A Time & Place for Every Laird by Angeline Fortin

Manning?”  The pounding sounded again.
     
     

Chapter 6
     
    Claire met Hugh’s wide eyes, her heart suddenly poun ding with more fear than this Scot had yet to inspire.  Hugh might have showered, put on clean clothes, and much improved his smell, but he still looked savage and foreign in her living room.  Those who were looking for him would know who he was in a heartbeat, and the thought chased through her mind that maybe she should just let them find him.  Her conscience clashed with her good sense, winning out in the end. “Damn!  You need to hide!” she whispered.
    “I willnae cower like some …”
    “Shhh!”
    “Mrs. Manning?” a voice called insistently as the knocking continued.
    “Just a minute, please!” she called out lightly while glaring at Hugh and jerking her head toward the stairs.  The obstinate man just crossed his beefy arms over his chest and glowered right back.  “Oh for Pete’s sake!” Claire hissed, bodily pushing him toward the stairs.  “Get up there! Get in the closet and don’t say a word!”
    “How do I know ye ’ll not …”
    “ You’ll just have to trust me!”  She half pushed, half led him up the stairs and into her closet, quietly closing the door.  Heart pounding, she raced back to the living room, hoping Hugh would remain hidden.
    Taking a deep breath, Claire snatched up her phone on the way to the door and held it to her ear.  Plastering on a smile, she opened the door and held up a finger with an exaggerated roll of her eyes. “I know I need to find a nice man, Mom, but can we talk about this later?  There’s someone here.  Okay.  Okay.  I love you, too.”
    Claire lowered the phone and shook her head.  “Sorry about that.  Mothers, you know?   Hey, you’re Bryce, right?  Bryce Muldoon?”
    The words emerged cheerfully , and Claire was thankful for that because her insides were already twisting with fear.  She recognized Muldoon right away, a security officer from the lab.  The guards were always a step apart from the rest of the lab’s employees.  They didn’t smile, gossip, or socialize.  No one brought a cake in for their birthdays.  How had they found her so quickly?  Had someone seen them after all?
    “Yes, ma’am.   And this is Special Agent Phil Jameson with the NSA.”
    Claire was immediately able to assimilate and translate that particular acronym.  “The National Security Agency?” she asked with wide eyes.  The owlish expression was no act.  She was truly surprised to have a federal agent standing at her door.
    “Yes, ma’am,” Muldoon answered.  “Agent Jameson is the NSA liaison to INSCOM.”
    Agent Jameson added,  “We’ve been called in regarding the security breach at the lab today.”
    Fear snaked a path all the way down to her toes , and Claire was hard pressed to control the shudder that followed it.  They’d called the Feds in?  Already?  “Wow,” she breathed.  “That was fast.”
    Bry ce Muldoon apparently agreed with her.  “I told Dr. Holmes that we could handle this internally,” he said, referring to the director of the entire lab, “but it seems that there was some disagreement on that.”
    “I t really must have been a big deal then.  What happened?  I heard the alarms and just figured it was a drill or something.”  Claire shouldered the doorjamb as casually as she could, then straightened again. “How rude of me.  Did you guys want to come in?  Can I get you something?  Coffee, maybe?”
    “No, no,” Muldoon began, but Jameson boldly stepped inside and she studied him as he passed.  Beyond the stereotypical dark suit, the agent was tall and lean.  He was about forty with a receding hairline and deep furrows in his cheeks and brow that told her he didn’t find much humor in life.
    He probably wouldn’t find any in this either.
    “We’d like to ask you some questions, Mrs. Manning.”
    Claire felt as if she were going to be ill but plowed on.  “Sure, come on