Special Agent

by Valerie Hansen

  As Max led her away, he asked, “Are you okay?”

  The urge to tease him about such a ridiculous question popped into her head. She squelched it immediately. He wasn’t asking only what his words expressed. He was asking much more. How should she answer? How much truth was he ready to hear?

  Playing it safe for the present, she merely nodded and murmured, “I’m fine,” then counteracted her assurance by stumbling.

  Max caught her in his arms, righted her, then took her hand. “When was the last time you ate?”

  “Um, breakfast?”

  “That’s what I thought.” He began to steer her toward the tables of food. “You need a hamburger.”

  “I need a nap.”

  “First a burger.”

  Katerina sighed audibly. “I can’t believe you’re thinking about food at a time like this.” When she glanced up at him he had arched one eyebrow.

  “A time like what?” Max asked.

  “This.” Spreading her arms she included the scene before them. “Most of them may be clueless but you know I just got shot at. My stomach is twisted into knots and I’m so exhausted I can hardly keep putting one foot in front of the other. I am not hungry.”

  “You still need to try to eat,” he insisted. “The mistake a lot of people make is letting their stress get in the way of common sense. If you allow your body to suffer because your mind is taxed, you’re playing right into the hands of your enemies.”

  Katerina shook her head and met his steady gaze. “I wish you’d quit making such good sense. All I want to do is crawl into a cave somewhere and hibernate like a bear until this is all over.”

  “Soon.” Max was grinning at an elderly gentleman in a Hawaiian print shirt. He was flipping burgers on a grill. Arrayed on a long table beside him was everything to go with the meat. “Is it all right with you if we grab a couple of burgers to go?”

  “Fine by me. Better take beans, too, though. My wife made ’em and she’s real proud.”

  Following his line of sight, Katerina saw a familiar woman dishing up baked beans. “Let’s just go. I’ll eat something later.”

  “What’s the matter?”

  “I want to leave, that’s all.” To her chagrin he was studying her and obviously seeing more truth than she was comfortable with.

  Instead of acquiescing, Max grinned widely and handed her a plate, then moved on. What else could Katerina do? She certainly didn’t want to attract more attention than she already had. Head down, she used tongs to put a hamburger patty and bun on her paper plate and stayed close to her protector.

  The older woman met Max’s smile with one of her own, taking in his uniform and Opal’s vest. “We’re so glad to see the FBI helping out in South Fork,” she said. “About time, considering. Beans?”

  Katerina looked up. Saw the woman’s countenance change, her smile vanish.

  “Yes, thanks,” Max said, presenting his plate. “And I’m glad to have the help of a trustworthy citizen like Ms. Garwood. She’s been a tremendous help to our investigation. I don’t know what we’d do without her.”

  Katerina was not too worn-out to see the humor in the woman’s reactions. Her jaw sagged, along with the spoonful of baked beans she’d been about to serve. The only reason it landed on a plate was because Max moved his in time to catch the spill.

  “Mercy,” the woman said when she finally found her voice, “I had no idea.”

  Max wasn’t done. His admiring gaze rested on Katerina and made her blush more when he said, “Absolutely. As a matter of fact, when all this is over, I plan to recommend her for a citizen’s commendation.”

  “On second thought, I believe I will have some beans,” Katerina said with a demure smile. “Thank you.”

  As they made their way to a nearby table to eat, she couldn’t help enjoying the sense of triumph. “How did you know she was one of my worst critics?”

  “I’m a profiler, remember?”

  Katerina huffed. “You’d hardly need professional training to tell how she felt. Did you see the dirty look she gave me?”

  “Yes, and I took advantage of the opportunity to praise you. I hope you don’t mind.”

  “Only if you truly meant those nice things you said. I have been trying to help. There just isn’t much I can do and it’s terribly frustrating.”

  “I know. You get high points for trying.” He stepped away from the table for a moment to pick up two bottles of water and handed one to her.

  “Thanks.” As soon as she had slaked her thirst, Katerina took a few bites of her hamburger, then asked, “Is there really a special commendation for helpful citizens?”

  When he almost choked on his food she knew the answer. As soon as he stopped coughing, he said, “Not exactly.”

  Her laugh was easy and joyful. “You are so bad, Special Agent West. Aren’t you ashamed of yourself?”

  “Not much.” Max laid his hand over hers and smiled with evident fondness. “Anything I can do to make your life better after I’m gone is worth it.”

  The mention of his leaving dampened Katerina’s good mood the way a heavy rainstorm would have wiped out the picnic atmosphere. Although she didn’t pull her hand away she did tense. He was like a loop of tape, always coming back to the fact he was only a temporary fixture in her life. She knew that. She did. It was painful enough without constant reminders.

  And, considering what she had just gone through—and survived—she figured she had nothing to lose if she said, “I wish you didn’t have to go. I’m really going to miss... Opal.”

  At the mention of her name, the panting dog peeked out from her cooler spot under the table. She was drooling.

  Max released Katerina’s hand and abruptly got to his feet. “You two wait here. I’m going to go see if they have an extra burger or two that I can feed to my partner.”

