”

  Sage felt Vaughn’s presence before she saw her. When their eyes met, Sage’s palms dampened and her mouth went dry. Good Lord. Vaughn looked like a bronzed goddess. Her intelligent, expressive eyes stood out boldly against deeply tanned skin. She wore a fitted pantsuit and a crisp, white blouse. And, most remarkably, she looked rested and relaxed in a way Sage had never seen before.

  Vaughn didn’t take the president up on his offer and, after t
hat day at the White House, she just seemed to disappear. Despite her best efforts, Sage was unable to find out where she was. Finally, in desperation, Sage turned to Justine for information.

  Justine would say only that Vaughn decided to take some time off and was living somewhere in the Caribbean. Sage hoped to see her when she was in D.C. to testify, but Vaughn managed to slip into and out of town in a single day, and Sage was bogged down in an international conference.

  The bailiff summoned the crowd back into the courtroom just as Sage started to move in Vaughn’s direction. By the time Sage made it inside, she had lost sight of Vaughn.

  Vaughn wasn’t the least bit surprised to find Justine at her side as she took a seat.

  “Hi, stranger.”

  “Hi,” Vaughn said.

  “Long time no see. I thought you’d be here before this.”

  “Believe me, I meant to be. Damn airlines.”

  “Well, if you weren’t coming from the middle of nowhere…”

  “You’re not going to start that again, are you?”

  “Nope,” Justine answered. “Did you see Sage? She looks fantastic, doesn’t she?”

  Vaughn’s pulse quickened merely at the sound of her name. “Yes, she does. Her shoulder is all healed?”

  “Yep. The surgeon did a wonderful job. She has full functionality.”

  “That’s great.” Vaughn let silence fill the air.

  “She asks about you all the time, you know.”

  “Justine—”

  “Don’t ‘Justine’ me.”

  Vaughn sighed heavily. “How’s she doing with the nightmares and stuff?”

  “She doesn’t talk about it much, but every time I see her, she looks a little more comfortable in her own skin.”

  “You see her often?” Vaughn asked, glancing sideways.

  “Jealous?” Justine laughed. “We get together for lunch once a week.”

  “That’s nice.”

  “You should talk to her, Vaughn.”

  “Don’t—” Even now, Vaughn wasn’t sure she could or should act on her feelings.

  At that moment, the jurors filed in and took their places. The courtroom went very quiet.

  “The defendant will rise,” the judge intoned.

  Vaughn watched as Fairhaven rose to his feet. His hair was grayer than it had been, and his face was gaunt.

  “Have you reached a verdict?” the judge asked the jury foreman.

  “We have, your Honor. On the count of kidnapping in the first degree, we find the defendant…guilty.”

  Vaughn sought Sage’s face in the crowd. She made eye contact and smiled reassuringly.

  “On the three counts of conspiracy to commit murder, we find the defendant…guilty.”

  The crowd began to buzz.

  “Order!” The judge gaveled the court to order.

  “On the count of second degree murder, we find the defendant…guilty.”

  “That one’s for you, Sara,” Vaughn murmured. Tears formed in her eyes. Justine squeezed her hand.

  “On the count of money laundering, we find the defendant…guilty.”

  “On the count of drug smuggling, we find the defendant…guilty.”

  “I accept your finding,” the judge said, “and I thank you for your service. The jury is dismissed. Sentencing is set for ninety days from today. Court is adjourned.”

  Newspaper reporters rushed out the door to file their stories. Television reporters retreated to various corners of the courtroom to do their stand-ups.

  Vaughn and Justine hugged.

  “He got what he deserved,” Justine said.

  “It won’t bring Sara back,” Vaughn said around the lump in her throat. She hadn’t thought the moment would be so emotional.

  “You fought for her, Vaughn. Somewhere up there, she knows that.”

  Vaughn nodded.

  “She’d also want you to move on. You know that too.”

  Vaughn stiffened, but Justine held her close when she would have pulled away. It was true that she loved Sage, but she wasn’t sure she was ready to let go of Sara’s memory and what Sara had meant to her.

  “You can’t keep running away. Sage loves you. And don’t tell me you don’t feel the same way, Vaughn Elliott. I saw that look in your eyes.”

  She hadn’t thought herself to be so transparent. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Justine released Vaughn and shoved her forward and to the left. “Go talk to her. You at least owe her that.”

  Sage stood some fifteen feet away. The misery in her eyes touched Vaughn’s soul, and something inside her shifted.

  “Hi,” Vaughn said when she was close enough to be heard.

  “Hi.”

  “It’s over.”

  “Yes, it is.” Sage wasn’t looking at her.

  “You look marvelous. Justine tells me your shoulder is completely healed.”

