by Gerri Hill
Sara settled back as the conversation went on around her. It was turning out to be a very good trip. And grudgingly, she admitted Jaime had a lot to do with it. Perhaps it was good, having an outsider with them. It would help though if she didn’t look like a damn model. Maybe that was what was bothering her. She was attractive. In fact, she was one of the cutest women Sara had met in a long, long time. And she was a flirt. And Sara felt a tug of attraction for the other woman. She rolled her eyes. God, did I just think that? But yes, she couldn’t deny it as she watched Jaime rise from the water and sit on a rock, laying out flat and letting the sun dry her. She very nearly groaned as her eyes landed on Jaime’s breasts. She made herself move, dipping under the water again. She wasn’t even sure she liked the woman. How could she possibly be attracted to her? She stood in the middle of the springs, her eyes again landing on the prone body of Jaime Hutchinson. How? Jesus, you’d have to be dead not to notice her. Well, dead or straight. And she was neither.
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Copyright© 2007 by Gerri Hill
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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing from the publisher.
First Edition
Editor: Anna Chinappi
Cover designer: KIARO Creative Ltd.
ISBN-10: 1-59493-082-1
ISBN-13: 978-1-59493-082-9
About the Author
Gerri lives in East Texas, deep in the pines, with her partner, Diane. They share their log cabin and adjoining five acres with two labs, Max and Zach, and four cats. A huge vegetable garden that overflows in the summer is her pride and joy. Besides giving in to her overactive green thumb, Gerri loves to “hike the woods” with the dogs, a pair of binoculars (bird watching), and at least one camera! For more, visit Gerri’s Web site at www.gerrihill.com.
Chapter One
Jaime Hutchinson stared at her captain, raising one eyebrow. Surely she misunderstood.
“Come again.”
Captain Morris sighed. “I’m fairly certain you heard me.”
“You want me to . . . to babysit some woman?”
“I did not say babysit. I said keep an eye on her. Big difference.” He shoved a file across his desk and pointed. “Everything you need is there.”
She flicked her glance at the file, then back to him. “She’s the daughter of a senator and she’s had a death threat. Doesn’t this fall to the FBI?”
“They claim they don’t have a female agent in the area who is an accomplished backpacker and certainly none that knows the backcountry as well as you do. It’s as simple as that.”
She narrowed her eyes. “Give me a break.” He shrugged. “They said it was important.”
She stood quickly, pacing in front of his desk. “Look, Captain, I’ve got cases pending. I don’t have time to goddamn babysit some senator’s daughter, for Christ’s sake!”
“Sit down, Hutchinson.”
She pierced him with dark eyes. “I’m serious.”
“So am I. Jesus, you’d think you’d love this assignment. You get to go out to the woods and you don’t even have to take vacation time.”
“That’s not funny.”
“Jaime, sit down. Please?” He took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes, wishing for once she’d just accept an assignment and be on her way. But no. Always had a thousand questions. If it wasn’t for the fact that she was so damn likable, he’d have suspended her a hundred times by now. But the ever-present smile was absent. “Look, Senator Michaels has received threats against him and his family—Sara Michaels in particular—ever since he announced his run for the presidency. Special Agent Ramsey says Sara Michaels has refused protection, for whatever reason. She’s a private citizen. They can’t exactly force her into protective custody, now can they?” He pointed at the file. “From what I’ve gathered, she and her father are estranged. The FBI thinks it’s just some bullshit political ploy—the threats. But of course, they have to check them out.” He watched as she finally picked up the file. “Read the file. Then you’re to meet with Ramsey in the morning. He’ll go over the particulars. You might also want to do a little background on her. I don’t think the file covers much.”
“So basically, it’s a nothing case that’s going nowhere and they don’t want to waste one of their agents in this babysitting gig?”
He nodded. “Afraid so. Like I said, think of it as a vacation.”
Jaime reluctantly opened the file and found herself staring back at a beautiful blond woman whose bluish-green eyes reached out and captured her. She raised an eyebrow and lifted one corner of her mouth in a grin. Looking up, she met her captain’s eyes and laughed.
“Yeah, thought you’d like that part.”
“Well, gotta find your perks where you can.” She got up to go but he called her back.
“Look, Jaime, one more thing. This assignment is undercover, okay? The Feds want it that way. It’s just between you and me.”
“Simon?”
“Not even Simon.”
“How am I going to keep this from my partner?”
“Tell him you’re going on vacation.”
Chapter Two
“Vacation?” Russ Simon rubbed his two-day stubble, then shook his head. “No, Jaime, you can’t take vacation now. We’ve got three cases pending. You know that. The captain’s never going to go for vacation.”
“Sorry, man. An opportunity just came up. He’s already approved it.” She hated lying to Russ. They were damn near best friends. But she would obey her captain’s orders. Especially since he appeared to be watching them right now.
He leaned forward. “Jaime? There’s something you’re not telling me. I can see it in your eyes. Hell, you never could lie worth a damn.”
