A Spy for Christmas (5 page)

Robin waited patiently. It made him feel worse that she
completely trusted him in this instant. 

How stupid of me
. He couldn’t believe he made a
mistake that could cost them their lives. One day he was going to have to tell
Robin everything if they had a chance of being together.  Immediately, however,
his years of training kicked in to deal with the task at hand. He had to stay
in control and in command if they were going to make it out alive. Now more
than ever he knew someone was toying with them, waiting for the right second to
strike.

“No, it’s not out of gas. I need you to trust me and do as I
say without question. We’re going to get out and walk to the next town. It’s
just a couple of miles away, on the other side of those woods. Let’s move.”

He grabbed his handgun from under the driver’s seat and ran
around to her side. They quickly made their way along the path in the grove of
trees; Grayson with his gun at the ready. He chose the way with the most cover,
but that might not be enough.

“Grayson, I—”

Shots rang out; the crackling sound originated from a source
not far away.

Grayson pushed Robin to the ground, covered her and returned
fire in an instant. He discerned the location of the shooter and shielded Robin
from that direction.  His mind raced, thinking of routes out of the woods.

Silence fell again. The shooter might be trying for a better
position. In the heavy brush, Grayson knew they were almost invisible,
especially since they weren’t moving.

As he scanned the area, movement caught his eye coming in
from the side. He watched and saw a familiar face—his sister! They hadn’t been
alone after all. He waited and she spotted him. He gave the slightest of nods
and turned his hand to point uphill at the shooter’s location.

She gave a signal in another direction to her back up.

Seconds later, gunfire rang out again.

On cue, he pulled Robin to her feet, still shielding her,
and pushed her into motion. “Run!” he hissed just loud enough for her to hear.

Robin was clearly in a state of shock but she listened and
followed his directions through the woods. They moved at a good pace while he
listened to the gun fight behind them.

A few seconds later the woods were silent.

A car waited for them when they broke free of the woods.

“Jump in!” he ordered.

Robin could only trust that he’d seen the driver and knew it
was safe. She climbed in with him right behind her and the car took off.

No one spoke.

Grayson watched out the windows as they sped down the
mountain. Half an hour later, they reached a small town and the driver stopped
at a hotel.

“Room five. They’re waiting.”

“Thank you,” Grayson said before he motioned for her to get
out. He led the way to Room 5 and opened the door. Two men were waiting inside.
One was listening to his cell phone while the other simply sat and waited. They
were dressed like loggers or construction workers: warm clothes for the
outdoors. Nothing fancy.

The taller of the two ended his call and nodded at his
partner. To her he said, “Hi, Robin. I’m Hinks. This is Finley.”

“Did everyone get out safely?” Grayson asked.

She didn’t miss the look the two men shared and knew they
didn’t have good news. Grayson sank down onto the bed, preparing himself it
seemed.

“Arianna.” That was all Hinks said.

Grayson groaned, folding over. Robin went to him and sat
down beside him, resting her arm around him.

After several heart-wrenching moments, Hinks sat down in a
chair. “She took out the shooter, but he fired at the same time. It struck her
in the temple, killing her instantly. At least it was quick.”

Finley finally spoke in a low voice that matched his blue
collar clothes.  “We know the gunman was, in fact, assigned to murder you,
Grayson.”

“I don’t understand any of this,” Robin said. But, in fact,
she was putting pieces together. Hadn’t Grayson said his sister was an agent?
She couldn’t remember if he had said her name or not…

“Robin, you’re completely safe now. We’ve made sure of that.
You’ll be staying here tonight and then we’re all heading back into Portland.”

Hinks and Finley briefed Grayson before they left, going to
the room next door to stay the night. In the quiet after they left, Robin asked
him, “Was that your sister?”

He sat up, rubbing his face. “I would have never expected
her to be present during an extraction. Hinks said she insisted on being at the
scene to help me.”

“I’m so sorry.”

When he could finally speak, Grayson began telling her about
his sister. He needed someone to know what she’d done and sacrificed for her
job and their country.  Arianna was one of the Agency’s most skilled agents. Much
of her career success was due to her youthful appearance and petite frame; her
ability to pass for a teenager or very young woman enabled the Agency to use
her successfully in the most top secret Intel operations.

On Christmas Day, she and a partner were assigned to escort
Grayson safely back to the United States with Intel from his mission. It was
Arianna’s partner that first spotted the danger. It was the man Grayson thought
he saw on the plane.

It’d been Arianna who arranged for the SUV when they escaped
the airport. She organized their extraction from the woods, insisting that she
come along with the two best sharp shooters in the agency.

“Why?” Robin asked. She didn’t understand why everyone
risked their lives.

His answer was simple. “I put you in danger. We put in you
in danger. We had to fix it.”

His eyes were bloodshot from the stress of the day. She
pulled him closer, wanting to comfort him, and hoping that would be enough for
now. Robin couldn’t imagine his pain…and in a way, it had been for her. Arianna
had given her life to keep Robin alive. With that on her mind, they sat
entwined on the bed for a long time.

