High Ground

by Madelon Smid

  “Thank you, Officer Redford. I’m on my way, just leaving SeaTac now.”

  “We’ll see you shortly. Meanwhile, we’ll try to get Ms. Duplessis to rest, now she’s contacted you.”

  Josh could guess, by the amusement in the officer’s voice, that Cat had given them hell until she got her way. He punched Tacoma into the GPS and followed its direction onto the freeway. Less than half an hour and he’d see Cat. The idea was bittersweet. He’d longed for her every day since she’d left him. Now he needed to see for himself she was safe and would mend completely.

  The band squeezing his lungs didn’t ease until he reached her bedside and looked down. Then the tightness shifted to his heart. Cat looked like an angel when she slept, her vibrant beauty softened. The curls springing around her face, the long lashes on her cheeks gave her the look of a weary child.

  She’d slept through his arrival. He’d used the time to call RG and had waited an interminable length of time until RG cleared him with the local law enforcement so they would let him know what had happened. She’d killed three men and put another out of action, all with a bullet in her shoulder. The police spoke with respect when they took him through the details of the scene they’d found. She’d ensured they didn’t get hold of Josh or his secrets, saving his life yet again. Fear rippled through his body. The men would have killed them, no doubt. Yet his distress was not about losing his life, but hers. Even if he couldn’t have Cat, he needed to know she was in the world with him.

  RG expected to get valuable information out of the man Cat had left alive. Identifying the others could provide a real break in the case. Possibly this time they’d have enough to finish this thing. He’d also insisted the local law enforcement set guards on Cat’s room. The head of this snake seemed to have the power to hire at will. Luke and Steve, his thwarted bodyguards, would arrive with RG, probably pretty annoyed with him for giving them the slip. He’d promised RG he’d stay in the guarded hospital room with Cat, though he’d had every intention of doing so. At this point, he didn’t even trust the police.

  Awed by her abilities, he stationed himself at her bedside, stroking the slender hand, so cold and pale. Her steady breathing reassured him more than the surgeon’s report. She was in no danger, would heal well. A plastic surgeon had worked his magic on the entry and exit wounds. She’d have almost invisible scars. He remembered the purity of her skin when he’d seen her, a quadroon with a gun guarding him that first night. He pictured the shiny scar across her stomach, added these new ones, and berated himself for thinking for one second she was selfish. She might not have given him her heart, but she’d put her life on the line for him again and again.

  She opened her eyes. “Josh.” She licked her lips, tried to struggle up on one elbow.

  “Wait. I’ll help you.” He pressed the remote, elevating the head of the bed. Settling her pillows behind her more comfortably, he offered her a drink of water.

  “You’re okay,” she assured herself the minute she released the straw. “I flaked out before I could finish telling them to phone you, stop you from coming.”

  “Nothing and nobody could have done that once I heard that shot fired. I didn’t think I’d get here fast enough. The odds were terrible, either you’d bleed out before I gave myself up to them, or…” He stopped short.

  “Or they’d kill me once they confirmed you were on your way. I wasn’t sticking around while they decided.”

  “The police have the man you tied up in custody and are questioning him. The others have been taken to the ME. How did you manage to kill three men with a bullet in your shoulder and your hands tied behind your back?”

  “But how do you know…?” She started coughing.

  He held the water glass up, let her capture the straw and drink. “The policeman outside the door was bragging about you. You’re some kind of superhero around here.”

  “My lethal legs. You should know. I threw you with them enough times. I used one of their guns for the last one.”

  “I guess I should have paid more attention.” He took her hand off the bed and wrapped it in his, smiled. “I just wanted to roll around on the mat with you.”

  Her eyes darkened, fixed on his mouth. “Is RG coming?”

  “RG, my security team, and several of his employees are on the way. Sam is in the waiting room, providing silent support and wondering how you’re doing. There’s a guard posted outside your door and at the end of the hall.” While Josh brought her up to speed, he held her hand, played with her fingers, swept his gaze back and forth over her face. He knew he could never get enough of her.

