Both the man and the woman nodded. The camera was quickly stowed in a jacket pocket. The couple backed away, then turned, and practically ran toward their car in the parking lot. The car engine roared to life, the car backed out, then gravel spurted as the car shot out of the parking lot and onto Mt. Evans Road.
Mara watched in silence as Special Agent McKinnon holstered his weapon. He looked up and saw the expression on her face. “We should go, Princess,” he told her gently. “The snow’s really coming down now.”
He held out his hand, the hand that had drawn the gun so quickly. Mara looked at it for a moment, then up at his face, her thoughts, her emotions, swirling like the snowflakes falling around her. She had been as shocked as the couple who’d just left at how quickly Special Agent McKinnon had reacted. It was as if his body had responded before he’d even had time to assimilate what had happened, but she knew that wasn’t the case. Thought had preceded action, but only by a split second.
She’d known he had to be good at his job, or else the US State Department wouldn’t have assigned him to head up the team guarding her. She just hadn’t realized how good. Nor had she realized how far he’d go to defend her. Not just physically, but emotionally, too. He’d learned only a short time ago how much it upset her to have her photograph taken, yet he’d already incorporated it into his protective shield around her. And while she knew he would never have killed anyone over a photograph, he hadn’t hesitated to use whatever leverage he had to protect her.
Just like Andre.
Her shock faded with that thought. She glanced at his outstretched hand, smiled tremulously, and took it. Then she raised her eyes to his.
Chapter 6
Her second week of teaching behind her, Mara said goodbye to her teaching assistant Friday afternoon, then smiled a little tiredly at Liam as she packed up her briefcase. “Are you doing anything special for the weekend?” she asked him.
“Not really. Our family has a cabin southwest of here in the Rockies, near Dillon Reservoir. You don’t know that area, do you?” She shook her head. “Our cabin’s between Silverthorne and Keystone, maybe an hour and a half from here. Alec and I were thinking of going there together since we’re both off.”
“That sounds nice,” she said with a touch of wistfulness. “What do you do there?”
“The usual stuff. Hike. Fish. Laze around. Sleep late and neglect to shave.” He grinned at her. “Hike and fish some more. What are you doing this weekend?”
Her smile faded. “Whatever Special Agent McKinnon lets me do, since he is on duty. Grade papers, I suppose.” She started to walk out of her office, but Liam stopped her.
“That’s not fair to him,” he told her. “McKinnon’s not like that. Didn’t he take you to Mount Evans last weekend? If there’s something you want to do, just tell him, the same way you tell Alec and me.”
It is different with him, she thought, especially now, but she couldn’t say that to Liam. Instead she said, “That is the problem. Other than riding, there is nothing I can think of to do. I do not know many people here, not yet. And I do not know of any place to go. If I were at home in Drago there would be many choices. But I am still a stranger here.”
“Why don’t you just ask McKinnon to show you around? He lives in Denver. I’m sure he knows the area like the back of his hand.” He hesitated. “McKinnon’s got a cabin, too. Near Keystone, he told us. I bet he’d take you there if you asked him. The mountains are especially beautiful this time of year.”
Mara forced herself to smile at Liam, knowing she would never ask Special Agent McKinnon—and not because of what had happened on Mount Evans. Because of what had happened the next day. I could ask you or Alec, she thought. But not him. Never him. Not now.
* * *
That night after dinner Trace heard a knock on his door. “It’s open,” he called, putting down his third newspaper of the day, the one he hadn’t gotten around to finishing that morning. He read three newspapers daily cover to cover: The Denver Post, The New York Times, and The Washington Post. He preferred actual, physical newspapers he could hold in his hand, as opposed to reading his news on the internet. Keira used to tease him about it when they’d been partners, but he’d been reading newsprint since he’d been a twelve-year-old boy reading the newspapers he delivered, and he wasn’t going to change, not after twenty-four years.
Liam walked in. “Hey, just wanted to let you know the princess is in her bedroom for the night, so I’m done. Alec and I are heading out early tomorrow morning, and I wanted to tell you something before I leave.” He recounted what the princess had told him that afternoon, about wishing she had something to do this weekend. “I had an idea, so I called Keira. She said she and Alyssa would be home tomorrow morning if you want to stop by around ten.”