by Geri Krotow
“You mean CIA?”
“No, not at all. But similar to them, we conduct operations globally, and our agents are prepared to travel to the farthest points of the planet with little to no notice.”
“So why are you here, in central Pennsylvania? Silver Valley, of all places?”
Claudia shrugged. “The same reason every major distribution center is.” She referred to the plethora of logistics headquarters that made Silver Valley home to many Fortune 100 companies. “We’re virtually equidistant from Philly, Baltimore and DC. New York is only another hour out. Quick access to major hub airports, the rail systems and major highways. That’s not to say we don’t get involved with local situations as needed, but only if there’s a national concern involved.”
“Like the True Believers. They were a federal case twenty years ago.”
“How much do you know about the cult, Nika?”
“I know that the ATF and FBI converged on a tiny town in Upstate New York thanks to a tip from a twelve-year-old girl living at the compound with her mother. The girl was brave enough to approach a police officer in a fabric store. That girl was given a new identity and placed in an adoptive home in Silver Valley. She grew up to be Zora Krasny, Bryce Campbell’s fiancée. Most of Zora’s story is public, but not all of it. As I’m talking to you, I realize she must be in Trail Hikers, too. How else would she have been able to work undercover last year to help bring down the Female Preacher Killer?”
“Right. So we’re on the same page with the cult. But back to TH. Nika, we’re not officially federal. We’re not officially anything. As far as anyone who’s not read into our program knows, we don’t exist. And, trust me, this office and my entire staff could be wiped out in a blink because of any one of the many operations we’re involved in. If any of the criminals we’re fighting to put behind bars ever gets wind of what we’re really doing here, they wouldn’t hesitate to take us out. That’s what we’re prepared for.”
“There have to be contingency headquarters planned?”
Claudia didn’t answer. Nika decided to focus in on the matter at hand. “How much are you helping with the True Believers?”
“Not much, for now. We have our analysts on it and we’re in direct comms with other LEA intelligence offices. If Leonard Wise or any of his scum-of-the-earth associates gets to be too much for the local resources, of course TH would come into play. We specialize in quick insertion and extraction. And we invest in training a number of local LEAs like the few SVPD who work here. Unfortunately we’re expecting Wise to necessitate our involvement soon. His recent activities have been troubling.”
“Do Trail Hikers’ activities take precedence over everything else? If, for example, I worked for Trail Hikers, would I be expected to drop my current SVPD caseload?”
“Trail Hikers deals with life-and-death situations that usually involve large numbers of people. That doesn’t mean we won’t be in the midst of what look like smaller cases, but ultimately they have to be tied into a bigger case.”
“Like True Believers and New Thought ministries.”
“Right. We can’t underestimate the True Believers’ next move.” Claudia’s mouth was set in a grim line.
“More than being a crazy mind-washing type of cult? A cult of a personality named Leonard Wise?”
Claudia ran her fingers through her perfectly coifed silver bob, the first sign of frustration Nika had ever witnessed from the cool professional. “Far more. But that’s not something any of us need to focus on at the moment. They won’t get to their ultimate goal if we take them down beforehand.”
“So, in reality, I’m not really undercover to only find out who’s harassing the Rainbows?”
“I’m afraid not. On the surface, yes, but as the sordid propaganda you discovered at Rachel Boyle’s house proves, we’re up against the ugliest side of human nature.”
Nika’s mind was overrun with images of what the True Believers would want with a beautiful place like Silver Valley. Nestled next to the Appalachian Trail, the state capital of Harrisburg, the Susquehanna River—it was at the epicenter of an authentic slice of America. And with Three Mile Island, the infamous nuclear power plant nearby, the destructive possibilities were terrifying.
“I’m ready to do whatever you need me to do, Claudia.”
“You’re already doing it, Nika. Normally we’d give you some initial training at this point, but you’ve had all of the weapons and evasive-driving training we’d offer a new agent. As you’ve probably guessed, all TH agents are at least prior military or law enforcement. Many, like you, are still active-duty police officers or other local law enforcement.”