  “Yeah, the doc did a great job.”

  “I’ll believe that when I get a demonstration.”

  Sage’s head snapped up. Her eyes showed confusion.

  “Can I have a hug?” Vaughn asked. She opened her arms and pulled Sage close when she stepped into the embrace.

  Vaughn inhaled the fresh scent of Sage’s hair and the sweet fragrance of her perfume. She closed her eyes and savored the moment. Sage fit so perfectly in her arms. Vaughn’s resistance crumbled and she surrendered. I love you, Sara. I always will. But it’s time to get on with my life.

  “So,” Vaughn said, pulling back just far enough to see Sage’s face. “I hear you make a mean chicken cordon bleu.”

  The End

  Other Books in Print by Lynn Ames

  Eyes on the Stars

  ISBN: 978-1-936429-00-4

  Jessie Keaton and Claudia Sherwood were as different as night and day. But when their nation needed experienced female pilots, their reactions were identical: heed the call. In early 1943, the two women joined the Women Airforce Service Pilots—WASP—and reported to Avenger Field in Sweetwater, Texas, where they promptly fell head-over-heels in love.

  The life of a WASP was often perilous by definition. Being two women in love added another layer of complication entirely, leading to ostracism and worse. Like many others, Jessie and Claudia hid their relationship, going on dates with men to avert suspicion. The ruse worked well until one seemingly innocent afternoon ruined everything.

  Two lives tragically altered. Two hearts ripped apart. And a second chance more than fifty years in the making.

  From the airfields of World War II, to the East Room of the Obama White House, follow the lives of two extraordinary women whose love transcends time and place.

  Outsiders

  ISBN: 978-0-979-92545-0

  What happens when you take five beloved, powerhouse authors, each with a unique voice and style, give them one word to work with, and put them between the sheets together, no holds barred?

  Magic!!

  Brisk Press presents Lynn Ames, Georgia Beers, JD Glass, Susan X. Meagher and Susan Smith, all together under the same cover with the aim to satisfy your every literary taste. This incredible combination offers something for everyone—a smorgasbord of fiction unlike anything you’ll find anywhere else.

  A Native American raised on the Reservation ventures outside the comfort and familiarity of her own world to help a lost soul embrace the gifts that set her apart. A reluctantly wealthy woman uses all of her resources anonymously to help those who cannot help themselves. Three individuals, three aspects of the self, combine to create balance and harmony at last for a popular trio of characters. Two nomadic women from very different walks of life discover common ground—and a lot more—during a blackout in New York City. A traditional, old school butch must confront her community and her own belief system when she falls for a much younger transman.

  Five authors—five novellas. Outsiders—one remarkable book.

  Heartsong

  ISBN: 978-0-9840521-3-4

  Af
ter three years spent mourning the death of her partner in a tragic climbing accident, Danica Warren has re-emerged in the public eye. With a best-selling memoir, a blockbuster movie about her heroic efforts to save three other climbers, and a successful career on the motivational speaking circuit, Danica has convinced herself that her life can be full without love.

  When Chase Crosley walks into Danica’s field of vision everything changes. Danica is suddenly faced with questions she’s never pondered.

  Is there really one love that transcends all concepts of space and time? One great love that joins two hearts so that they beat as one? One moment of recognition when twin flames join and burn together?

  Will Danica and Chase be able to overcome the barriers standing between them and find forever? And can that love be sustained, even in the face of cruel circumstances and fate?

  One ~ Love, (formerly The Flip Side of Desire)

  ISBN: 978-0-9840521-2-7

  Trystan Lightfoot allowed herself to love once in her life; the experience broke her heart and strengthened her resolve never to fall in love again. At forty, however, she still longs for the comfort of a woman’s arms. She finds temporary solace in meaningless, albeit adventuresome encounters, burying her pain and her emotions deep inside where no one can reach. No one, that is, until she meets C.J. Winslow.

  C.J. Winslow is the model-pretty-but-aging professional tennis star the Women’s Tennis Federation is counting on to dispel the image that all great female tennis players are lesbians. And her lesbianism isn’t the only secret she’s hiding. A traumatic event from her childhood is taking its toll both on and off the court.

  Together Trystan and C.J. must find a way beyond their pasts to discover lasting love.

  The Kate and Jay Trilogy

  The Price of Fame

  ISBN: 978-0-9840521-4-1

  When local television news anchor Katherine Kyle is thrust into the national spotlight, it sets in motion a chain of events that will change her life forever. Jamison “Jay” Parker is an intensely career-driven Time magazine reporter. The first time she saw Kate, she fell in love. The last time she saw her, Kate was rescuing her. That was five years ago , and she never expected to see her again. Then circumstances and an assignment bring them back together.