  Laying a hand on the boxer’s broad, smooth head, Katerina made a sound of disgust that caught the dog’s attention, so she talked directly to her. “Yes, girl, that was a romantic overture I was trying to make. He sure ducked it fast, didn’t he?”

  The happy dog panted more. “You look like you’re smiling. Are you? Have you heard other women throw themselves at your partner? I imagine you have. He’s a real hunk, isn’t he? Mature and sensible but not stuffy. Don’t tell him I said so, but he’s just about perfect.”

  A voice behind her asked, “What’s perfect?” Max had returned.

  “Your K-9,” Katerina said, feeling her cheeks flame.

  “Can’t argue with that,” Max said. He resumed his seat on the bench and was starting to break off pieces of a plain burger patty for Opal when he suddenly stopped moving and canted his head slightly.

  Katerina had seen him receive radio messages often enough to know he was listening through the earpiece. Her eyes never left his face until she heard him say, “Copy,” and start to get up.

  “Bring your plate and let’s go,” Max said. “I’ll feed Opal the rest after we’re in the car.”

  “Why? What happened?” The gravity of his expression gave her the shivers. So did the stiffness of his movements and the way he kept scanning the crowd, not that he had ever stopped. But he had been acting a bit less paranoid for the past half hour or so.

  “They think they located the car that tried to take you. We’ll swing by their location on our way to the hotel and you can make a positive identification.”

  “I hope I can,” Katerina said. She had to take two steps for every one of his and ended up almost jogging. Max had been right. Eating had helped her recover her stamina.

  “Think. Did you touch the vehicle at all? Anywhere? Maybe when he tried to shove you in?”

  “I—I might have. It all happened so fast I’m not positive. I do know I resisted.”

  “That may be enough,
” Max said. “When we get there we’ll see if you left any fingerprints on the side where he stopped with you. After they have the car towed to the police garage they can have techs go over it more thoroughly, but if we can make an ID sooner, all the better.”

  “What about Kyle? Did they catch him?”

  Max was stoic. He was also on full guard. “No. Just the car. And the engine was fairly cool. In this heat it’s impossible to tell how long it may have been parked.”

  “Meaning, he could have doubled back to town again?”

  It didn’t give her a shred of comfort when Max nodded and said, “That’s exactly what the sheriff thinks. They scoured the woods and didn’t find any sign of him.”

  * * *

  Katerina and Max joined the only deputy left to guard the car. It had been abandoned near the entrance to Yosemite Park. Max had to admit the high country was beautiful. If it had not been hiding a stalker and erstwhile kidnapper, he figured he would have appreciated the gorgeous scenery a lot more.

  Beside him in the SUV, Katerina gasped and pointed. “There. That’s it.”

  “Looks right to me. Anything special grab you?”

  “Yes. Now that I see it, I remember a half-peeled window decal. It’s a picture of Half Dome. I think it was in the corner of the left rear window.” She leaned forward to peer through the windshield. “There! See?”

  “Yes,” Max said. “But we’re going to need more proof than that. I imagine those decals are common around here.”

  “I don’t think so. Mostly tourists buy them.”

  “A good point.” He brought his black vehicle to a stop behind the patrol car, got out and introduced himself. “Special Agent Max West,” he said, offering his hand and checking out the man’s badge and name tag as he approached. “You may be the only local law officer I haven’t already met, Deputy Cox.”

  “I’ve been working the highways,” the deputy said. “Might not have noticed this if the guy had left it inside the park. This time of year is so busy up here it’s ridiculous. Come the Fourth of July the traffic will be backed up for miles.”

  “No sign of the driver?”

  “Nope. Just the car.”

  “Okay,” Max said. “Have you checked for prints or trace evidence yet?”

  “Sheriff Tate said to wait for you.”

  Max could tell the young man was probably a rookie. He sure was nervous enough to be. “Okay. No problem. I’ll see if I can find a few prints on the outside before you have it towed.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Keep a sharp eye on my SUV and passenger, will you? I’d hate to lose either.”

  “You got a police dog in there, too?”

  “Yes.” Max nodded as he went to work. He’d told Katerina to stay in his car but there was no telling what she might actually do. She was the best and worst kind of woman. She didn’t take orders well at all, yet was intelligent and savvy enough to figure things out on her own, so she wasn’t as helpless as she looked. Her guileless blue eyes and fair skin beneath a wreath of golden hair gave her an air of innocence that was totally false. Not only was she brave, she was also so smart she sometimes scared him.

  And that wasn’t the only thing that had him on edge. He scanned the nearby forest, watching for movement. Open, hilly fields colored yellow by dry grass were bad enough. Spotting a predator lurking amid stands of Ponderosa pines and live oaks was next to impossible.

  If a perp fired on them they’d never see it coming, Max concluded. The hair at the nape of his neck prickled at the thought. He listened to his gut and tensed, prepared to duck.

  The instant he started to turn he heard the crack and whine of a high-caliber rifle cartridge slicing the air.

  Max hollered, “Get down!”

  His heart nearly pounded out of his chest when Katerina let out an ear-piercing scream.

  SIXTEEN

  Katerina saw Max fall.

  He dropped as though his legs had been knocked out from under him.