“What about other government agents, like CIA or FBI?”
Claudia let a small smile surface. “I can’t comment on the former, but as for the latter, yes, we have an FBI agent or two on our staff. We employ agents from all over the globe and deploy them everywhere. I can’t emphasize this enough. I’ve found that some SVPD agents thought TH was here for local ops only. That couldn’t be further from the truth.”
“Thank you for trusting me with this information, Claudia.”
“Of course. And don’t think I brought you in here only to appease your curiosity. Please don’t deny it and insult both of us. I’ve seen the looks you’ve shot at Bryce and Mitch. Now it all makes sense, doesn’t it? How Mitch seemed to know more than a high school chemistry teacher should, and how Bryce and Mitch have a camaraderie that can’t be explained?”
“Yes.” Nika swallowed, trying to keep her mind from focusing on only Mitch and what his involvement in TH meant for her case. And for their relationship. They shared much more in common than she’d imagined. “I’m still a little confused on where SVPD and TH overlap. A Venn diagram is how I see it, with SVPD doing its own thing locally, bringing down the True Believers. Trail Hikers is working on a much higher level, handling anything interstate and internationally related to the True Believers wanting to come back to their twisted version of power. But where does it overlap?”
Claudia stood and resumed her position behind her desk before she answered.
Nika didn’t want to hear Claudia say what she already dreaded.
“You, Nika. You’re the overlap.”
*
Mitch was grateful for Bryce’s heads-up when Nika came storming into his classroom office Tuesday morning. It was early with no other students around and few teachers.
She shrugged out of her ridiculously overloaded backpack, typical of a straight-A senior’s, and dropped it on his tiny sofa. Melting snow spattered over the cheap upholstery and over the linoleum floor. Nika glared at him as though he were the devil incarnate.
“Can I help you, Nika? Are you struggling with the organic chemistry chapter? And, if you don’t mind, would you please put that dripping backpack on the floor?”
“You could have given me a clue that you were more involved than I knew.”
“No, I couldn’t. I’m sure Claudia made that clear to you yesterday. Coffee?”
Her glance flickered from him to the coffeepot. “Sure. Heavy on the cream.” Since adapting to how the students liked their coffee, she’d rediscovered the luxury of cream in hers.
He reached into his mini fridge and pulled out the pint of local organic cream he’d picked up for her before pouring his fresh roast into a large mug.
“Do you always keep locally sourced dairy products on hand?”
“For you, yes. I saw this in your fridge the other night.” He dropped a dollop into the steaming mug. “Enough?”
“Perfect.” She held out her hands to take it and he brushed his hand against hers as he handed the mug over. As soon as their fingertips touched his mind flashed back to Nika’s body pressed against his, her tongue tangling with his, her breath hot on his skin.
“What?” Her voice was barely a whisper.
“Tell me you don’t feel this, too, Nika.”
Nika pulled the mug into her chest and put her head down.
He hated not being able to see her eyes, her full lips, as she bit down on her bottom lip, pondering the same shit he was.
What the hell were they going to do about this attraction?
What are you not going to do about it?
She looked up again and had a brilliant smile on her face. “I do. But we’re not doing anything. For now.”
“For now.” He lifted his mug in a salute and kept his feelings to himself. Because to act on them in any way required physical expression that would get him cuffed and hauled away by the school’s assigned SVPD officer and ruin his career.
“Neither of us can afford the attention an inappropriate relationship would draw, Mr. Everlock.” She ducked her head out of the small office before she continued. “No one’s here yet, but it would only take one misstep and the whole reason I’m here gets blown.”
“Correct. And it’s not about us. Now you understand that I understand all of this, Nika.” Painfully so. “That doesn’t mean I might not try to tempt you every now and then.” He waggled his brows in his best skeevy-dude impression.
