by Liz Shoaf
She searched his face one more time before shrugging her shoulders, and that bothered him, that she could dismiss him so easily. “No, I haven’t heard from him, but he may be tied up with official business. I say we grab some lunch. I’ll send another email asking him to meet us somewhere away from prying eyes. There’s a small park just outside the city that’s fairly secluded.”
He nodded his assent and watched as she shuffled toward her small office. He stayed seated and gazed at the pictures on the mantel once more. Just how far would Mary Grace go to save her brother? Restless, he rose and began pacing through the dainty town house. He could search online, see if he could track Bobby himself, but Mary Grace’s brother was a computer wizard and knew enough to stay offline if he didn’t want to be found. He could also run a deep check into Finn, but that would mean admitting he didn’t trust his friend.
He stopped in the foyer and lifted his chin. A few seconds later, Krieger was by his side and the dog released a low growl. It was an alert, not a full-blown warning. Ned opened the front door and scanned the area. A few kids were on swings in the playground under the watchful eyes of their mothers. He remembered the odd feeling he had gotten when they arrived. It hadn’t been a feeling of immediate danger, just that something was off.
He spied a man walking his dog down the street, but that was it. He closed the door. Maybe Krieger was reacting to Ned’s own turbulent emotions. Dogs were very sensitive to their handlers. Mary Grace came up behind him. She was dressed to leave.
“I heard back from Hensley. He’ll meet us at the park at six o’clock. I’d like to see his reaction in person. We’ll pick up something to eat while we wait.”
She acted like she wanted to add something, but her lips tightened. Ned found himself aching to smooth the worry lines from her forehead, but he only nodded and grabbed his coat from the rack in the corner.
TB was already tucked safely into the dog carrier and Krieger trotted out behind them. Mary Grace swirled around to face him. She had her car keys in her hand.
“After everything that’s happened, maybe it would be best if we part company. If you’ll give me your cell number, I’ll keep you apprised of any information I uncover and I’d appreciate it if you would return the favor.”
Caught off guard by the sudden change of plans, he stood there and just stared at her, his mind a whirlwind of emotions. The woman had turned his life inside out. He was torn between wanting to distance himself from her and aching to glue himself to her side forever.
Receiving no response, she gazed at him one last time, then pivoted on her heel toward her car. Frozen to the spot, he watched as she opened the car door and slipped inside. Away from him, that’s all he could think about. Through the side window, he watched her pull TB from the carrier and place the dog on the passenger seat. She leaned forward to insert the key into the ignition and warning bells exploded in Ned’s head. Mary Grace’s car had been sitting there the whole time she’d been gone. Plenty of opportunity for someone to tamper with it. The feeling that something was off crystallized in his mind.
Both he and Krieger were already moving when she turned the key and the engine caught. Rounding the hood of the car, he ripped her door open, pulled her out of the car and made a flying leap into the air. He heard Krieger behind him and dearly hoped his dog would save the rat. Mary Grace would never get over losing her dog.
He might not trust her, and he was very angry with her, but he didn’t want her to die.
About fifteen seconds after they hit the ground and cleared the car—Mary Grace protected beneath him—a small explosion blew through the air and light debris stung his back as it seared through his shirt and jacket.
Before he could catch his breath and assess the situation, a sharp elbow almost caved in his trachea as Mary Grace fought her way out from under him. Shifting his weight off her, she scrambled to her feet and frantically swiveled her head around.
“Tinker Bell! Where’s my dog?” she shouted.
Ned got to his feet and breathed a sigh of relief when Krieger padded toward them with TB dangling from his mouth, hanging inside the ugly Christmas sweater. At least it was good for something.
Ned scanned the area for any lingering danger while Mary Grace gingerly removed her dog from Krieger’s jaws and gently soothed TB’s nerves. After making sure her dog was okay, she dropped to her knees and threw her arms around Krieger. She praised Ned’s dog and told him he was a hero. It was the first time Ned had ever been jealous of his dog.
Disgusted with himself, he turned away from the tender scene and scanned the area once more, but didn’t sense anyone lurking about. He was glad to see no one on the playground. They must have left while he and Mary Grace were inside the town house. He wasn’t surprised to hear sirens in the distance. An explosion, even a small one, wasn’t something this neighborhood would be familiar with and a neighbor had probably called the cops.
Mary Grace got to her feet and walked slowly toward him, resolution written on her face. She stopped in front of him, her precious dog still trembling in her arms.
“You saved my life and Krieger saved Tinker Bell. I thank you for that.” She took a deep breath and lifted a defiant chin. “I know it was wrong of me to withhold information from you, but I honestly did it so you wouldn’t get hurt. If the PI I hired hadn’t found anything on Finn, I never would have mentioned Bobby’s letter to you.” She took what appeared to be a defensive step back. But before she could say anything else, a city police cruiser pulled to the curb in front of her driveway.
* * *
Mary Grace watched the policeman walk briskly toward them, keeping a sharp, questioning eye on Krieger. Ned mumbled low so only she could hear before the cop got within hearing distance.
“Don’t say anything, let me handle this.”
