by Geri Krotow
“On the outskirts. It’s a friend of my family’s place. They’re wintering in Florida, and they’ve left the keys with me. Annie and I have used it as a getaway from time to time, and I check it out regularly to make sure it’s secure. It’s up behind its own gated fence, right past the walk-on for the Appalachian Trail.”
Portia knew the area and had a friend or two who’d bought land there once they married and decided to start a family. “Sounds beautiful. And very boring.”
Kyle’s laugh made her jump. “You work in a library. Don’t you appreciate a more serene space?”
“Don’t mistake quiet for uneventful. The library is anything but peaceful. Recent events notwithstanding, our daily foot traffic is enough to rival any local retail shop. Inquiries about the town and local area are constant, and it’s a rare day that I can close up on time.” She shifted in the utilitarian SVPD chair. “I could easily rent a house, or own one, for the price I pay for my apartment in town. Silver Valley’s not huge like New York City, of course. But I can walk to wherever I need to go, whenever. The part of town Josh is talking about requires a car and I have to plan for an hour round-trip for any errands. It’s a full twenty-five minutes just to the grocery store from there.”
“Which makes it the perfect place to keep you out of trouble.” Kyle looked up from his phone and she allowed the shock of his silver eyes to shoot through her, swirl around in her belly and branch out to every inch of her. “Safety is the priority, Portia.”
Josh cleared his throat. “It won’t be for long, Portia. Kyle’s an expert at what he does and he’ll have this case wrapped up in no time.”
Kyle remained silent, but she sensed communication between them.
“At the risk of being told I can’t know, what exactly is Kyle’s job?” She looked at Kyle the entire time.
“Glad you asked. We’re going to head over to the conference room about now, and fill you in on some basics. You have a right to know who is protecting you, and for the sake of our operation against ROC, you’ll benefit from some background.”
Kyle looked up from his texting to respond. “She’ll be here in two.”
Josh nodded and stood up, indicating that Portia and Kyle should do the same. “Great. Shall we?”
Portia followed the two men out of the small office, down the corridor and into the conference room. She saw a tall, salt-and-pepper-haired man waiting for them at the head of the table. He was in civilian clothes, but with a weapon holstered at his waist.
“Chief,” Josh called, and then turned back to usher Portia into the room. “This is Portia DiNapoli, our town librarian.”
“Good morning, Portia. Colt Todd.” He held his hand out and she shook it.
“Good morning, Chief. We’ve met several times, at the annual fund-raising gala.”
He nodded. “Yes, we have.”
Portia waited for him to say more, but he looked past her, toward the door, and his interest was riveted.
“Hello, everybody. Kyle, Josh, Colt.” A woman with silver hair in a chic bob strode into the room with a combination of strength and grace that Portia immediately liked. And she was vaguely familiar. Hadn’t Portia seen her with SVPD Chief Colt Todd at last year’s gala? There’d been hundreds of attendees, so her memory could be faulty. Her laser-focused blue gaze landed on Portia.
“You must be Portia.” Everything about this woman screamed total expert, in whatever she did. Confidence and comfort in her own skin radiated from her. “I’m Claudia Michele.”
They shook hands, and everyone took seats at the glossy wood table. Portia had been to enough library conferences, book conventions and other business events to know when it was her place to listen and learn.
“We’ve asked Claudia to come into the station to help explain a different part of the case that you won’t read about in the paper,” Kyle said quietly. “Claudia’s my boss, by the way.”
Claudia nodded. “I run a special type of classified law enforcement agency that employs people from all over the world to take on the most difficult cases. We don’t take the place of local or even federal law enforcement, but we get in and help where it’s challenging, or even impossible, for local LEAs to operate.”
“Like CIA and FBI?” Portia didn’t want to appear too green in this world she knew nothing about.
Claudia shook her head. “No, not at all. We’re more under the radar than either of those agencies, believe it or not.” She motioned with her head at Kyle. “Take Kyle. He and I share that we’re Marine Corps veterans, and we used what we learned in the military to become fully employed as undercover agents. I don’t personally work many cases, as my job is to keep the entire team at my agency running, but I’ve worked alongside a good number of our agents.”
“I’m here to help with ROC’s heroin operation in Silver Valley. To infiltrate it and destroy it.” Kyle commanded the attention of everyone in the room with his steady, quiet words. “You’ve gotten caught up in it, unfortunately. Normally we do everything to engage a criminal away from civilians, but it’s impossible with the heroin scourge. It’s in every city and small town across America.”
“It’s been all-consuming,” Claudia added. “Kyle’s worked the ROC crimes that have hit the East Coast especially hard, but when we figured out that ROC was using Silver Valley as its central drug distribution hub, I brought him here.”
“I was working out of New York City for the past eight years, ever since I joined.” Kyle’s expression remained impassive, but in his eyes she saw a flash of concern. Did she imagine it or was Kyle trying to tell her something? “I’ve been living in Silver Valley, posing as various persons, for the last few months.”
“So that’s why I didn’t immediately recognize you on the train tracks.”
His grin broke through. “Off the tracks, and yes.”