  The nurse poked her head in the door. “She’s awake. Good. That man down the hall is not going to stop bothering me until he sees her. Are you up for a short, I mean three minutes, visit.”

  Cat nodded, pushed hair behind her ears, tried to sit straighter. “I must look terrible.”

  Sam caught the words as he hurried into the room. “Now that reassures me more than anything. A woman worrying about her appearance is nowhere close to death.” He crossed to the bedside, wrapped an arm around Josh, and pulled him in for a hug. “Glad to see Cat kept you from having your eyeball yanked out.”

  “Thanks.” Josh hugged him before pushing him away. “If that’s your biggest worry, no fear.”

  “I was also a little concerned about you giving up state secrets under torture, or watching them torture Cat till you gave them up.”

  “Lucky it was Cat they took, then. I couldn’t fight my way out of a box store on Black Friday.”

  The nurse slid back into the room, another pouch of blood in her hands. She glanced significantly at her watch, then Sam. “Time my patient rested.” She brushed by him to get to the stand holding the blood and antibiotics being pumped into Cat. “Last transfusion,” she assured her.”

  “I’ll be in to see you later.” Sam patted her knee under the blanket. “Rest. You’ve done your woman warrior thing for the week.” He waved at Josh.

  “A gentleman with two very serious-looking sidekicks is out there waiting to speak with you,” the nurse told Josh. “Maybe you could take it outside so my patient gets some rest.”

  “I want to hear what RG has to say,” Cat interjected.

  Josh brought her hand to his lips, pressed it there. “I’ll come back and tell you everything. I imagine RG will have to talk with the locals, get in on the interrogation. It will all take time. You need to sleep, renew your energy. I won’t leave the hospital, and you can call for me any time.”

  He waited until her eyes drooped. When they closed and her breathing steadied, he released her hand with reluctance and another kiss. He headed into the hallway to find RG, who’d arrived with the same frenetic speed Josh had put into his flight.

  He spied Josh strode toward him. “Off leash again,” he spoke grimly. “Luke here hopes you’ll let him follow you around. Maybe this time he can keep up.”

  “Sorry.” Josh held out his hand to the guard. “No hard feelings, I hope. I received a phone call from the men Cat killed. They shot her while they had me on the phone and told me if I brought anyone, let anyone follow me, they’d kill her.”

  Luke shook his hand. “I’m glad you were able to outmaneuver me, then. Is she going to be all right?”

  RG leaned in as Josh answered. A slight softening of the flint in his eyes said it mattered to him. He let out a long breath when Josh finished repeating the surgeon’s prognosis. “I’ll let Jake know. Luke, Steve, you’re on Josh.”

  He addressed the young policeman standing guard at the door. “My men will take over. Thank you for an excellent job helping Ms. Duplessis. I’ll make a point of telling your captain.”

  The young man straightened, respect for RG radiating from every cell. “Glad to do it, sir. She’s one hell of an operative.” He saluted, leaving RG looking a bit flustered. He answered the salute with a snap of his hand to brow. The officer executed a precise military pivot and strode down the hall.

  Josh took
a few minutes to milk Luke for information. He left his bodyguard outside the door of Cat’s room and hovered over her. She still slept, though she moved restlessly. As soon as he wrapped her hands in his and started talking to her, she settled. He let his love for her color his voice, emanate through the air between them. While he gave her all he was, he soaked up her beauty, courage, and strength, hoping it would sustain him, when, if, she asked him to leave. Settling deeper into his chair, he cherished his woman and waited for answers.

  She woke. The nurse attended to her needs, and leaving her propped up, went to get a light meal for her. Josh helped her eat, answered her questions, as best he could.

  “So, you avoided your guard by taking the secret stairs down the side of your building. Did you ever do that to me?”

  “I had no reason to want to get away from you and a really compelling one to give Luke the slip.”

  “I bet RG reamed him out.”

  “Yes, I feel a bit bad about getting him on the dark side of RG, but he’s back on duty so he can’t be fired.”