She nodded her assent. The day was waning, and they had an important meeting to make in a few hours. If Ned and his connections could move this along, it was more than fine with her.
Ned moved toward the cop and held out a small piece of paper. Naturally curious, Mary Grace moved close enough to hear.
“If you’ll call this number, everything will be taken care of.”
Suspicion filled the cop’s eyes until he glanced down at the paper. He stepped away, never turning his back to them and pulled out a phone. He spoke to someone for a few minutes, then ended the call and moved back toward them. He scrutinized Ned for a moment, nodded, handed the piece of paper back, got in his car and left.
Mary Grace was incredulous. She stared at Ned. “What just happened?”
He grinned at her, and just like that, they were back on even ground. He stared at her for a moment, as if he wanted to say something, then shook his head.
“I gave him the direct line to the CIA and a guy I know there who handles situations such as this. Let’s get going.” He went quiet for a moment. “This looks like a professional job. Just enough of a boom to get the job done, but not enough to attract major attention.”
She followed Ned to the car that had been left at the airport for them and they loaded up. She rubbed the top of Tinker Bell’s head and the white silky fur soothed Mary Grace. Dogs really were good therapy. Krieger jumped in after Ned opened the rear door and hung his head over the back of Mary Grace’s seat.
She grinned, then sighed at the expression of adoration in the big dog’s eyes as he stared at Tinker Bell. The animals reminded Mary Grace of her and Ned in reverse. She hoped she didn’t wear that sappy expression when she gazed at Ned.
Ned folded his large body into the driver’s seat and started the car. Putting forth great effort, she told him of a good local restaurant where they could pick up something fairly fast. Everything was somewhat back to normal. She stared out the window, thankful to be alive.
* * *
They’d eaten and arrived at the park an hour early. As Ned scoped out the area, Ma
ry Grace waited in the car. She’d promised to keep all the doors locked and be ready to start the car and leave if anything suspicious happened.
Sitting behind the wheel, she glanced at Krieger in the rearview mirror. “Like I’d leave him at the first sign of trouble.”
Krieger rumbled back, obviously unhappy at being left behind to protect Mary Grace and Tinker Bell. Fifteen minutes later, Ned cleared the woods and Mary Grace scooted across the console so he could have the driver’s seat. A whoosh of cold air flowed into the car with him.
“Everything’s clear. The temperature’s dropping.”
“Well, it is December.” She sighed longingly. “Christmas is almost here. I hope we resolve this soon. I’d like to spend Christmas with Gram—” she hesitated to finish her sentence, almost afraid to upset their unspoken, tacit agreement to work together “—and Bobby.”
Broodingly, he stared out the windshield as a flake of snow drifted onto the glass. “One step at a time,” was all he said.
Tentatively, trying to make conversation, but also very curious about this secretive man, she asked, “Do you usually spend Christmas with your family in Jackson Hole?”
Surprisingly, he answered, “The house in Jackson Hole is our home base in America. My family travels a lot, but we try to get everyone together in the same country for Christmas.”
That didn’t tell her much of anything, but it didn’t surprise her. She briefly wondered if he would ever trust her enough to tell her about his family.
She couldn’t help herself; she had to throw in another more personal question. “And do you still believe in the true reason for the season?”
His large hands gripped the steering wheel. “God allowed someone to betray me and Finn, and He allowed Finn to get injured.” He paused and relaxed his fingers. “I come from a family of believers, but during my time in the army, I witnessed so-called religious figures in many countries commit atrocious crimes, all in the name of their religion.”
Mart Grace nodded sagely. “Just what I thought.”
He snapped his head around. “What?”
She twisted sideways in her seat and smiled at him. “It’s okay, Ned, God understands you’re angry right now, but He will bring everything to rights. In the end, even if it’s not what we envisioned, it will be the right thing, the best thing for us.” She paused, gathering her thoughts because this was so important, especially if they ended up proving Finn, his best friend, had betrayed him. “Ned, God will reveal the truth about everything, and we, as believers, have to accept it.”
He smiled and it wasn’t a nice smile. “So you’re going to be able to accept it, just like that, if we prove your brother is partially responsible for what happened to my best friend?”
Mary Grace jerked her head back as if she’d just been slapped. Would she be able to accept it if Bobby ended up in jail? She didn’t have time to ponder the question because they both sat up straight when a car pulled into the empty parking lot, the fluttering snow having sent the last of the park visitors home before their guest arrived.
Ned reached for his door handle. “Stay in the car while I make sure it’s safe, then you can join us.”
Mary Grace protested him going alone.
Exasperation written on his face, Ned said, “Would you, just for once, do what I say? I’m trying to protect you.”
She leaned back in her seat with a huff. “Fine, but don’t ask him anything until I get there. I want to gauge his reaction.”
Finally, she noted a spark of humor in his eyes. “Don’t worry. I know you’re the expert talker. I’ll give you full control after I make sure it’s safe.”
Mary Grace nodded her assent and he climbed from the car. They had parked in a corner of the lot under some bare tree limbs, but Hensley spotted Ned coming toward him as soon as he got out of his car. Not willing to take a chance on Ned’s life, Mary Grace reached over the console and quietly opened the driver’s door.