She gave him a forced smile. “Vacation.” Then she glanced toward the captain’s office. “I’ll explain later,” she whispered.
“I see.” He, too, looked the captain’s way. “So, when does this vacation start?”
“I’ll know tomorrow.”
He frowned. “You’re not in any trouble, are you?”
“No. Not yet, anyway.” She stood and grabbed her backpack, shoving a few personal items inside, then the file.
“What’s that?”
“Nothing.”
He nodded. “You’re leaving already?”
“Yeah. I’ve got some things to take care of. I’ll be in early, if you want to get in a workout.”
“Sure. I’ll blame you when Amanda wants to know why I’m leaving her bed early,” he said as he leaned back in his chair.
“As if. I happen to know that Amanda is not a morning person and she’ll most likely thank me, big guy, for saving her from your advances.”
“Very funny, Hutchinson. She likes my advances.”
“Yeah, yeah.” She walked away, then tossed over her shoulder, “See you in the morning.”
Chapter Three
It was unusually warm for early September. And dry. Denver hadn’t seen a rain shower in more days than she could remember. At least it would be cooler up in the mountains. And thankfully, the Collegiate Peaks area had rain recently. The burn ban was lifted above eight thousand feet. At least they could have a campfire at night. She didn’t think these women could make the trip without one. Sara slowed her pace, waiting for the others to catch up with her. She had been pushing them harder the last week, trying to get them into good enough shape to handle their two-week trek on hiking trails.
And she thought they’d be fine. All but Sandra. She would have to keep an eye on Sandra.
“It’s hot, Sarge,” Abby panted as she came alongside Sara on the jogging trail. “I haven’t sweated this much since I went on a walking tour of Atlanta one July.”
“Ms. Michaels? Maybe a break?”
Sara stopped and allowed everyone to catch their breath, hiding her smile at the use of the nickname they’d given her. Sandra was several yards behind them, still struggling to keep up.
“How you doing, Sandra?”
“I’m coming.”
Sandra Kellum was the oldest of the group and the most out of shape. But in the ten weeks they’d been training, she’d made progress, shedding nearly twenty pounds. Unfortunately, she could stand to shed another thirty.
“You’ll be fine, Sandra. We’ll take it nice and slow on the trails.”
“You keep saying that,” she panted as she bent over at the waist.
“Don’t worry, Sandra. We’ll all help,” Abby said.
Sara stared at the group of ten women, all of varying ages and backgrounds, all with anticipation on their faces. They wanted to change their lives. In the three years she’d been doing the program, she always felt a sense of accomplishment in the tenth week, knowing that the counseling sessions were over and their two-week sojourn into the mountains would mark a rebirth for them. But for some reason, this time, she felt uneasy. The group was not unlike the one before them and most likely no different than the next one would be. They all came because of the same circumstances. They were overweight or they were unhappy in their life, unhappy in their job, unhappy in their marriage. Most of them lacked self-esteem and confidence and nearly all of them simply wanted a new outlook. And in only ten weeks, they changed from timid, unhappy, overweight individuals to confident, independent women, ready to face the rest of their lives. But this time . . . this time something wasn’t right.
She shook off the feeling, telling herself it was just the recent visit she’d had from the FBI. Well, she was used to threats. Mostly from her father but still, she was used to it. She would not be intimidated. She was accomplishing too much to stop now.
“Okay, ladies, one more mile and then we’re done.” Her announcement was followed by a chorus of groans and she headed down the trail in a fast jog, knowing they would follow.
Chapter Four
“The Feds requested you?”
“Will you keep it down?” Jaime hissed. She lowered the dumbbells to the floor and walked over to the stationary bike.
“But that’s good, right?”
“Russ, it’s a chickenshit assignment that they didn’t want themselves. Didn’t have a female agent that backpacked? Give me a break. They’re trained to do all kinds of shit.”
“It might be true.”
She gave him a wry glance then started peddling. She’d read the file last night. It was brief. Too brief. She’d read FBI files before and they were thorough and detailed, nothing like the crap in this file. And she didn’t like it. It just didn’t make any sense. A senator running for president gets death threats and the FBI requests a lowly Denver detective to guard the daughter? They obviously knew it was a dead end.
“Look, this is supposed to be some big secret, okay? I promised the captain I wouldn’t say anything to you. As far as you know, I’m on vacation.”
“No problem. I guess I’ll have to handle the gang killing by myself,” he said dramatically.
Jaime rolled her eyes.
“And the old woman who was mugged.”
“Gonna miss me, huh?”
“I’ll request Susie to work with me,” he said with a grin.
“Sure you will. Amanda will have you sleeping on the sofa. Besides, I don’t think you’re really Susie’s type.”
“What do you mean by that?”
She grinned and peddled faster.
“No. She’s not? Please God, say she’s not.”
“Sorry, big guy, she is.”
“What is this world coming to? How the hell are we supposed to tell you apart if someone like her is gay? She’s model material.”
