Mountain Retreat

Moving fast before Phillips changed his mind, she rushed down the carpeted corridor. At the far end, a double doorway opened into a honeycomb of cubicles encircled by offices with glass walls. She heard voices to her left and turned.

In the farthest office, Special Agent Hawthorne stood behind a desk and spoke to four men. One stood apart from the others. His left hand was in the pocket of his gray suit jacket. He was tall with black hair and wide shoulders. Sidney couldn’t see his face, but she knew him.

She took off running. Dodging around file cabinets and desks, she flew across the room. Her feet barely touched the floor. She crashed into the glass wall. Her palms splayed against it. “Nick.”

He turned. His hands met hers against the glass.

Sweet lord, was this possible? She stared, unblinking. If she closed her eyes, she was afraid he’d disappear.

He came around the wall through the door and reached toward her. She latched on to his hand, laced her fingers through his. He was thinner than the last time she’d seen him. His complexion was pale, as though he’d been ill, but this was definitely her fiancé. She lifted her hand toward his face and touched the V-shaped scar on his jaw.

“Oh, Nick, I missed you so much.”

“It’s okay. I’m here. I’m back.”

But there was something different. When she peered into his eyes, she didn’t see the man she had once loved with all her heart. Nick Corelli looked back at her with the eyes of a stranger.

Chapter Two (#ulink_e1ad4770-70bc-5934-a299-6d81b4051eb4)

Nick folded his arms around her and held her in a warm embrace. Tucking her head beneath his chin, Sidney gasped, trying to suck oxygen into lungs that felt paralyzed. She was frozen in time. Her world had stopped spinning.

“You’re trembling,” he said.

“I know.”

She desperately wanted to kiss him, but she was afraid to look into his eyes again. What if he’d changed? What if he was no longer the Nick she’d built her life around? She needed reassurance, needed to know that this was her Nick, her fiancé, her lover.

“They told me it was better to wait,” he whispered in her ear. “They said it would be easier for you.”

“They were wrong.”

And he should have known that. He should have realized how much she had needed to know that he was safe. Every moment he’d been missing, she had feared the worst.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

“Don’t say that.” It wasn’t right for him to apologize. He’d been through hell. “It’s not your fault.”

“You know I’d never do anything to hurt you.”

“I know.”

“Forgive me, Sidney.”

A burst of anger shattered her fear. Her blood surged. Her muscles tensed. She pushed away from him, whirled and stalked into the office to face the CIA agents, who had been joined by Phillips. “I blame them.”

Special Agent Hawthorne had lied to her only minutes ago. The woman was a monster. If Sidney truly had been a lioness, she would have pounced on the skinny agent, thrown her to the carpet and torn out her throat. Why had they kept Nick from her? What was their plan?

She didn’t really care, didn’t want to know. She’d happily leave spying to the professionals. All that mattered was Nick. He was alive. Everything else was water under the bridge.

“We’re leaving now,” she informed them. “Nick and I are leaving. Together.”

“I’m afraid that’s not possible,” Hawthorne said. “Nick will be staying in a safe house until after the visit from Hurtado and his wife.”

“Is he in danger?”

“I don’t owe you an explanation.” Hawthorne’s tone was brisk. “Captain Corelli is a marine. He has his orders.”

“Ma’am.” A man with a thick neck and a body builder’s shoulders stepped forward and shook Sidney’s hand. “I’m Lieutenant Randall Butler. I want you to know that we appreciate what you’ve gone through.”

“Is that so?” Anger pumped molten lava through her veins. “You knew he was safe. I should have been informed.”

“Marine Intelligence has been working with the CIA on this mission. Special Agent Hawthorne is taking the lead.”

In spite of her searing fury, she understood what he was saying. “It was Hawthorne’s decision to keep me uninformed. Why?”

Hawthorne unbuttoned the black jacket of her severe pantsuit and leaned against the edge of her desk. The plain office suited her dull, uncluttered personality. The bookshelves were arranged in order, a few diplomas—including one from Harvard—hung on the walls, and nothing seemed out of place.

Hawthorne’s eyes narrowed to slits. “Part of my job is to assess your psychological profile. Though you’re an intelligent woman who is capable of logic—”

“An engineer,” Sidney said. “It doesn’t get much more logical than that.”

“Your behavior—especially when it pertains to your fiancé—is highly irrational. Therefore, I concluded that you would not be brought into the loop until after Captain Corelli’s assignment is over.”

Clenching her jaw to keep from screaming, Sidney replied, “I resent your assumptions.”

“They aren’t meant as criticism.” Hawthorne arched an eyebrow. “It’s clear that you care so much about Captain Corelli that you aren’t capable of behaving in a dispassionate manner.”

No one had ever accused Sidney of being too passionate. Her engineering work put her in contact with all-male crews who never showed emotion, and Nick was the only man she’d ever had a serious, long-term relationship with. In her twenty-eight years, there had been two other men she’d fallen for, but she had ultimately ended things with them.

Sidney wasn’t going to waste time arguing with Hawthorne, who thought she was doing the right thing. Instead, she pointed out the obvious. “The situation has changed.”

“Yes, it has.” Hawthorne scowled.

“Keeping me in the dark is no longer an option. I’m here. What are you going to do about it?”

“You leave me no choice but to take you into protective custody.”

“You’re arresting me?”

“There’s no need to be melodramatic. The only restriction is that you won’t be allowed to talk to anyone. You’ll be kept in comfortable accommodations, and it will only be for about a week.”

Overwhelmed by rage, she saw red. “You can’t do that.”

“Actually, I can.”

“What about my work?”

“We’ll handle it,” Hawthorne said. “This is inconvenient for all of us. It would have been easier if you’d just stayed in the interrogation room.” She shot an accusing glance toward Phillips.