Freefall (12 page)

Kel pushed back from his desk and stood up. “I don't think we're going to be able to get much more done tonight anyway. The subway opens at five o'clock eastern standard time, that's eleven to us.” He rolled his neck, trying to work the kinks out of it. “Intel in Washington is going to keep running checks on the emails to that Palm Pilot, but so far we haven't found anyone he was communicating with in the United States. We have another unit that's going to come in here and watch the subway monitors in case someone tries to drop a package during the night.”

“Sounds like we have as much covered as we can from here,” Brent agreed. “Did anyone think to get Amy someplace to sleep tonight?”

“Quinn,” Kel called out.

Quinn turned toward him. “Yeah?”

Kel grinned. “Thanks for volunteering. Call housing and find someplace for our new teammate over there to sleep,” he instructed, nodding in Amy's direction. “Also, where did you put those cell phones?”

Quinn dug through a knapsack and fished out two cell phones. “Here you go.”

Kel passed them to Brent. “Here's your phone, and we got one for Whitmore so we can keep track of her while she's here.” He turned and raised his voice so everyone could hear. “Okay, everyone go get some sleep. We'll start back up at 0600 hours.”

“Thanks,” Brent whispered.

“It's going to take Quinn a few minutes to track down someplace for her to stay,” Kel reminded him. “Why don't you go take her out for some dinner? There's a Jeep out front.”

“I might just do that.” Brent grinned and took the keys Kel held out to him.

“Give Quinn a call when you're finished with dinner and he'll tell you where she'll be staying.”

“Thanks.”

* * *

“What do you mean she's not here?” Jim Whitmore growled at the doctor. He was normally a calm, reserved individual. But today had been anything but normal.

“I'm sorry, sir. She just got up and left.” The doctor fumbled with the chart he held in his hand. “The nurse said that an officer came in and signed her out.”

“Do you know who the officer was?”

“Yes, it was Lieutenant Miller. He gave the name and number of his commanding officer.” The doctor scribbled the information down on a piece of paper and handed it to the senator. “Housing should also know where she is staying. I'm sure we can get someone to take you over to the temporary quarters.”

“Where's the nearest phone?”

“This way, sir.”

* * *

“I'd almost forgotten what real food tasted like after eating those energy bars,” Amy said as she spooned the last bite of sherbet into her mouth.

Brent stared at her across the table for a moment before motioning for the waiter to bring him the check. “You must be tired. I should get you over to your room.”

“Yeah, I guess I really should try to call my folks again. I still can't believe no one was home when I called.”

“I'm sure someone already got word out to them,” Brent assured her as he tossed some bills on the table and stood up. He reached for her hand without thinking and led her out of the restaurant.

“How long will you be here before you go back home?”

“About a week.” Brent pulled open the door of the Jeep for her and then skirted around the front and got in beside her. “Assuming we're right about tomorrow, it will take about four or five days to finish the reports and debriefings.”

Amy watched him as he retrieved his cell phone from his pocket and called Quinn to find out where she was staying tonight. A moment later he put the car in gear and glanced over at her. “Quinn set everything up for you. We just have to swing by and pick up the key.”

Amy nodded. She remained silent as they stopped to pick up the key and then drove to the base's temporary housing. She wanted to ask if she would see him again after she left, but she was unable to voice the question. Somehow her wants and needs seemed trivial in the face of a terrorist attack in her backyard.

He pulled up in front of a residential building and got out of the Jeep to show her to the door. “Here we are.”

They walked up the short sidewalk together. When they reached the doorstep, Amy turned to thank him for everything, but her mind went blank. He had moved closer without her even realizing it. His eyes were dark, questioning, and little butterflies started dancing in her stomach. Without seeming to move at all, he slid a hand around her waist and drew her closer.