  She shifted restlessly. “I want answers. When will RG get here?”

  “About now.” His gravelly voice preceded him into her room. “Glad to see you looking pretty good for someone with a hole in their shoulder. But I know you came out of Afghanistan with worse, so I’m not surprised.”

  He stopped at the end of the bed, gathered his thoughts, and launched in. “NSA are the culprits. The three men who kidnapped you are active agents and were under orders. The driver, the one you disarmed, had just been assigned to the case. He’s spilling his guts to avoid prison. The two you eliminated are the ones who followed you in the vehicle licensed to the FBI. They used blackmail on your friend in the CIA to get him to plant the pen on you and on an FBI agent to get access to the vehicle.”

  “NSA camouflaged as another agency. Figures. I guess it wouldn’t be hard for them to get something to use as leverage on the FBI and CIA agents who helped them. They have eyes and ears everywhere,” Cat concluded.

  “We know since Edward Snowden revealed some of their secret surveillance programs last year that the majority of the Internet is susceptible to cyber attacks from the NSA,” Josh added.

  “NSA wanted to gain access to your security so they could spy deeper, have as much information on the agencies and government as is available. They’re trying to dethrone the Secretary of Defense, and through him, take down the President. They don’t like the act he’s putting before congress to limit their power to spy on American citizens,” RG said.

  “So they were acting alone? But where does Maddox come in?

  “I believe Maddox was hired to break my codes so they could either find or plant information on anyone in the upper echelons. Fraud, treason, a sex scandal—creating a media frenzy. The people would demand a trial and whatever lies the NSA planted would come to light, toppling the President,” Josh answered.

  “We’re pretty certain someone in the Department of Defense, as well as one of the deputy directors in NSA, are involved in this. If we could get Maddox, we could get him to roll on them.”

  RG moved closer, squeezed Cat on her good shoulder. “This was bigger than any of us thought. Good work, Cat. You should get a congressional medal for saving the President’s ass.” He nodded approval. “I’ve brought the agencies up to speed. Homeland will report to the Secretary, and he in turn to the President. NSA will be under attack from all sides, for allowing one of their directors to use their resources to threaten national security, hack their security programs, and put a hit out on you. The FBI and Homeland are swarming like hornets after honey.” His lips stretched wide in satisfaction.

  “So Maddox was working for them. He was testing my firewalls to find a way into their files and plant the damaging information. Having me killed was a bonus for him. He probably insisted they do his dirty work while he did theirs after he missed me with that first shot.”

  “He wasn’t with the kidnappers,” she said with conviction. “He’s still out there.”

  “A rooster with his tail feathers plucked,” RG concluded. “We checked the cellphones you’d given the police. Just as you said, each was used to make one phone call. The one had Josh’s number in it. The other call was made to a burn phone. It’s possible the person’s still holding it, waiting for instructions. The police chief and sheriff have agreed to keep a tight wrap on this until we can trace the phone. They’re working on the coordinates now. Hopefully, they will lead us to Maddox.”

  ****

  RG reported Maddox must have already tossed the phone. They didn’t find it or him. He was in the wind. Three days passed while agents from every agency arrived in teams to help track down the man who’d eluded all of them.

  Cat insisted on leaving the hospital on the third morning. Reluctantly, her doctor gave his permission. Josh arrived with clothes from her boathouse and a nurse pushing a wheelchair, plus his ever-present bodyguards.

  He waited in the corridor, while the nurse helped her dress. When she emerged sitting in the chair, he stepped alongside. “RG has the car below. You’re getting a four man escort back to your place, and then I’m staying to see you follow the doctor’s orders.”

  She groaned.

  “That’s the deal, Cat. None of us think you’re ready to be released.” He stepped into the elevator behind the chair.

  “Sorry, you’ll have to take the next one,” his bodyguard told a nurse pushing a portable X-ray machine. He punched the button, closing the door on her astonished face.

  Once out of the wheelchair and settled in the back seat of the limo between Josh and RG, Cat immediately started squeezing an update out of RG.