“Krieger, protect Ned.”
If a dog could smile, Krieger was grinning as he flew over the seat and jumped out of the car. Mary Grace was impressed when the dog took to the woods and quietly circled around behind Chief of Staff Hensley.
She watched the man approach Ned and thought the meeting was going nicely—until Hensley pulled a handgun from inside his coat and pointed it straight at Ned’s heart.
SEVENTEEN
Ned wasn’t surprised when Hensley pulled a gun on him. Under the circumstances, he would have done the same thing in the other man’s shoes and would have respected Hensley less if he hadn’t taken the precaution, but that didn’t mean he trusted the man. Not at all.
He raised his hands in the air, just enough to show the man he meant no harm, but he’d palmed a knife inside one fist in case things went downhill fast. One throw to the trachea and Hensley would be dead.
The president’s chief of staff kept his eyes on Ned. The man was definitely out of his element.
But Ned never underestimated anyone.
Hensley spoke first. “Do I know you?”
He was studying Ned intently. But before he could respond, Ned was startled to see Krieger lope out of the woods and sneak up behind Hensley. His dog assumed attack position and stared at Ned, awaiting a command.
Ned wanted to close his eyes in frustration, knowing this was Mary Grace’s doing, and he was proven right when she hopped out of their car and came striding across the parking lot. His heart in his throat, he wanted to strangle her and throw his body in front of her at the same time. The woman continuously elicited conflicting emotions in him, even now when he needed to defuse the tense situation in front of him.
From inside the dog carrier, TB gave a bark of greeting as Mary Grace hurried to his side. He was angry, but also impressed with the way she quickly defused the situation.
She kind of puffed her hand at Hensley. “Sir, please put the gun away. There’s no need for that and you’re scaring Tinker Bell to death.”
With disbelieving eyes, both men stared at the happy fluffy white rat dog with its tiny head sticking out the top of the dog carrier snuggled against Mary Grace’s chest.
She made a show of calming the already perfectly calm dog and Ned almost barked out a laugh. Even though he still wanted to strangle her, he admired her pizzazz.
She stared pointedly at Hensley until the chief of staff finally lowered his weapon to his side, but he didn’t put the gun away. She gifted him with her big Georgian smile.
“Now, I’ve interviewed you in the past, and you know I’m a trusted journalist. I just need a few moments of your time.”
Now that the high probability of danger was past, Hensley gave both of them a nervous look, then ran slim fingers through his thinning hair and cleared his throat.
“I want to know what this is all about.”
Mary Grace held out both hands. “I really just have one important question.” Ned marveled at the change that came over Mary Grace. Her jaw hardened and her eyes narrowed.
“Are you trying to kill me or my brother?”
Hensley’s brows arched toward his hairline and he clumsily placed his gun back inside his jacket.
“What? Why on earth would I want to kill a White House press correspondent? I don’t even know your brother. And what does this have to do with your email? You said you had information that might negatively impact my career. That’s the only reason I came here.”
Hensley took a deep breath, like he was settling in for a long-winded tirade, but Mary Grace cut him off at the knees. Still alert, Ned relaxed a tad and enjoyed watching Mary Grace do what she did best: talk. She placed her hand on TB’s head and went for the soft touch.
“Chief of Staff Hensley, it really is for your benefit that I contacted you. You see, Ned is here to protect me, and someone has made several attempts on my life. During the course of my investigation, I c
ame across information that led me to you. You have been targeted in a cover-up that goes to the top of the pecking order in Washington. If the information becomes public, you will be ruined whether you’re involved or not. You know how it works.”
She shook her head sadly and Ned bit back another grin.
“I have interviewed you, and my resources tell me you work hard and have never been involved in any kind of cover-up.”
Indignant, Hensley lifted his chin. “I don’t know where you received your information, but I’ll do everything in my power to help you find the culprits. My background is clean, and I plan to keep it that way.”
Hensley stared at Ned, an assessing look in his eyes. Ned knew the moment the man snapped the puzzle pieces together. The pieces connecting Mary Grace and a cover-up to a man named Ned. Hensley was high enough on the power grid in Washington to be aware of Ned’s reputation. His eyes widened slightly, the only indication he gave at figuring out who Ned was, a man known only as Ned by a small, select few. A man who worked for the CIA, but whose identity was kept quiet. Ned didn’t mind being partially revealed because he never intended to do undercover work again. He was leaving the CIA for good. After what had happened with Finn, and the betrayal they both experienced, he’d never trust anyone enough to put his or anyone else’s life on the line again.
Ned didn’t know if Mary Grace saw the indicator, but as sharp as she was, he’d have been surprised if she missed anything. He had his answer a second later.
With a winsome smile, she indicated with her hand. “I see you understand what’s at stake. After speaking with you, my gut tells me you’re a pawn in this nefarious conspiracy, maybe set up to take the fall for something you didn’t do, but if you work with me, I hope to expose the person, or persons, responsible. We’ve had someone spread rumors and specific information in Washington. Information we hope will bring those responsible to the surface. There’s the possibility you might receive a small amount of bad publicity, but I’ll make sure you end up a hero in the press.”