“Is it really over now?” she asked later.

“It’s all over.”

“All?”

 “I want to tell you some things.” He propped up the pillows
at the head of the bed and they settled in together. She laid her head on his
chest and listened through the night as he told her about the past fifteen
years of his life as a foreign clandestine agent. Without providing too much
detail, he told her how the Agency had sent him all over the world on dangerous
and secret assignments.

 “It was work,” he said, “that I enjoyed and I had become
very skilled over the years. But I’ve wanted a normal life for some time now.
When we met on the plane, I was coming home from my last assignment.”

Robin lifted her head to look at him. “And now?”

“And now I’ve found you… I just lost my little sister. I
don’t want any more loss in my life. I want you, Robin.”

Several months later, Grayson was debriefed by the Agency.
Early spring flowers were just starting to poke their heads through the ground.
Robin looked happier every day, blooming in their love. He tried not to let
that go to his head, but he made her happy.

While he was released from active service, he knew that for
the rest of his life he would be under the Agency’s watch and protection. He
and Robin agreed to live quietly under the radar with new identities as husband
and wife.

*****

On Christmas night, one year later, Mr. and Mrs. Lane shared
a special and warm look as they stood in front of the crib. Three month old
Arianna slept soundly, her strawberry blond hair curling on the top and her
little fists lying thrown out on each side.

“She’s so beautiful, just like her mother,” Grayson
whispered. It was something he said all the time. He cooed and gooed over little
Arianna, melting Robin’s heart more each day.

The cabin was now an idyllic little piece of heaven for
their small family. Grayson was remodeling the structure, of course, to include
more rooms and electricity. It turned out he was rather skilled at building and
seemed to enjoy it. Robin enjoyed decorating it; especially for their first
family Christmas. The place looked like a country postcard, complete with
twinkling lights and a lovely Christmas tree by the fireplace with handpicked
ornaments decorating it. Two ornaments in particular touched Robin’s heart.
Grayson had handcrafted a small wooden crib decorated with the words, “Baby’s
First Christmas.” The second ornament was a small cabin with the words “Our
Second Christmas together.” 

Grayson pulled her closer and looked at her with a familiar
gleam in his eye.

“I hope you don’t mind,” he says mischievously. It took a
second but then she gasped, remembering those had been his first words to her
on the airplane.

“Of course not!”

He leaned close to kiss her. “Merry Christmas, Mrs. Lane. I
love you more than words can say.”

And once again, like so many happy nights, the crackling
fireplace became the soundtrack to their love and desire.

About The Author

Kristen James loves writing romances set in Oregon with
dreaming heroes that will melt your heart. She enjoys the outdoors and watching
wildlife in her yard and on the river by her house. Besides reading and
writing, she loves traveling, cycling, hiking, berry picking, canoeing, fishing,
and camping, especially doing these with her family. Life should be an
adventure!

Visit
www.writerkristenjames.com
to learn more and read her blog. Connect on Facebook at
www.facebook.com/WriterKristenJames
and Twitter at @writerkristenj. She loves to interact with readers.

Amazon author page at

 
http://amazon.com/author/kristenjames

Other Novels by
Kristen James:

Embers of Hope
,
Book 1, Second Gift Series

More Than a
Promise
, Book 2, Second Gift Series

More Than Memories

A Cowboy For
Christmas

The Enemy’s Son

The River People

The Fairy and her
Giant

Other Novels by
Kristen James:

A Cowboy For
Christmas –
Can they put aside their differences and past hurts to save the
struggling ranch?

http://amzn.to/ACowboyForChristmas

Available in print
and Kindle ebook

Available in Spanish!

Un vaquero para
naviad

http://amzn.com/B009JMRHFQ

“
A Cowboy for Christmas
is a great romance for the
holidays or anytime you like. A bit fun and flirty read that will not
disappoint.” --Coffee Time Romance

“Kristen James has done it again with another romance novel
to warm your heart. [
A Cowboy for Christmas
] She has created truly down
to earth and likable characters with Missy and Brent. The story is perfect for
the holidays! Not too long, not too short, I finished the book in about a day.
Like her other book,
More Than Memories
, you become immersed in the
story, the plot and the descriptive scenery.” --reader review

http://amzn.com/B00A5TAVXM

Book 2: More Than a Promise
Cassie’s Story
Cassie escapes to Ocean View Stables on the Oregon Coast to cope with the three
year anniversary of her husband’s death. She’s starting to dream about her
future again and possibly romance. A safe romance, that is, where people don’t
die. She runs into Ethan Caldwell, the cute boy who teased her through grade
school. He sure grew up – into a man who’d catch anyone’s eyes. Now he’s a
single dad to nine year old Isabel, who talks about her parents getting back
together…as soon as her mom is out of rehab. Then maybe her mom can watch her
while her dad goes on his work trips. Apparently Ethan has some kind of
dangerous, secretive government job. This isn’t at all what Cassie is looking
for! So why is she running full speed into another broken heart?