  “Nothing new,” he clipped out. “All the players are here. I’ve left the police chief to deal with the FBI who insist they have jurisdiction because Maddox crossed state lines. They’ll fight it out while we continue our own search.”

  “Sam?” She guessed. “You brought in the best searcher in the country.”

  “He’s been on it night and day. He’ll find him soon.”

  The limousine pulled onto the dock and stopped in front of her houseboat. “Steve, don’t let either of these two so much as put a face to a window. Luke will relieve you at twenty-two hundred hours. I’ll get back to you when I have something.”

  When Cat had changed into more comfortable sweat pants and a T-shirt and settled onto the large couch, Josh wrapped her in the fluffy caramel throw she’d brought from New Orleans. With a glass of water, a cup of tea, and a sandwich all set beside her, he sat in the armchair across from her, his hands swinging loosely between his legs.

  “Steve’s taking a turn on the deck,” he told her. “He’s trying to give us some privacy.” Her shoulders rose, the skin over her cheekbones tightened. The air filled with palpable reaction to the idea he might want intimacy.

  “Do we need privacy?” Though her voice remained neutral, the question wobbled up a key, then down.

  “I didn’t ask him for any, if that’s what you’re implying.” Josh straightened under the blow of her response. “Still running scared, Cat?”

  “Maybe not running at all.” Defiance laced her voice. “I’ve made a good life here.”

  “I’d suggest I can write software from anywhere in the world, but I guess it would just spook you more.” He stood. “You need some rest. I’ll go see what’s up with Steve.”

  He stepped onto the deck, found Steve loitering by the kayaks hanging on the side of Sam’s houseboat a few docks down. When he walked up to him, Steve moved to stand between Josh and a clear line of sight.

  “Can I persuade you to go back inside?” Steve’s concern was palpable. “A sniper could have you in his scope right now.”

  Josh’s phone rang. He checked the call number, saw it was RG, and answered. He listened while Jake’s head of security spoke, issued several instructions. He hung up and started moving back to Cat’s houseboat, just as Steve’s phone rang. He listened, his watchful eyes searching
the area.

  “I’ll just let Cat know the change of plans.” The fact they meant separating from Cat put him in turmoil. But maybe putting a little space between them was a good thing. With his first question, she’d gone on the defensive. She hadn’t overcome her fear. He wanted to take her in his arms, love her, reassure her, but his presence alone put her on edge. It was time to go home.

  He stepped into the houseboat, found her where he’d left her. Her eyes flew open.

  “RG just called to say Sam is fairly certain Maddox came to Seattle. RG wants me in a hotel, where they can guard me, while waiting for his next move.”

  Cat sat up. The concern on her face, told him caring and commitment were two different things for her. “RG is going to use you for bait?”

  “At my insistence, yes. We need to capture Maddox to find the traitors. Either NSA assigned another team and still wants my codes, or Maddox is going after me alone, because he still wants revenge for his wife.”

  “It’s too dangerous,” Cat protested.

  “RG can protect me, and he has a good plan worked out. Whoever is masterminding this knows you can’t give them what they need. So they will go after me. But for insurance, RG has arranged for the FBI to keep an eye on you. Steve and I are heading for the hotel now.”

  He walked to the door. His hand on the knob, he turned. “If this goes as planned, I won’t see you again. Make sure that’s what you want.”

  “Josh…” Cat stood, holding out a supplicating hand.

  He groaned, crossed to enfold it in both of his. “Cat, what are you afraid of?”

  “I’m afraid I’ll get hurt like I’ve been every time I let myself care about someone.”

  “Looks to me like you’re already hurt.”

  “I’m like a curse, killing the people around me.” She dropped her face in her hands, stifling a sob. “Everybody leaves in the end, one way or another.”

  He feathered his lips down her cheek, taking the silver stream of moisture into his mouth. “Hurting you is the last thing I’d want, Cat.” He swung her up in his arms, sank into the plush armchair, with her draped across his lap.