Tropical Safeguard (Men Of The Secret Service) by Stella Kelly

enjoyment.”
    “Hmm. Sounds good.” Cole
internally chuckled at the man’s rigidity. He was so prickly . Agent Kensing hadn’t even
gotten out of a full suit yet. Cole’s uniform of choice was now a white linen
short-sleeved button-down and khaki pants. Yes, they were working and yes the
letter had been suspicious, but this was Bermuda and it was supposed to be a
little relaxed. Cole was convinced that the letter was intended for Mr.
Winters, not Secretary Mitchell. No one would track a man down all the way to
Bermuda unless he had clear-cut enemies. Something didn’t sit right.

 
 
    Standing at the SUV, Cole waited
patiently for Helene and Trudy to emerge from the house. He leaned a tanned arm
casually against the vehicle. The van carrying the Secretary of State, The
Deputy, and the boys had already left for the museum with Damien driving and Agent Prickly in the passenger seat.
    As he stood waiting,
Cole’s mind drifted back to his last discussion with Katrina. He couldn’t wrap
his brain around her intentions. What had really brought her here? Although
they’d shared a few conversations now, he still didn’t know much about her. He
wanted to. Even though he was here on an assignment, even though he would only
be here the week, and even though he had just met her a few days ago, Cole felt
a deep need to know everything he could about her. That was a sign.
    The sound of gentle
laughter brought his attention around. Helene and Trudy emerged from the grand
front door with their arms looped and heads close. The women were clearly
overjoyed with the prospect of shopping.
    “Good morning, Agent
Nielsen. Are you our shopping buddy today?” Helene asked with a smile.
    Cole grinned and nodded.
He opened the back door for her and then walked around to do the same for
Trudy.
    “Thanks,” she said
casually.
    Clearly her role as
Jimmy’s nanny had shifted since she didn’t even accompany him on his fieldtrip.
Perhaps her being here was a way of acknowledging her efforts, a working
holiday of sorts. Cole wondered why an eleven-year-old boy would require a
nanny at all. Perhaps she was more a surrogate mother now than a nanny. Still,
his call to Intel hadn’t revealed anything unusual about the woman; no glaring
hidden secrets.
    Cole got into the
drivers seat and started the SUV. He was about to put it into gear when Helene
leaned forward and put a gentle hand on his shoulder.
    “Katrina is coming too.
She’ll be out in a moment.”
    “Alright then,” Cole
replied calmly, though internally a tense ripple of heat traced through his
body at the mention of her name. It was a good nervousness. This tidbit of
information changed his entire outlook on the trip. As Cole got out of the
vehicle again, he looked up and saw Katrina leave the front door over the roof
of the SUV. He stared, unable to take his eyes off her. As she drew closer to
the truck, Katrina looked up and met his eyes. Cole walked around the back and
met her as she approached the passenger side.
    “Here, let me,” he said
opening the front door. Cole watched as she sat in the seat and then swiveled
her toned, tanned legs in. She wore a simple black jersey dress that came to
just above her knees and flat black sandals. The dress hugged her in all the
right areas. Her simplicity spoke volumes. She was fluid elegance at it’s
finest. Her dark hair was pulled back into a low knot and a sweep of bright
lipstick finished off the look.
    “Thanks.” She smiled
coyly.
    After talking with the
ladies in the backseat about what shops were in the downtown core and the best
places to buy shoes, Katrina looked forward again as the ladies in the back
seat discussed a story about Jimmy, Zachary, and Noah. Katrina and Cole found
themselves sitting in a bit of an awkward silence.
    “I missed you this
morning,” she finally said while looking out her side window.
    Cole glanced over just
as she turned to look at him. She held his gaze a little longer than