Her Christmas Protector. Geri Krotow

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       Chapter 4

      “You did the right thing, Zora. It’s not your job to inform Detective Bryce Campbell or anyone about your background. If you feel a need to tell him about your past, that’s your call. I don’t see how it has any relevance to the current mission, however.” Claudia looked out over the farmland surrounding Zora’s home as she spoke. She’d come out to see Zora on a Sunday morning, underscoring Claudia’s dedication to her role as head of the Trail Hikers. Anna had excused herself to go for a walk around the property, giving them privacy. Zora was grateful for the patrol cars Bryce had ordered to specific points around her place, so that her mother could walk in peace.

      “I appreciate that you came to visit, Claudia. As you can see, I’m okay.”

      “You could have been killed! That’s not something I’ll ever take lightly.” Claudia’s eyes sparked with anger and concern as she faced Zora.

      She was a formidable woman, Claudia.

      Her sable chin-length bob was thick and shot through with streaks of silver. On anyone else the gray would be aging but Claudia could have a second career as a cover model. She certainly didn’t look like the chief of operations for a government shadow agency, apart from her exceptional height and obviously pristine physical condition.

      “No, ma’am.”

      “Cool it on the ma’am. I told you, I’m Claudia, you’re Zora. We’re all on a first-name basis no matter how long we’ve been with the Trail Hikers. This isn’t a ranked organization, nor is it military. It’s barely government.” Claudia grinned and Zora caught a glimpse of the woman she must have been years ago, before the responsibilities of the Marine Corps and now Trail Hikers weighed on her.

      “Sorry—it’s a reflex.” Zora suspected that Claudia had participated in her share of covert ops before she’d become a high-ranking military official but wasn’t about to ask.

      “I know.” Claudia tapped her foot impatiently. “Just as it’s reflexive for me to want to nail the scum who shot you, preferably between the eyes.”

      “That’s not very PC, Claudia.” Political correctness wasn’t something Zora missed from her military days.

      “I see your pain meds won’t be needed much longer.”

      They both laughed.

      Claudia sat on the ottoman across from Zora. Claudia had insisted Zora stay on the couch through their meeting.

      “I’m relieved that you’re doing so well. I must admit, I had my doubts when I first spoke to your attending doctor.”

      “He was rather old-school. Plus he has no idea what we do, what we’re trained for.”

      “But he is a doctor and you have to listen to him. I need you to heal quickly enough to be of help to the op.” Claudia’s no-nonsense expression was back.

      “Yes, ma—Claudia.”

      Claudia patted her knee.

      “That’s my gal. Now, let’s try to figure out how the man you saw on the football field could have made it here in time to be waiting for you when you drove up.”

      “If he knew that I lived here ahead of time, then he knew I was undercover. That means there’s someone on the inside of the Trail Hikers who’s leaked the information, doesn’t it?”

      “No, impossible. All of us have the highest level of clearance not only by government standards but by our standards. There is someone at the SVPD who knows about us, of course. Theoretically it’s possible that he leaked it...or that someone overheard him talking to me. But I doubt it.”

      “How do you know it’s not him?”

      Claudia answered with one decisive shake of her head.

      “It’s not him. Our contact at SVPD is a virtual vault when it comes to operational security.”

      “You’re that sure, huh?” Zora had a hard time believing anyone could be trusted completely. She’d held clearances and guarded national secrets for her entire career. Even the best of agents made mistakes, left files in the wrong place, spoke about something they shouldn’t have in an unsecured area.

      “Let’s focus on the region around the farmhouse.” Claudia pulled a tablet out of her designer leather tote and tapped polished fingernails on the surface. A satellite image of Zora’s property appeared, taken in the spring, judging from the heavy foliage on the oak trees that peppered her yard.

      “The timing doesn’t match, Claudia. Even with driving back to the station and getting into my car, it would take me only five or seven minutes longer than if I’d driven straight from the high school. Which we’re presuming the shooter did, if it’s the same guy?”

      Claudia sat, her chin resting on her hand as she leaned over the tablet from the corner of the ottoman.

      “It’s far-reaching but indeed possible. If he was driving a four-wheel-drive vehicle, he could have made it via these three farm roads.” Claudia used her cursor to mark the route. “He would have had to hide his car in the woods here or here.” She circled the copse of trees nearest to Zora’s house, and one a mile or so away.

      “Bryce tried to pursue him and had the area blocked off within minutes of me going down. I find it hard to believe that no one saw anything at all while the shooter escaped. Don’t you find it odd, too?”

      “I do. Unless the shooter lives around here.”

      Zora sat up straight and immediately regretted it as a sharp stab of pain bit through her rib cage.

      “Easy, Zora.”

      “I’ll relax once we have the bastard. I know all of my surrounding neighbors. None of them look like the man I saw at the football game.”

      “Like you, he could have been wearing some kind of disguise.”

      “Has anyone done a profile on the residents?” Zora had a sinking feeling in her СКАЧАТЬ