Nika giggled. Like a schoolgirl. If anyone did walk in, they’d see a teacher and rapt student, nothing more. A mentorship of sorts.
But if they picked up on the blatant chemistry between them...
“We should probably talk about Claudia at the station.”
“Or at either one of our places.” She had a huge smirk on her face and he bit back a startled laugh.
“You just said...”
“And you said you’d tempt me. If no one sees us go to either place, it’s safe, right?” She took a large gulp of her coffee. “At least now I won’t freak as much if I see you following me.” Her voice was low, so quiet that he had a hard time hearing her.
“Are you still angry about Saturday?”
“No, not anymore. I’ve been trained in evasive maneuvers, too, you know.”
He leaned back and returned her obstinate stare. “We’re a perfect match, then.”
*
The rest of Nika’s day at school was anticlimactic after her confrontation with Mitch. She’d wanted to scream at Mitch when he’d acted so smug and contained in his office. As if her discovery that he was a TH agent didn’t bother him in the least. As if he thought her unprofessional for letting it bother her.
She slammed the driver’s door closed on her mother’s car and watched as the snow that had accumulated all afternoon on the roof slide over the side of the SUV. Activating the wipers, she pressed the windshield fluid button to clear the glass of ice and snow. She missed her ancient but reliable economy sedan. She’d still be out in the cold, brushing the snow off and scraping the ice, but the clunker was a part of her life. It’d seen her through college and all the years after, not an easy feat for someone with a lead foot like hers. She was particularly rough on the brakes, which carried over to her reputation at SVPD. It was a known fact among her colleagues that her presence in the driver’s seat of any of the department’s vehicles meant new brake pads would be imminent.
The school parking lot was empty except for the cars of kids practicing for the spring musical or winter sports athletes. So far none of her hours in the building had yielded more than what she’d learned at Rachel’s house. Nothing had surfaced since, as if the perpetrator knew she was there and was watching and waiting for her to disappear.
Nika swung out onto the main road that ran through Silver Valley, her mind on the report she’d file once she was back at her station desk.
She didn’t notice the lone figure on the pedestrian bridge until after she saw the huge chunk of rock as it fell from the overpass, straight at her windshield. Thoughts of identifying the culprit vanished as she yanked the steering wheel to the right in an effort to avoid the danger. It was too late. She’d managed to put the car into a spin on the slick pavement, away from the object, but not before the loud snaps of splintering glass reached her ears.
Chapter 11
The SUV’s air bags exploded and Nika no longer had control of her vehicle. She sat helpless as it spun out over the shoulder and into the ditch at the side of the road.
Just great. Now her mother’s car was toast, at least until the windshield was repaired and air bags replaced. Mentally going through her memorized checklist, Nika figured out that none of her bones were broken and that she didn’t seem to have any other injuries. She was okay. The car was still on all four tires, only slightly tilted in the shallow ditch. As she prepared to exit the car the smell of gasoline turned on every alarm bell in her internalized warning system.
Gasoline. Shit.
She tried to open the door with no luck. Panic tightened its icy fingers around her. Was this how her luck, her attention to detail, was going to run out? After the better part of a decade studying and training for this kind of situation, she was going to be outdone by a jammed door?
No. Freaking. Way.
Summoning every ounce of focus and strength she had, Nika moved the collapsed front and side air bags, getting them out of her way. Her left hand scrambled again for the door pull. Panic threatened at the edges of her awareness when her fingers pulled at the handle with no luck.
Lean.
She allowed her strength and gravity to use her body weight against the door. Finally the door moved a fraction of an inch. Metal against metal. Bracing herself, she shoved her shoulder against the door just as it was yanked open. She fell out of the car, knowing the ground was going to be hard and cold. Instead she was caught midair, the icy field a good foot below her face, her body secure.
“I’ve got you, Nika.”
Mitch.
She’d fallen into Mitch’s arms.