She could almost see his mind racing, his conscience battling between the spark that flashed between them and the ethics he was bound by. She thought she understood the ethics part—his concern that her feelings for him had bloomed from gratitude and dependence. Certain that she knew her own mind and heart, she didn't believe for a minute that she would have developed feelings for just anyone, even after spending days with them in the desert.

Without thinking, she slid her arms around his neck as he lowered his lips to hers. The spark between them exploded, and her entire being focused on this one moment, this one man. A little warning bell sounded in her mind, telling her that what she felt for Brent might overpower her if she wasn't careful.

This wasn't a man who would be home every day at five o'clock for dinner, or whose ambitions she even understood. He was driven to protect, to serve. Duty would always come first, family second. She convinced herself she could never live that kind of life even as she let the sensation of his kiss seep through her.

Suddenly light spilled out onto the doorstep as the door opened behind them. Amy turned to see her father standing in the doorway.

“Dad?” She was torn between wanting it to really be her father in the doorway and hoping that she was just imagining it. Her eyes narrowed as she decided that she wasn't imagining anything. She withdrew from Brent's embrace and turned to throw her arms around her father's neck. “Dad! What are you doing here?”

“Looking for you.” Jim Whitmore pulled his daughter close, breathing her in for a moment before he shifted his gaze to Brent. The look turned to a glare. “Are you going to introduce me to your friend?”

“I'm sorry.” Amy released her father, noticing the proprietary way he kept an arm around her waist. “Dad, this is Lieutenant Brent Miller. Brent, this is my father, Senator Jim Whitmore.”

“Senator.” Brent extended his hand and noted the senator's brief hesitation before he reached out to shake.

“It seems I owe you a debt of gratitude for bringing my daughter home safely.” His voice was controlled and formal.

“She made the job easy,” Brent said simply.

Charlie's voice came from the doorway, and a moment later Amy was scooped up by her older brother. “Thank goodness you're okay.”

Amy laughed as he lifted her off her feet before setting her back down. “Charlie, this is Brent Miller. He's the one who rescued me.”

Charlie leaned forward to shake Brent's hand, his smile welcoming. “We owe you.”

“Not at all.” Brent nodded to Amy. “I'll let you spend some time with your family. Would you like me to pick you up in the morning?”

“Please,” Amy said simply.

Brent nodded. “I'll see you a few minutes before six.”

As soon as Jim had shut the door, he turned to Amy. “What's at six?”

“I'm helping out with a little project tomorrow,” Amy answered, not sure how much she should say.

“I was planning on taking you home tomorrow,” Jim informed her. “Your mother has been worried sick.”

“We can't go home tomorrow,” Amy insisted as panic rushed through her. “In fact, I'd feel a lot better if you could talk Mom into going to visit Matt and CJ for a couple of days.”

“She's already at Matt's house,” Jim said, his eyes narrowing. “Why?”

Amy let out a frustrated sigh. “I can't say. I'm sorry, but it's classified information.”

“Amy, I sit on the Senate Intelligence Committee. I have top secret clearance.”

“Then you can get the information yourself,” Amy replied. “I'm sorry, but I was told specifically not to discuss this with anyone.”

Jim stared at her, not so much with disbelief as with admiration. “Let's call your mom, and then we'll talk.”

* * *

Tears of relief and joy streamed down Katherine Whitmore's cheeks as she talked to her daughter for the first time since their world had been turned upside down a week before. Amy assured her that she was just fine and that they would come home soon. In fact, she even suggested that they meet at Matt and CJ's house in Florida for a family reunion of sorts.

Matt hovered nearby, and Katherine finally relinquished the phone to him so that he could hear for himself that Amy was safe and sound.

“When is she coming home?” CJ asked as soon as Katherine was off the phone.

“She said it will probably be a few days, but she wants to come visit here first.” Katherine wiped the moisture from her cheeks. “I think she wants to have all of us together before she has to start picking up the pieces of her life again.”

CJ nodded in agreement.

“I wonder what she'll do now,” Katherine said, half to herself. “Maybe she'll finally agree to work for Jim.”