Heat rushed to her face, not just from his smile. From remembering how close she’d come to losing it all yesterday.
“We’re sorry you had to go through that, Portia.” Claudia looked at Colt Todd.
“Yes, we’re very grateful to Kyle for being there and stepping up. But it’s imperative that you understand we don’t want you engaging any suspect again until we close this case.” Chief Todd’s concern was etched in the lines between his brows. “And since I don’t have enough officers to spare one for guard duty, we’re asking you to lie low for a bit. I’ll make sure your paycheck isn’t affected, of course.”
“Thank you. And I promise I’m not going to give you any trouble—I want to help any way that I can. But I do have to do my work with the gala. Its success this year is more important than ever, with our public funding being slashed every which way. And I’m hoping to earn a nice gift for the homeless mission, too.”
“Certainly you can keep working on the gala. We’ll provide you with the proper security equipment to scramble your Wi-Fi and internet footprints. I have a special interest in your charity work, as Colt and I enjoyed the gala so much last year.” Portia remembered the couple, how attune to one another they’d been. As they were now, but it simmered under their professional demeanors. She wondered at their history, but it wasn’t the time to ask.
“Kyle mentioned this could take several more weeks. Can you give me any better idea of the timeline?”
“Annie asks me that all the time about my cases,” Josh said. “As with any case, especially undercover, we can’t be definitive about how long it’ll take. I’m sorry, Portia. One bright spot is that you’ll continue to receive your salary. We had the approval signed by a county representative, because you need police protection.”
“Rest assured we’re working to come up with a solution as quickly as possible.” Claudia nodded to Kyle. “Did you bring the nondisclosure forms?”
“Here you go.” Kyle slid a folder across the table, toward Portia. “It’s up to you, but if you’d like to know
a little more about who I’m working for, you need to sign the agreement.”
“It’s not just for your edification. What we do is need-to-know, but also, Portia, we may ask you for more insight as to how your library works, how you store the laptops, how you maintain your inventory for all your technology.”
“Will I get a chance to do any of the surveillance with Kyle?” She felt Kyle’s glare and ignored it. Of course he wouldn’t want her anywhere near him while he worked. He was a protector, through and through.
Claudia smiled. “No, I can’t promise that. Why don’t you read over the paperwork and then decide how much you want to know?”
The room grew quiet, but then the three others struck up a low conversation as Portia read over the agreement. It stated she’d never reveal anything she learned from TH, Inc. That had to be the agency Kyle worked for. The one Claudia ran. She signed where appropriate, and the chief witnessed it.
“Okay, so now to put us on the same page, Kyle, Josh, Colt and I all work for Trail Hikers. That’s the TH you see on the document.” Claudia went on to explain that the shadow government agency was responsible, behind the scenes, for helping law enforcement agencies at home in the US and abroad. Claudia was a retired Marine Corps General, and she’d taken on the agency right after leaving military service.
“Are all TH agents former military?”
“No, but it’s a natural transition, especially for special operatives like SEALs and, of course, intelligence specialists. For every undercover agent working the field, we have at least a dozen personnel working intelligence analysis, communications technology, administrative duties to include travel schedules and logistics, and counterintelligence.”
At Portia’s blank look, Claudia smiled. “We have a team making sure no one figures out who we are and what we’re doing here in Silver Valley. We adopted the name Trail Hikers to fit in with the Appalachian Trail, of course.”
“Thank you for the explanation.” Portia felt a little bit shaky. She didn’t regret signing the papers and finding out more, and she wanted to do whatever she could to help bring ROC down. But it was sobering to realize what was required to keep a country, a state or a town safe. “And thank all of you for doing what you do. I had no idea, beyond what I read online, in papers and in other news sources.” She looked them each in the eye, made sure they knew she wasn’t speaking platitudes.
“Thank you, Portia. Do you have any questions for us?” Claudia looked ready to go and Portia couldn’t imagine how full the woman’s schedule was. Unlike running a library, Claudia’s job involved life-and-death situations.
“Not a question, but a commitment. I’ll stay at the house you’ve got for me for as long as it takes.” She mentally squeezed her eyes shut against the risk to the gala, to her job. The safety of Silver Valley was paramount. “And if you need me to do anything that would help you catch the woman after me, or anyone else, you can count on me.”
“Civilians don’t participate in law enforcement operations.” Kyle’s stern admonition sliced across the, until now, cordial ambience. “Stay in the house and you’ll be doing your part.”
“Thank you for bringing that up, Kyle,” Claudia said. “I wanted to point out that it would be most beneficial for you to check in on Portia from time to time. You’ve got the most expertise with the case, you know how to make sure you’re not being trailed and Portia knows you.”
Portia’s insides immediately froze and flamed hot. What was she getting herself into?
Chapter 9
“I don’t like that I won’t have my own vehicle to get away in.” Portia knew she sounded like a broken record, but it felt good to express her opinion. Not that it was going to change her situation.
