She had light brown skin, long straight hair and curves. She was a size four and vivacious, as Troy had said. She had her dad's oval face, but her mom's "pug" nose. Maybe that was the problem. Everything about Alaina Capri Montgomery 25
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was closer to being the spitting image of her father. Had she looked more like her mother, acted more like her mother, thought more like her mother maybe she could have been closer to her.
The rugged jeep pulled up beside them. Two men sat in the front, one holding his rifle on his lap while the other navigated the vehicle.
Despite their dirt ridden faces and native apparel she could tell they were American.
"M'am," the driver nodded. She found the strength to lift her hand in what she could only hope passed for a sincere wave of thanks.
"After you;" Sully motioned for her to climb into the jeep and so she did.
Finally she felt some sense of relief. She was out of danger and in the safe company of these men. She was safe, unless Sully's rescue was merely a rouse designed to make her think they were the good guys.
Maybe they wanted the same thing those men wanted. The more she tried to push away those thoughts the harder they pushed in and before she knew it she had the sinking feeling she might be in more trouble than she thought. It was too late to do anything about it now. She could only sit back and hope Sully really was one of the good guys.
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Chapter Two
"Ms. James," agent Tony Cordova waited patiently for Liz to acknowledge his presence.
"What is it?" She sat at her solid oak desk finalizing business before leaving her office for the campaign trail. There could be no mistakes, especially not now. A mistake would be attributed to being weak, distracted. She was neither weak nor distracted, but in announcing her bid to run for presidential election she had just made herself a media target.
"I thought you would want to know our two agents have picked up Captain Masterson and your daughter."
"Are they on their way to the U.S.?"
"They're still in Central America, but they're headed to the airstrip."
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"I see." She signed off on another confidential document and tucked it inside the dark gray folder before speaking again. "Keep me posted."
"Yes m'am."
Alaina's misfortunes always came at the best possible time for Liz.
She had already planned how to spin Alaina's captivity to her benefit. A woman who, though worried about her captive daughter, still had the ability to keep the best interest of the country in mind was sure to look favorably come election time. Refusing to give up confidential prisoner holding information was in the best interest of the country, she would assure any detractors of that point while making sure they knew she believed in bringing any American taken hostage home safe. Mothers would understand her dilemma; patriots would honor her decision to stay strong in the face of great adversity. The voters, come election day, would have no reason not to elect her. She would assure them that she would issue in a new government, one that put the people first. A united government where red tape tied up less progress than it currently did. The public in general was tired of politicians who couldn't put country ahead of their own agenda. They wanted change and she would promise them that change.
Her past was locked up so tight that not even the president had access to everything in it. It wasn't as if she had many visible skeletons with or without security clearance. She had spent her life preparing for greatness and that meant she had learned long ago how to cover her Saints and Sinners 28
mistakes. She had learned long before she met Sean O'Grady, Alaina's father. She had planned, calculated, every step of the relationship. Sean was an international businessman with money and resources out of her immediate scope. When she met him she was already ten years in with the agency, but his money and connections was what she needed to get farther. He had built a world for himself in D.C. and New York. He knew the markets, had judges as golfing buddies, military generals as business associates and she learned how to work them all. Soon his contacts had become her contacts. His resources became her resources, and she knew how to manipulate every one of them, including him.
Before he saw her for the first time she knew who he was, what he did, what type of coffee he liked and where he liked to spend his free time.
She knew what type of car he drove, what type of woman he liked, and what she needed to do to attract his interest. By the time he met her she already had her game plan in place and, though he didn't know it, their impromptu meeting was all a part of her plan.
She didn't jog late afternoon, yet she had gone because she knew he did. Her first attempt had been unproductive since he hadn't shown for his five o'clock run, but the second day had proved worthwhile. She saw him as he made his first run around the lake before jogging off into the woods. From her vantage point she knew exactly how long it would take until he met up with her, six minutes precisely, but she had to time it right or she'd mess up her chances if another jogger came by. Too early and she'd miss him, too late and her plan wouldn't work. So she waited. She Capri Montgomery 29
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waited until she knew he would be four feet from the bend, which meant she would be in viewing distance. Once she counted her mark she deliberately came down on her ankle wrong for the perfect twist. Too much and she would break it, too little and he'd have no reason to help her home.
She had done everything right. By the time he was in viewing distance of her she was already on the ground holding her ankle. She even poured on the fake tears; not too much as she didn't want to seem too needy, but just enough for sympathy. Her long blonde hair had been pulled back in a ponytail. She was wearing Eucalyptus essential oil as a natural bug repellant. She knew from her research that Sean liked natural remedies, and that meant he liked women who shared his passion for holistic healing.
Sean had jogged up to her. She slowly raised her head and when their eyes met she batted her lashes demurely. She could tell from the twitch in his shorts that he was interested. He knelt before her and smiled.
"I twisted my ankle. It really hurts."
