LITMIR.BIZ

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you ever been to the ballet?”

      Both men shook their heads slowly, their expressions carefully blank.

      Briskly she turned away, saying over her shoulder, “Well, you’re in for a treat. We’ll be leaving at seven.”

      By the time she finished her workout, Ashley decided she had over reacted to the new agent. She was being silly. He was no different from the other special agents—there to do his job.

      As soon as she left the gym, the men followed her at a discreet distance back to the living quarters of the presidential family.

      Both her brothers enjoyed having the agents at their beck and call, and spent hours talking sports with them. Jamie, at fourteen, and Matt, at eleven, were still young enough to enjoy the attention, especially since their dad had such a busy schedule.

      It was like having male nannies whose attention was always focused on them. All of which was fine and dandy. For now. Just wait until Jamie started to date. She had a hunch he wasn’t going to appreciate the security measures quite so much then.

      She was thankful that Todd was comfortable escorting her to various functions. They had been friends for years. Todd’s family had moved to Washington when her father was first elected to the presidency because Todd’s father was a member of the Cabinet.

      Their non-romantic friendship was very important to her. Todd’s even disposition helped her keep her sanity. He had suggested they go to The Nut cracker because he knew how stifled she was feeling.

      She needed to get out for a few hours. She’d been home from school for two days and already missed her life there.

      If her dad approved of her plans for a winter vacation she’d be gone in a few days. This year she wanted to have the holiday vacation all her friends took for granted—one away from supervision by older adults.

      Somehow she had to convince her father that she could travel without a gaggle of Secret-Service men proclaiming to the world who she was. Just once she wanted to be treated like a normal college student, without a care in the world.

      Nick and Ron took their supper break early. Nick waited until they finished before saying, “Not very friendly, is she?”

      Ron didn’t need to ask for clarification of the “she” in question. “Actually she surprised me this afternoon. Usually she’s more talkative. She may be upset about Colin. The accident was a shock to everyone.”

      “I’m surprised there was no mention of Colin’s death during the meeting.”

      “Chambers spoke to us individually before you got there. We’re all having to deal with it.”

      “How long were you partners?”

      “Two years.”

      Nick noticed that Ron wasn’t comfortable with his questions, so he changed the subject.

      “Are you looking forward to the evening’s entertainment?” Nick asked.

      “Are you kidding? The last thing I consider entertainment is watching a bunch of people running around on their tiptoes.”

      Nick laughed. “I’m with you there.” He looked at his watch and pushed his chair back. “Guess it’s time to get back to work. I can see this detail is going to be a barrel of laughs.”

      Chapter 2

      Washington, D.C.

       Monday night, December 21

      Nick sat directly behind Ashley Sullivan at the theater. Her date for the evening was Todd Jessup, son of William J. Jessup, the Secretary of Labor. The two of them seemed en grossed in all the activity taking place on stage. Nick made no effort to watch the stage. He wasn’t there to be entertained. Ron sat in the row in front of Ashley, while two men were in the lobby and two more in a car outside, all connected by radio.

      Out of habit Nick continued to scan the area, watching the audience and their reaction to the onstage festivities. He wasn’t the only one less than enamored by the whole thing. He noticed several bored expressions, and one man nearby had dropped off to sleep.

      Intermission finally came. Ron and Nick made certain that one of them was in front of Ashley and Todd, while the other one followed directly behind. Once they reached the lobby Todd turned to Ashley and offered to get her something to drink.

      She glanced around the crowded area and smiled. “That sounds great. While you’re waiting in line, I’ll go to the ladies’ room. I’ll meet you back here.”

      She ignored Nick and Ron, as though they weren’t there. Heck, maybe they were invisible, Nick decided. That would certainly make their job a good deal easier.

      He quietly followed her through the mass of milling people, keeping a general eye out for anything that might be deemed unusual. Ashley stopped a couple of times and spoke briefly to acquaintances. She had just disappeared around the corner of the hallway leading to the ladies’ room when Nick saw a flurry of movement out of the corner of his eye.

      A woman was making a beeline for the same area, her expression intent, her attitude bordering on rudeness in her rush to follow Ashley through the hallway leading to the ladies’ lounge. Nick waited near the entrance to the lounge, keeping an eye on the middle-aged woman. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions. There was no reason to think that Ashley might be in danger. However, he didn’t intend to take any chances.

      As soon as the door opened into the lounge, the woman reached inside her handbag. Nick was right behind her, reaching for the weapon in his shoulder holster.

      By the time he realized the woman was pulling out a package of cigarettes and eagerly lighting one, Nick found himself inside the ladies’ room, creating a stir among the occupants. Hoping to be as inconspicuous as possible, he backed out the doorway, but not before Ashley spotted him in the mirror, where she had paused to freshen her lipstick.

      She spun around and glared at him. Grabbing her purse, she marched after him, following him into the hallway.

      “My God, can’t I even go to the restroom without being followed?”

      Keeping his voice down, he replied, “I’m sorry. I saw a woman who seemed to be in a big hurry to follow you in there.”

      Ashley folded her arms across her chest and leaned back so she could meet his gaze. Her eyes blazed.

      “Well, aren’t you the observant one? No wonder they’ve entrusted you with such a sacred detail—following me around.” She straightened, dropping her arms to her side. “I don’t suppose it occurred to you, Special Agent Logan, but most people, after having been in the theater for this length of time, tend to rush to the facilities at intermission. Perhaps that idea never occurred to you. Probably not. The sterling guardians who surround us don’t have such normal ordinary needs, do they?”

      All right, so he’d made a fool of himself. It wasn’t the first time and probably wouldn’t be the last. In this business he preferred to err on the side of safety. Obviously she wasn’t going to take any of that into consideration.

      However, she sure as hell didn’t need to be so sarcastic.

      Nick cleared his throat and fingered his tie. In a carefully modulated tone he murmured, “Look, I said I was sorry, okay? I’m still adjusting to this job. I’ll work at being more circumspect in the future, all right?”

      Ashley’s gaze never faltered. It was obvious to Nick that she was struggling to control several choice remarks that she would, without doubt, love to make.

      He had to give her credit for the fact that she didn’t make them.

      Instead, she shook her head in frustration and, turning on her heel, returned to the lobby. Nick followed.

      Todd and Ashley found each other in the large lobby and joined a group of people discussing tonight’s performance. Nick and Ron waited

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