Jaime shrugged. “You’re married, remember? It shouldn’t matter to you.”
“Great. Now you’ve just killed about five fantasies of mine.” Then he grinned. “But you may have added a couple new ones.”
One of the uniformed officers knocked on a locker not far from Jaime’s. She pulled her T-shirt over her head then looked up.
“Hey, Sal. What’s up?”
“Captain wants to see you.”
Jaime checked her watch. “It’s not even eight.”
“He’s got some suit in with him.”
Jaime nodded. “Okay. Be right there.” Apparently, the FBI was punctual.
After tossing her backpack on her desk and punching Russ playfully in the arm, she knocked on Captain Morris’s door.
“Hutchinson, good. Come in.”
Jaime nodded and took a seat next to an impeccably dressed man in his mid-forties, she guessed. With thinning hair and a slight film of perspiration on his brow, he didn’t seem the least bit intimidating. Standard black suit, blue tie, shiny black shoes. She looked at her own jeans and boots, thankful she’d decided to add the lightweight blazer over her T-shirt. She looked somewhat more presentable that way. After all, it was the FBI.
“Special Agent Ramsey, this is Detective Hutchinson.”
Their eyes met and Jaime childishly waited until he extended his hand before offering her own. His handshake was brief.
“Sorry about the short notice, Detective,” he said. “Sometimes things move quickly.”
“Sure.” She held back the sarcastic comments that were threatening to spill out, instead crossing her arms and glaring at her captain.
“I trust you read the file?”
“I did. Although it was extremely brief. Not a lot there.”
He patted another file in his lap. “This is a little more in-depth. Until we were certain you were on our team, we didn’t want to divulge too much.”
“I see.”
“Sara Michaels is owner of The New You. She’s sort of a self-help guru, if you will. You may have seen her on Oprah when she was pushing her book.” At Jaime’s blank stare, he continued. “She is Senator Michaels’ only child. If we didn’t feel these threats were legitimate, we wouldn’t be so concerned with getting someone on the inside. As it is—”
“Wait. On the inside? What do you mean?”
“Her program caters to women only. Her clientele consists mostly of middle-aged women with . . . with issues,” he said with a wave of his hand. “She does group sessions, not one-on-one. Ten weeks of counseling mingled with some sort of exercise program. That’s followed with a two-week backpacking trip.”
“Exercise?”
“The New You,” he said sarcastically. “The book was a best seller, not to mention the video. But we’re not really concerned with all that. However, two weeks in the mountains leaves her very vulnerable.”
“And you want me to get into one of her classes?”
“That’s not possible. She’s in week ten already. They head out on Sunday for the two-week trip.”
“Okay. So what? You want me to crash their backpacking trip?” She looked at Captain Morris with raised eyebrows. He simply shrugged.
“Detective, how you do it is up to you. Surely you can find a way. Your job is to protect her.”
“Well, surely the FBI has powers beyond our comprehension here,” she said, letting a little of the sarcasm get through. “Surely, you have a way to get me inside?”
“Unfortunately, no.”
“I see. Because if you did, you’d have your own agent on this, right?”
“Captain Morris, you assured me that she would not be difficult,” Special Agent Ramsey said with a pointed look at him.
“Difficult?” Jaime asked. “This is not being difficult. You want me to protect some woman who you can’t get close to and you expect me to ge
t close to her?”
“Detective, we have already approached her and she refused. I talked to her personally, in fact, and she was adamant that she was in no danger.” He shrugged. “She’s a private citizen. She and her father do not speak. The threats that have been received have not been made public. We intend to keep it that way. In fact, only a handful of people in the Senator’s inner circle know. The Secret Service will protect the Senator when he’s out on the campaign trail, of course. But the Senator expects protection for his daughter, so . . . you’re it.”
“Unbelievable,” she murmured.
“My suggestion would be to intercept her somewhere on the trail. That seems to be the only way to stay close.”
“Have you determined who has made the threats?” she asked.
“I’m sorry. I’m not at liberty to say.”
Jaime stared at him, then flicked her gaze to Morris. “You’re what? You’re not at liberty to say? I’m just supposed to traipse into the mountains without a clue as to who might be trying to kill her?”
“We don’t have a concrete suspect, no. Several groups, perhaps, but nothing that should concern you. Your job, Detective Hutchinson, is to simply watch her. And make sure she doesn’t get killed, of course.”
Jaime stood, leaning on the chair that she shoved close to Captain Morris’s desk. “Well, this is just great, Special Agent Ramsey. You’ve been a wealth of information. I’m sure I won’t have any problem keeping Sara Michaels safe from unknown assailants. In fact, it’ll be just like a fucking vacation!”
“Detective, we don’t expect miracles. We know you’re not . . . FBI,” he said, grinning.
Jaime clenched her fists and Captain Morris stood quickly, spreading his hands across his desk. “We’re all on the same team here.”
“Of course we are,” Jaime murmured.