Tropical Safeguard (Men Of The Secret Service) (17 page)

“Cole, this isn’t
Cameron’s handwriting.”

“What do you mean?

“I don’t think he wrote
this second letter.”

“He probably disguised
his handwriting to prevent being caught. I’ve seen it many times, Katrina. I
wouldn’t worry too much. Besides, it’s over now. You shouldn’t bother yourself
worrying.” Cole moved closer and took the wrinkled papers. Turning, he placed
them on top of the manila envelope and grasped her shoulders, running his hands
over her bare skin. She wore a pink tank top that showed off her bronzed, toned
back and arms. “What can I do to take away those remaining fears?”

Katrina noticed his sexy
‘come hither’ eyes, though somehow she knew it wasn’t intentional. Cole was
just naturally sexy – he couldn’t help it. Still, there was something
seductive in his loaded question.

“You can be my bodyguard
on our walk. I know you’re good at that. And…” Katrina turned to face him,
wrapping her arms around his neck. “You can kiss me the way you did before.”

Walking out toward the
cliff with Cole, Katrina looked down at the beach and was instantly struck by
sorrow. Even in the bright welcoming sunshine, the drama of last night hung
over her psyche like a dark cloud. She was happy to have slept in this morning,
skipping her morning medication in lieu of much needed slumber. The tide had
erased all traces of blood and disturbed sand, smoothing it away as if a life
hadn’t been lost there, erasing all trace of last night’s terror. If only the
tide could erase her vivid memories. Looking down from a distance, it was all
still fresh in her mind. “I still can’t believe it’s all over.” Without
warning, tears flowed down her cheeks in her glorious relief.

Cole wrapped his hard,
strong arms around her. She buried her face in his shoulder and wept. He held
her close to his chest, tightening his grip protectively.

“You did just fine, it’s
okay. I’m proud of you.” Stooping slightly, he kissed her forehead and, as she
raised her chin to meet his face, he kissed her passionately.

“Now that’s a lovely way
to start the day,” Cole tried to make light of the heavy moment. “Shall we go
in for breakfast?”

                                   
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Meanwhile, Gloria arrived at the mansion
ready to get the day started. When she entered the front door, she’d found it
strange that the entire place was quiet and the entourage were still sleeping.
Stopping, she listened intently from the bottom of the staircase, wondering if
perhaps everyone had gone on an outing in the early hours or something.

Gawking around, the
eerie silence sliced the air until Gloria heard a pot clang in the kitchen and
she knew where the action was. She strolled down the center of the mansion
toward the back staff quarters. Just as she was passing the long harvest table
in the kitchen, Jacques cornered her.

“Stop,” he insisted,
putting up a hand.

“What?” Gloria asked
curiously, his tone alarming her slightly.

“Sit here,” Jacques
guided a hand toward the island stool. “I have to tell you about last night.”

After a flurry of
details and plenty of gasps from Gloria, Jacques raised his eyebrows and threw
his hands up in the air dramatically. “And that, my dear, is why our poor
Katrina is with us in the first place. Because of that boorish, abusive
scoundrel who has now made all of our lives a living hell. But, he will bother
her no more.”

“My goodness, that’s
terrible,” Gloria put a hand on her chest in disbelief. “And to think our
strong, capable Katrina was once the victim of an abuser. And to track her down
here and endanger everyone, he must have been ruthless.” Gloria was about to
add more to their conversation, but it was stopped short when they heard the
shuffling footsteps of a few pair of feet. Looking up, they watched as the
three boys entered the kitchen.

“Morning, Jacque,” said
Jimmy casually.

“Ahh, young man, you are
hungry I assume. After last night, we can all use something special.”

“Morning, Gloria,” the
boys seemed to say in unison as they took a seat at the harvest table.

Gloria noticed their
energy levels had decreased.

“So, I understand there
was some activity here last night.”

Zachary looked over at
her. “You’re lucky you missed it. All we heard was a gunshot and screaming and
then a guy was dead on the beach. It was totally crazy!”

“Yeah,” said Noah. “We
thought it had something to do with our Dad or Jimmy’s Dad because of who they
are, but it had nothing to do with them. That was weird.”

“A good surprise I am
sure,” Jacques interjected.

“Yeah, a good surprise.
But still, I feel real bad for Katrina,” Jimmy said, slumping in his chair.
“She’s a nice lady and doesn’t deserve some scary guy coming after her. Was it
her husband or something?”

“No, they were never
married. But he was not a good person. Still, it was terrible how it all ended.
Are you boys doing okay after seeing what you saw?” Jacques asked cautiously.

“I guess so,” Noah
looked down at the table. “I’m just happy everything’s back to normal. I don’t
think I could handle more bad stuff happening.”

“Me either,” piped in
Jimmy. “This is supposed to be a vacation. It’s like a movie or something,
first Noah falling over the cliff and then that crazy man taking Katrina and
getting shot by the Secret Service guy. Wow. I sure do have a lot to talk about
with my class when I get back.”

“That’s for sure,”
Zachary said as the boys sat solemnly.

Jacque pulled a batch of
hot corn muffins from the oven and set them on the stovetop to cool.

“Is it safe to start on
your rooms then?” Gloria asked the boys, still in shock over last night’s tale.
She was anxious to speak privately with Katrina and see with her own eyes that
her friend was okay. She would have to wait until after breakfast.

“Yeah, Gloria, thanks,”
Zachary said and the other two boys nodded.

As Gloria walked out of
the kitchen, she passed the Secretary of State, the Deputy Secretary, and Mrs.
Greenbaum who were now sitting in the living room. They were talking in hushed
tones, no doubt discussing the events of last night. As she passed, they looked
up and acknowledged her, but no one said anything. Gloria sensed they too had
been shaken up by what had happened, although quite relieved that it was
unrelated to the entourage themselves.

