Mountain Investigation by Jessica Andersen Page A

defensible, by-the-book thing, even when it’s the wrong choice under the circumstances. Let me guess…he wants to be governor some day.”
    “Actually, I’m pretty sure he’s got his sights set on Congress.” Gray was reluctantly impressed, though. Not too many people saw through the SAC’s act, at least not until they’d known him for a while. Moving around the desk, he crossed the room to stand very near her, close enough that he could see the flutter of her pulse at her throat. “You want me guarding you because my boss doesn’t like me. Any other reason? Not to pry, but I didn’t get the impression you liked me very much, either, especially after what happened with your father two years ago.”
    “That wasn’t your fault,” she said, surprising him again. At his startled look, she glanced away. “I didn’t get much sleep last night, for obvious reasons. It gave me an opportunity to think a few things through. One of the conclusions I came to was that the outcomewould’ve been the same even if you’d been all sweetness and light in the interview. My father was furious with himself for not seeing Lee for what he was. He was in the process of being forcibly retired from his company because of his involvement in the bombings, and he was trying to deal with a boatload of guilt. The interrogation just brought all that to the forefront at once, and his heart couldn’t take it.”
    Something in her voice suggested that wasn’t the whole story, but Gray didn’t call her on it. Instead, he cleared his throat and waited for her to focus on him. Then he said, “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry about how it played out.” He’d called the hospital to check on her father, but didn’t think she needed to know that. In a way it’d probably be better if she saw him as the enemy, especially since he was getting the idea that they hadn’t yet seen the last of each other. Still, he found himself asking, “How’s he doing?”
    That earned him a sharp look, but she must’ve seen that his question was sincere, because she answered civilly enough. “He had a second surgery a few months ago. I guess he’s doing okay now.”
    “You guess?” When she didn’t respond, he pressed, “Are you afraid that this is going to set his recovery back?” By this, he meant her imprisonment and the continued situation with Mawadi, and indicated as much by sketching a wave around his office, ending with his badge, which lay on his desk beside his resignation letter.
    She shook her head. “My parents moved away last year, said they were done with Colorado.” The way shesaid it made it sound like Colorado wasn’t the only thing they’d turned their backs on.
    “I’m sorry.”
    “Not your fault.”
    They fell silent, and in the quiet he became aware of how close he and Mariah were standing. He could feel her warmth reaching out to him, making him itch to be even closer still, to lift a hand to her face and touch her. To kiss her.
    Before the mad impulse could supersede his better judgment, he said, “What, exactly, do you want from me?”
    “Johnson is going to arrange to have me hospitalized, and let it leak that I was found on the ridgeline. I want you to be in charge of surveillance, and when Lee comes for me, I want you to take care of him.”
    “Take care of him?” The idea of killing Mawadi in cold blood didn’t bother Gray nearly as much as it probably should have.
    “Get him off the streets and out of my life,” she said, which wasn’t really a clarification. “And in the process, I want you to do your best to keep me alive.” There was a new thread of steel in her voice when she said, “I know you’ll do whatever it takes—rules or no rules. Since that’s the way Lee thinks, it’s the only way you’re going to be able to take him down before he gets what he wants from me, and undoubtedly uses it to kill again. Your boss doesn’t understand that, which is why I want you involved.” She held out