“I wouldn’t like that, either.” Kyle drew to a stop at a traffic light. They were in a nondescript, unmarked police car, to keep Portia’s movements under wraps. Kyle had explained that switching up vehicles kept the bad guys guessing. She knew that Kyle must have to keep a low profile, too, but didn’t ask him about it. She got it—some of his and Josh’s work wasn’t any of her business.
Except when it was. “So I’m supposed to hang out with no contact with the outside world until you catch the woman who wants to kill me?”
“Pretty much.” They crossed the Interstate 81 overpass and sped into what Portia thought of as the rural part of Silver Valley. Away from the town proper and the main commercial highway that ran around it, they entered the more mountainous, wooded area of the town’s outer limits.
“How much longer?” She hadn’t paid too much attention when Kyle asked Josh more specific questions about the house. It was hard to imagine she was being plucked from her normally independent life and had to basically hole up like a doomsdayer for the next several days, if not weeks.
“You said you knew the area.” Kyle was being very short, deliberate in his words. She didn’t like it. She wanted him to bare at least a tiny bit of his soul to her.
“I do, but you have the GPS on it.” She took a deep breath as if she were about to plunge into the icy Susquehanna. “Why don’t you tell me a little bit about yourself, Kyle?”
* * *
Kyle almost swerved the dang car as Portia’s request hit him right where he knew she wanted it to. In his soft spot, which was expanding at an alarming rate since he’d met her.
Hell, since he’d first laid eyes on her over a month ago.
“There’s not a lot to know.”
“Are you going to make me ask it all? Where are you from?” She sounded genuinely interested. When was the last time anyone asked him about himself? Other than for a security clearance?
“I was born and raised in Northern California. My family owned almond farms.” Still did, but his dad was getting ready to sell them off, unless he or his brother stepped up to do it. “It was a great way to burn off steam as a kid, helping Dad out during harvest. I knew I wanted to join the Marines from the time I was in high school.”
“Your family supported you doing that?”
“Yeah. Not right at first—my mother was freaked out, with the war in full swing after Nine Eleven. But both she and Dad understood my desire to serve. And it provided me with the means to an education, which I got after I left active duty.”
“Where did you go to school?”
He looked at her. Yup, big brown eyes soaked up each drop of what he said, as if it mattered to her.
“Boston College.”
“Really? I thought you’d go back to the West Coast. To be near your family.”
“I got a great deal from the college, scholarship-wise. They matched my GI Bill benefits.” The Yellow Ribbon Program had been a godsend, allowing him to go to a top-notch school. By then he’d been tapped by Trail Hikers and knew what his options were after he earned his degree. “What about you, Portia?”
“Nothing nearly as exciting, trust me. I went away to school, but ‘away’ for me was Penn State, only two hours from here. It was good, though, to have that time out of Silver Valley.”
“Did you ever consider living anywhere else?”
“No. This area’s in my blood.” She gazed out the window and he wanted to watch her expression all day. Except he was driving and didn’t think she’d appreciate him running them off the road.
“Have you traveled a lot?”
“Yes. My parents were big on the National Park scene and took us to many of them each summer, usually for a good week or two. My mother is still a teacher, and has the whole summer off. Dad works for the state, in Harrisburg, so he gets a decent vacation, too.”
“We couldn’t take off on vacations with the farm to worry about. But we did day trips, especially in winter. Lake Tahoe’s only a few hours away from where I grew up, so we went skiing regularly.”
“You sound like you miss it.”
“I do. As a matter of fact, after this case is so
lved, I’m taking a month’s leave back at home.”
“Will you ever move back?”
“That’s the plan. Claudia is okay with me moving my home base out west. It’ll open me up for assignments not only there but in Asia.” It’d be great for his resume, whether he stayed with Trail Hikers for the time being or decided to leave law enforcement.
“So you can retire from the agency, have a pension?” Spoken like a local librarian. Lifelong security would be her primary concern, and he understood it perfectly. He’d had the same questions when he’d joined the Marines.
“Yes. My time in the Marine Corps gets tacked on, too, so I only need sixteen years with Trail Hikers, and I’m at seven now. It’s a good option, but part of me would love to start a private investigative firm.”
“In California.”
“Yes.” He didn’t want to talk about himself one second more. He’d had a mental safe spot to retreat to these past years, and it’d always been California. He didn’t see himself taking over the almond farm, but he’d happily support his brother in doing so. And he’d also enjoy building his own home and office on a portion of his family property. It’d had been his parents’ dream when they’d sunk all they owned into the prime real estate, which had exponentially increased in value over the years.
“Here we go.” He turned into an asphalt-paved drive, more like a tiny country road. It shot straight back to a copse of evergreens, obscuring anything beyond it from the main road. Only after they’d driven under about a half mile of oak and maple trees did the house come into view.
“Wow.” Portia’s word hung between them, expressing his reaction, too.
The house looked like a modest A-frame at first glance, albeit huge with an extensive wraparound porch with railings heavily crusted with several inches of icy snow. As his vehicle neared the building, two additional wings emerged, slung low on either side of the main house. He had a twinge of longing in his gut. It reminded him of the mountains surrounding Lake Tahoe, of the ski chalets school friends escaped to during winter break.