"Let me take a look." He gently eased her sock down just enough to see her ankle. She was pleasantly surprised at the blue bruising and the swelling that had already started to form. She never was one to half do anything. Of course that was going to cost her some fieldwork at work, but the reward far outweighed the consequences.
"Nasty bruise," he ran his fingers along her soft, pale, skin.
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"I've been off balance lately. My doctor says I'm a little anemic. He wants to put me on pills and I want to fix it the natural way. I guess natural is taking a little too long for my balance." She wasn't anemic, she wasn't off balance and she wasn't interested in natural remedies. Sean didn't know that, and he wouldn't know it until she wanted him too.
"Doctors always want to push pills. You're doing the right thing."
His fingers gently caressed her ankle. She flinched for affect. "Sorry."
The pain wasn't severe. She had gone through worse, felt worse, hurt worse. Still, in order for her plan to work she needed him to believe she needed to be taken care of, and that he was just the right man to take care of her.
"Let me help you to your car."
"I jogged here. I only drive when I have to. This keeps me healthy, usually." She gave a demure laugh. He chuckled as he helped her up.
"I'll help you home then. Can you put any weight on it?"
She could, but she wouldn't. Instead she gave a sharp "ouch" when she tried.
"I'll have to carry you then." He lifted her in his arms so easily, as if she weighed nothing. She was always slender, but she had lost ten extra pounds before making her move. Sean O'Grady liked thin women.
He carried her the mile to her condominium and helped her inside.
She had taken great care to fill her re
frigerator and freezer with health food, redecorate her home with natural and organic materials that were earth friendly; she even added a few Save the Dolphins pamphlets on the Capri Montgomery 31
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coffee table. She didn't care about the dolphins, organic materials or even earth friendly decorating, but she knew he did. She knew how to become anything and anyone when she needed too. She did it all the time for her job. The difference was this time she was doing it on her dime and not the company's. Her hard work had paid off well.
"You're eco friendly." He placed the ice pack on her ankle. She flinched again for show. He took hold of her hand like the gallant, strong man that he presented himself as.
"I figure we all have to live here we might as well all clean up behind ourselves. Besides, I want to leave something behind for my children; something other than an irreversible mess."
"You have kids?"
"Not yet, but maybe someday." She didn't want kids, but she knew he did. He had been an only child and he wanted a big family to pass on the O'Grady name.
By the end of the hour he had asked her to dinner. He had offered to drive her to and from work, and she graciously allowed him to. They had become fast friends, romantically involved, but never sexually involved. She wanted to wait. Or at least he thought she wanted to wait.
She wasn't a virgin, but he wanted one when he did decide to marry so she gave him one.
She listened intently when he talked, as if she cared about his life, his family. By their fourth month of dating she had him so head over moon in love with her that his proposal came as no shock. She suggested a Saints and Sinners 32
quick wedding. She didn't want anything fancy; she didn't need to waste time. He had protested slightly. He wanted his friends there and her in a white gown. She assured him that she had no idea when an assignment would take her away and they should marry quickly. He, as always, bended to her will and they married at the Justice of Peace on a Wednesday afternoon lunch break hour.
Five years into the marriage he wanted to leave her, and she knew that. She got pregnant to keep him there. A divorce, for any reason, would hurt her chances for her future goals and she wouldn't let anything hurt her chances. She didn't want a child, but she knew he wouldn't leave if she had one. She certainly didn't want a girl. If she had her way she would have had a boy and he would have gone into the military, thus showing that her family had a devotion to being patriotic. She had told Sean a boy would take his last name, a girl her last name. He didn't like the idea, but he had lost whatever fight he had in him years ago. She won out. She was so sure the baby would be a boy until the ultrasound, when she found out she was having a girl. Sean had picked the name, and as planned they were going to give her James as a last name. "The next one," he had said, "should have my name. Boy or girl." She had no plans to have a next one, but still she agreed.
Liz had hoped her little girl would be more like her, able to bend and break anybody who got in her way. Instead, she got stuck with a girl who was too much like her father, in looks and temperament. When Alaina was born Sean spent every moment he could holding her, feeding Capri Montgomery 33
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her, teaching her. He refused the idea of a nanny, or even a babysitter. He wanted Liz to stay home, but she had no intention of quitting her job.
Sean, being the dutiful father, started working out of his home office, and once Alaina was old enough he started taking her to the company office.
When she started school he made sure he took her to school and picked her up each day.
When summer break came around he took her to his office everyday. He insisted she study over the summer, learning about art and languages while getting an inside look at how to run a business. For Sean, Alaina was his heart. For Liz, Alaina was a thorn, one she wanted no part of, but had little choice in.