  Opal set up a terrible racket, her barks and growls echoing inside the closed SUV as she screamed.

  Whether it was because of Max’s shouted order or by sheer instinct, she flatted herself to the seat as best she could considering all the specialized electronic equipment that was in the way.

  Long seconds passed. She could feel her pulse thrumming in her temples, coursing through her veins. Was it over? Was it safe to look, to see if Max was wounded?

  She knew better than to show herself too soon. She also knew that the man she loved might be injured. Might need her. At this point she didn’t care whether the special agent returned her affection or not. His life might be ebbing away while she lay there, too petrified to act.

  That was not going to happen, Katerina vowed. She wasn’t foolish enough to simply sit up and present another target, but she could still slip out of the SUV on the opposite side and crawl around it until she got a better look at the scene.

  Opal was still carrying on as if they were under attack so she chose to leave the dog behind for its own safety.

  The first thing Katerina did was drop to all fours, look beneath the high vehicle and locate Max. He was moving fluidly. And his gun was drawn. He was okay!

  “Thank you, God,” she whispered, meaning the simple prayer with all her heart.

  What about the young deputy? All she could see were his feet and legs sticking out from behind the open door of his car. He was closer than Max so she made a dash for him. And saw that he was gritting his teeth and grasping his bloody arm!

  “How can I help you?” Katerina asked, realizing that adrenaline had boosted the strength of her voice as soon as Max shouted back at her.

  “Nothing. Stay put,” he yelled.

  “The deputy’s hit!” she answered. “What should I do?”

  Max’s reply was the human equivalent of Opal’s growling. Katerina didn’t care. She’d doctored enough animals to know that her first move should be to stop or slow the bleeding with pressure, not a tourniquet. There were no rags handy but she did spot a handful of napkins on the seat, apparently left over from the deputy’s lunch. That would be a start.

  Stripping off his tie, too, she struggled to get him to listen to her. “Let go and let me pad it,” she said. “See? Napkins. We have to stop the bleeding.”

  Although he nodded and seemed to understand, his hand was clamped so tightly to his injury she couldn’t pry it loose. “Let go. Let me help you,” she shouted, as if volume might get through his instinct to keep his hand firmly in place.

  When a strong arm reached past her and jerked the deputy’s hand loose she almost screamed again. Of course it was Max. Who else would have risked his own life to reach the patrol car?

  Working together as if trained as a team, Katerina and Max placed the wad of napkins, then wrapped the tie around the man’s arm to keep them in place before allowing him to resume his hold.

  “I’ve called for backup and an ambulance,” Max told the injured man. “Understand? Help is on the way.”

  Katerina had expected a little praise, if not another faux award for bravery. Instead, she got Max’s most disapproving stare. “What did you think you were doing? Huh? You could have been shot, too.”

  “But I wasn’t.”

  “Not this time. I'm sure I was the target but considering the shooter's lousy aim he could just as easily have hit you.” His scowl was so deep his eyebrows almost met in the middle of his forehead. “Keep your head down. The day isn’t over yet.”

  “Not funny,” she countered.

  “It wasn’t meant to be.” Grasping her shoulders he glared so hard she wanted to look away. She couldn’t. There was more than one emotion coloring his expression. Anger was obvious, of course, but there was also so much angst it mesmerized her. Not only that, he
was right. She had acted rashly. Yes, she’d had good reason to, but that didn’t excuse folly.

  Meeting his stern gaze, she nodded. “I’m sorry. You’re right. I shouldn’t have left the car.”

  “Well, that’s something. Did you see him go down?”

  Katerina felt that the whole, unvarnished truth was the best course so she held nothing back. “No. When I heard the shot it was you I was watching.” Unshed tears pooled. “I—I thought you’d been hit and needed help. That’s why I got out. But when I saw you moving and you looked okay, I noticed that the deputy wasn’t.” She sniffled. “I’m not as good a person as you think I am. I only risked my life because of you.”

  The agent’s expression became unreadable. He released her shoulders and sat back on his haunches. His jaw worked. No words came out. Given his earlier chastisement, Katerina was relieved. And penitent.

  “I really am sorry. It was just something I had to do. You should understand. After all, that’s how you function.”

  “No,” Max said soberly. “I’m certified to do this job. You’re a horse trainer, not an FBI agent or a cop. It’s high time you got that through your head.”

  Katerina was more than willing to let him rant if that was what he chose to do. She deserved a good chewing out. And Max’s motives were clear. What he said and did was for her benefit, unlike Bertrand, whose main focus was on himself and his so-called reputation.

  “I was wrong,” Katerina said, trying again to make peace. “Very wrong. I was thinking about my own feelings instead of assessing the danger. It was stupid. I should have stayed put.”

  “Yes, you should have.” He eyed the injured man. “It’s beside the point that you may have saved a life by following the urge to check on this officer.”

  Sirens in the background grew louder. Backup and medical assistance was near.

  The relaxing set of Max’s jaw and a softening of his glance gave her hope of forgiveness and the approach of paramedics lifted her spirits. That also loosened her tongue enough to ask, “So do I finally qualify for the good citizen’s award you mentioned?”