CJ shook her head. “I wouldn't count on that. I don't think there's any way she's going to work there as long as Jared is still on his staff.”

“Why do you say that?” Katherine asked. Every time she saw Amy and Jared together, Jared was attentive to the point that she wondered if they would decide to get married after all.

“Jared still wants to marry her, so it's awkward for her to be around him.” CJ shrugged. “I think she feels like she'll be fighting her way out of a corner all the time if he's around.”

“They made such a cute couple,” Katherine said as Matt hung up the phone.

“Who did?” Matt asked, sitting next to CJ and putting his arm around her.

“Amy and Jared,” CJ answered.

Matt just shook his head. “Jared really isn't Amy's type.”

“What makes you say that?” Katherine asked, surprised. Matt had never voiced any negative opinions about Jared before.

Matt looked at CJ as though waiting for her to answer. The only response he got was a shake of her head, and a look that clearly said it was his place to tell his mother what they had both long suspected.

“We've always wondered if Jared was more interested in being married to someone with Amy's social status than in being married to Amy.”

“You think he was only interested in her to advance his career?” Katherine shook her head. “I have a hard time believing that. He's such a nice young man.”

“Of course he's nice. He's still hoping to tap into Amy's trust fund.” Matt pointed out. “And whether or not it's true, that's what Amy thought.”

“She told you that?”

CJ sighed. “Not in so many words, but yeah.”

“She never said anything about it to us. She just said she needed to get away from the family for a while.”

Matt nodded. “I think there's some truth to that too.”

“Whatever she does, I certainly hope we can keep her close to home for a while.”

“Amen to that.”

Brent approached Amy's front door the same way he might have approached a firing squad—with a combination of daring and trepidation. He wished he could say that he regretted kissing Amy the night before, but how could he regret something that felt so right? He knew nothing could develop between them, not with the kind of life he led, but he didn't want to think about that right now. For the first time in his life, his heart no longer belonged to him and he had absolutely no idea how to get it back.

As he said his prayers the night before, he had realized that when she left it would likely tear him in two. He had also recognized it was going to happen no matter how much time they spent together. Brent decided he might as well spend as much time with her as he could until the moment came when her father took her home.

Brent had no delusions of how Senator Whitmore felt about him. The senator felt threatened and wasn't about to befriend the man he had just caught kissing his daughter, even it if was the man who had saved her life.

Despite the fact that Amy was twenty-two and he was twenty-six, when the senator had opened that door Brent had felt like a sixteen-year-old stealing a kiss on a first date. As he knocked on the door now, he once again felt like a teenager, especially when Jim pulled the door open.

“Good morning, sir.” Brent met the older man's stare. “Is Amy ready?”

Jim nodded. “We all are.”

“Excuse me?” Brent's eyes widened. “I'm sorry, sir, but we are dealing with highly sensitive information. We can't grant just anyone access.”

“I realize that.” Jim's voice took on an air of authority. “Which is why I already spoke with your commanding officer to make sure my son and I were cleared.”

Jim stepped outside, making way for Charlie and Amy to follow. Brent caught sight of Amy and barely kept his jaw from dropping to the ground. A light dusting of makeup accented her eyes, and her lips were tinted a shade darker than normal. Her hair cascaded past her shoulders, contrasting against a tailored white blouse. Her blue floral skirt flowed nearly to her ankles.

Amy looked up and saw him staring. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah, I've just never seen you in normal clothes before.”

She smiled. “Dad brought me some of my clothes from home.”

Brent turned to open the door of the Jeep for her, wishing for more time alone with her. The senator gave him a stern don't-mess-with-my-daughter look, which he noted and then promptly ignored. After everyone climbed in, Brent moved to the driver's seat.

Rather than speak to Amy, Brent directed a comment to the senator. “You said you spoke with Commander Bennett. Did he bring you up to speed on our situation?”