Even now, Alaina found a way to complicate things. Alaina's controversial art pieces about freedoms lost since the September eleventh attacks, her artistic nudes, even her diluted abstract paintings were a source of problems for Liz. Still, Liz was sure she could deal with that if it came up in her run for president. She could probably even use it to her advantage. After all, many people were questioning their lost freedom, what better way to show herself aligned with them than to have a daughter who was so openly vocal about the fight.
She had managed to spin everything in her life for the positive, Sean's murder, Troy's accident, even Alaina's captivity. She still had all her connections, had made even stronger ones and best yet, she had her husband's money to fund her campaign. Had she known Sean had changed his insurance policy before his death she would have made a point to fix Saints and Sinners 34
things. The insurance policy went to Alaina, but since there was no will, at least not one that anybody knew about, everything else went to Liz. She didn't protest. Protesting would have made waves, caused a scene and she couldn't afford that. Things worked out to her benefit not to have to bother with Alaina's finances post high school graduation. She had enough money after she sold off Sean's businesses for a hefty sum of forty million dollars. Life was going according to plan; she just needed to keep it that way.
Being elected was her primary objective now. She would need Alaina. Having her daughter hit the campaign trail with her, even if only for a few weeks, would increase her chances of winning. After Alaina's ordeal, Liz was sure she'd have no trouble convincing her daughter to campaign for her. If there was any trouble she would just have to remind the little twit that she would still be in a holding cell if it weren't for her.
Finesse was everything and she would have to wait, find the perfect moment and perfect way to broach the subject of the campaign with Alaina. She couldn't wait long. It would be best to attack while Alaina was still vulnerable, still in need of feeling safely connected to home.
Liz had no delusions about Alaina feeling connected to her, but she knew she would understand what could happen if she didn't have the protection of her connections. If Alaina wasn't aware of the consequences then Liz would simply have to remind her.
Liz looked in the sterling silver desk mirror. Her appearance perfectly posed, not a hair out of place. She had kept herself beautiful, Capri Montgomery 35
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thin, and primed for the spotlight. "Madam President," she smiled widely, loving the sound of her future title. There was nobody around to mess things up for her now, not even Alaina. Alaina was too young to remember what their family had been like when it was whole. Anything she remembered after her father's death could be justified by Liz's commitment to keeping Americans safe.
Liz stared at her reflection in the mirror. "She was too young to remember," she assured herself. “She can’t hurt you. And if she tries, you’ll just have to take care of it, like you’ve taken care of everything else,” she mumbled. She was too close to getting her ultimate dream to have it all fall apart now.
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Chapter Three
Sully sat back in his seat, watching the sunrise as they took off from the landing strip. His mission, though not over, had been a success.
There was nothing standing between Alaina and the United States other than miles. Once she set foot on American soil, and once he handled a proper hand off, his assignment was over. He was more eager for that moment than he had ever been on any of his assignments.
He figured she was just waiting to tell all, but once they boarded the plane and the onboard medical officer started asking her questions she didn't offer up the details.
"Your arm," the officer had said.
"Oh, it's just a graze. It hurts like crazy, but it could have been worse."
She hadn't mentioned who shot her. Sully knew he could justify things to the Admiral. It wasn't as if he hadn't shot a hostage before in Capri Montgomery 37
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order to get them out alive. Those hostages had been soldiers, not civilians, and he knew the response would be more than a lecture about finding
other ways to handle the situation. He wasn't trigger happy; he shot a hostage when he needed to, and only as a last resort. He accessed the situation quickly, accurately and thoroughly and each time he had pulled the trigger it had been because there was no other option available to him at the time.
"And your feet?" The medical officer cut Sully a look that told him he disapproved of Alaina's condition.
"They took my shoes from the first day. Captain Masterson didn't notice I was without shoes until we were deep in the jungle. And I guess I was so scared that it wasn't the first thing on my mind either."
"I see. Well at least the Captain managed to get you out of there alive."
Sully wondered what Alaina was up to. She hadn't complained about his attitude toward her. She hadn't mentioned that he was the one who had shot her. She hadn't even mentioned that he gave little attention to her condition as he navigated their way to their pickup point. He didn't trust her. She was a woman; she had an agenda. He just wasn't sure what her agenda was yet.
He was six months away from retirement. Twenty years, plus one day of service would ensure benefits paid. He was military, career military at that, and he knew he would miss some of the action, but he had something more important to worry about. He was thirty-seven, almost Saints and Sinners 38
thirty-eight, and he had more responsibilities now than he had when he first joined the Navy. He had managed to juggle both the civilian family life and the military life—until now.
Now, all he needed to do was make the next six months without getting himself killed and then he could go home permanently. Up until now he had thought maybe he was out of danger for being wounded in the line of duty. He had wrapped up an undercover mission he had worked on, nearly gotten himself killed working on, with Gavin. He had six months of routine work—nothing that involved covert missions. He basically consulted, trained, educated. Then he got the call to go to Central America on a rescue mission—no room for refusal offered—and once again he was back, full force, in the game.
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