*
Nika blinked as she looked at him, her eyes an icy shade of blue from the way the sunlight touched them.
“You okay? Does anything hurt?” His voice was rough as his heart pounded in his throat. God Almighty. He’d watched her car spin out and hit the shoulder when they’d been going forty miles an hour. He’d thought she was a goner, depending on how her car reacted to the torque of the spinout.
“I’m good. I can wiggle my toes, promise. Just get me out of here. I smell gas.”
Mitch did, too, and allowed his training to guide his motions, reflexive and instinctual. He heaved Nika’s body from the SUV, hoisted her over his shoulder and ran across the farm field. His winter hiking boots were filling with snow, his socks growing wet and damp, threatening to freeze his feet. He had to get as far as possible from the vehicle. It was unlikely that it would—
A huge explosion rent the air and forced him to his knees. He managed to fall forward, at least, so that Nika landed on her butt. Her elbows kept her head from slamming on the frozen ground.
“Mitch!” She reached for him.
Mitch covered her with his body. Not so much to protect her from any flying debris—there wasn’t any—but to reassure himself that she was alive. He was alive. They were both okay.
“Nika, I’m so sorry, baby. I’ve got you. You’re going to be all right.”
“Hell, I know that, Mitch.” She pounded his shoulder with a gloved hand. Amazing how air bags could break bones but she was in one piece. Obviously her strong will hadn’t taken a hit. “What about you? I’m no lightweight. Did you hurt your back carrying me? I could have run—”
He shut her up with his mouth. It didn’t make sense, this incredible drive he had to feel her, touch her, know she was okay. Nika. Her warmth, her body, the reassurance they were both still here, alive on planet earth, was all he could think about.
She didn’t hesitate to respond to his kiss and he wrapped his arms around her body as she wrapped hers around his neck. As quickly as the car’s gas tank had exploded, their attraction blew up in a volatile mix of need, relief and potent desire.
Her lips pressed against him and her tongue fought with his before dipping and diving into every crevice of his mouth, making him harder than he ever thought he’d been. Especially after such a nar
row escape. His usual reaction to near death wasn’t an instant erection. But he’d never worked with Nika before, never known a woman like her. He pressed his hips into hers, allowing himself to revel in the contact, losing himself to the moment, the freaking hot need he had for Nika.
Nika’s legs cradled his hips and she rocked against him, her little pants and gasps for air music to his ears. So much nicer than the wail of sirens.
Sirens.
“Shit, Nika, we can’t—”
“We have to, Mitch. I was wrong the other night. I don’t want to be a tease. Never, not with you.”
He pulled back as huge, fat flakes of snow fell on her face. Her pupils were huge, widely dilated despite the brightness of the snow, her skin pale with a dangerous sheen of sweat.
“Goddamn it.” Lifting himself off her, he pulled her into a sitting position. Normally he’d keep her down, elevate her feet, but hypothermia was a risk, too. “You’re in shock, Nika.”
“Am not.” She started to tremble and her lips were turning purple.
Dismay and something much deeper, far more primal, rocked him.
Fear.
“Here.” He whipped off his leather jacket and put it on her shoulders. At least she was in a winter coat so she wouldn’t get too cold, but sitting on a wet pile of snow wouldn’t help her warm up.
“Come on.” He tugged until she stood and then he nestled her into his arms, doing his best to warm her until the EMTs arrived. Damn it he was still hard from kissing her. No wartime experience had prepared him for this.
They were visible to the road now that they weren’t hidden in several inches of snow and dried branches. But they could be spotted by any trucker driving by, any traffic helicopter. What if one of the army choppers from Fort Indiantown Gap had flown over? In the midst of routine training the pilot and crew could have been treated to a most un-routine sight.
And his students. The seniors drove this stretch of highway as a matter of course. He didn’t deserve their respect, not if they found him panting like a dog on top of a woman they thought was their classmate. If his colleagues witnessed their hot embrace, it would have been just as bad.