“I suppose we won’t be
receiving any more threatening letters,” Secretary Mitchell commented after
Gloria had passed out of earshot.

“I have to admit, I’m a
little concerned for our safety. If it hadn’t been for Agent Nielsen, we all
would have been in danger. Agent Kensing was indisposed when he should have
been on high alert after those letters arrived.”

“I agree, but we can’t
be too hard on the man. He is only human,” Edward Greenbaum added. “How were
they to know that lunatic would ambush Miss Turner? It’s all so hard to
believe.”

“At least we can relax
now and try to enjoy these last two days. We deserve it before returning to the
hustle of your schedules.” Helene leaned over and patted her husband’s arm.

Agent Kensing strolled
into the kitchen from the back hallway. He was still nursing a large bump on
the back of his head from being knocked out by Cameron. When he’d regained
consciousness, Jacque had been leaning over him in the grass asking if he could
hear him and shaking his shoulders to bring him around. That’s when Agent
Kensing and Jacque had heard the final gunshot that took Cameron’s life.

“Morning, everyone,” the
agent addressed the boys and Jacque. He then walked into the living room to
apologize to the entourage and discuss what had happened the night before.

Chapter
Thirteen

“Agent Kensing wants to take the first
shift today. That means I’m free until four o’clock. I think it might be his
way of making amends for leaving me to take care of everything on my own last
night,” Cole said.

“So you’re all mine for the next four
hours then?” Katrina was hopeful.

“Yep. What do you propose?” Cole asked
with curiosity. He knew Katrina was still fragile and didn’t want to tax her in
any way.

“Something fun. Would you like to go
snorkeling with me and get lost in an underwater world for a while?”

“When?”

“After lunch.”

“Sure, sounds fun,” Cole said.

“Good,” Katrina kissed him quickly before
they entered the side door. “Because fun is all I have in mind from now on.”

The
numb reality of last night’s aftermath began to burn away as everyone at the
mansion golfed, relaxed on the beach, and swam in the ocean. They lost
themselves in the activities usually enjoyed on a luxury holiday. Having put
the drama behind them, everyone easily slipped into a renewed sense of
relaxation.

Katrina suggested that she and Cole take
the SUV and explore the island. It would be nice to get away from the mansion
for a while. Agent Kensing had looked at Cole sideways, his eyebrow arched in a
questionable expression when Cole had informed him that he would be
accompanying Katrina on a site-seeing adventure. Cole hadn’t given a damn. And
when Helene had asked if Katrina could give her a Pilates lesson, Katrina
informed her that it would have to wait until after 4pm. When Katrina gave the
reason, Helene smiled and winked at her knowingly. “In that case, Pilates can
wait! Enjoy every minute together.”

Feeling liberated for the first time in
many years, Katrina smiled easily, reaching over and touching Cole’s arm often
and putting a hand on his knee as they drove around the island. She felt
completely comfortable with him now and the feeling was mutual and
reciprocated. Cole couldn’t keep his eyes or hands off her either. With only
two days left together, time was fleeting and they shared an awareness of this
charged urgency.

Back at the mansion a while later, Cole
and Katrina had joined the staff and entourage for a tropical drink on the
patio before heading down to the beach to snorkel. They’d asked if anyone
wanted to join them, but everyone had had their fill of sun for the day and
chose to lounge around the shaded, air-conditioned house.

Wearing a jade-green bikini, Cole
couldn’t take his eyes off Katrina’s taught belly, trim thighs, and endless
curves that were not overt, but discrete and mesmerizing. Her dark hair was
pulled back into a hapless ponytail and her youthful, natural beauty defied her
thirty years. She looked at least ten years younger. Since her father was of
British descent, Katrina had a few freckles dotting her bronzed cheeks. Her
ease at acquiring a golden bronze tan was the result of her mother’s Portuguese
heritage, along with her long dark hair.

Katrina noticed Cole’s attire too. He had
stripped off his white linen short-sleeved button-down and she couldn’t help
but stare in admiration of his physique. Once again, she couldn’t get enough.
His long swim shorts hung low on his muscular waist, a v-shaped muscle leading
to regions Katrina would love to explore. His rippled abdominals clearly
indicating a man with discipline, a man who cared for his health and his
overall appearance. She’d caught a glimpse of his tight abs when she’d given
him a massage earlier in the week and she’d laid a hand on them during her
Pilates session, but that had been through a sweaty tee shirt.

“I didn’t know if I’d have my chance to
see you in your new Bermuda shorts.”

“Well, get a good look.” Cole raised his
hands and laughed.

“Oh, I’m looking alright. There’s no
avoiding the view.”

“Trust me, the feeling’s mutual.” Cole
devoured her with his eyes some more. She stared right back without a care or
interruption in the world, and she was burning with unbridled desire. Katrina
couldn’t help but feel uplifted, free just being in close proximity to him.
Although she felt pangs of guilt and sorrow for how things had turned out for
Cameron, she was also aware that he had made his own destiny. It really had
nothing to do with her. It could very easily have been reversed, with her
resting on a cold slab in the Bermuda morgue. Things could have been much
different.

As Cole turned toward the water, his
hands resting on his hips, Katrina admired his muscular back. He was all man.
Standing at six-foot four, she’d never met anyone so tall in all her life. Her
family’s height gene was on the shorter side. Katrina stood at five-foot-four,
still considerably taller than most of the women in her family, especially on
her mother’s side. Katrina walked forward and joined him at the water’s edge,
reaching out to hold his hand. He squeezed it and smiled down at her knowingly
before pulling the mask that rested around his neck up onto his eyes. He
suddenly resembled a strange sea-creature.