Out of Sight (Project Athena) Read online

  They strode toward Daniel’s SUV, but she bypassed it and kept walking. She should have pushed him harder when she dunked him in the Potomac earlier.

  “Jenna.”

  She kept walking.

  “Jenna.” His voice held more of an edge with the second call to her.

  Well, he could yell her name until he woke up the entire District. To her, he didn’t exist anymore. None of them did. She was leaving and not coming back even if she had to be on high alert for the rest of her life.

  Daniel’s footsteps hurried toward her. She quickened her pace, but his longer stride caught up to her before she reached the end of the block. He grabbed her arm and spun her toward him. “Stop!”

  “Let go of me.” The chill in her words didn’t sound like her, but they gave her confidence. Combined with being out of that building, they buoyed her sense of power. She’d never been one to be walked upon, and she damn well wasn’t starting now.

  “No. Do you realize that they can still see us, that they will know that you are not cooperating?”

  She ripped her arm away from him. “Do you realize I don’t care? I want to be alone.”

  “After what you just saw, you can stand there and tell me you don’t care? He’s not bluffing. He’ll give you to Elliott, and there won’t be anything I can do about it.”

  “Like you’d even try. Like you tried tonight? You forget I’m a cop. I know the good cop, bad cop routine. You’re just like them. You are them.”

  “You really believe that?”

  “Prove otherwise.”

  Something sparked in his eyes, like fireworks heralding a much bigger explosion, but he didn’t offer her the proof she so desperately wanted. She wanted to believe in him, even after what had just transpired. But there was no reason to. Jenna turned and started walking again.

  “Get in the car or we’re both going to be sorry.”

  Something about the sound of his voice made her turn back toward him.

  “Get in the car. I’ll drop you off once we’re out of sight of the building if that’s what you want, but we don’t need to have this altercation here.”

  “Afraid you’ll be demoted? That they’ll dock your pay for not being able to keep me in line?”

  “If I have to, I’ll put you in there by force.”

  “You might try.”

  He moved fast, locking her arms behind her and shoving her toward the SUV. She struggled and tried all the self-defense moves she’d been taught but never had cause to use before. But nothing worked, and that caused her anger to flare.

  “You’ll be sorry for this,” she ground out between gritted teeth.

  “I might very well be, but not tonight.”

  She tried to kick him as he put her in the vehicle but he slammed the door so fast all she kicked was the unyielding metal, sending pain shooting up her leg. When she reached to open the door, Daniel caught her gaze.

  “Don’t move. If you try, you’ll know how your bank robber felt.”

  She didn’t have to ask what he meant. He’d put her to sleep, and then she really couldn’t defend herself. Boiling, she folded her arms and stared out the windshield until he got in the vehicle. Then, she shifted her gaze out the side window so she wouldn’t have to see his traitorous face. She’d rather be riding down the road with the devil himself. At least you knew where he stood.

  Jenna’s inner temperature continued to rise as the distance between agency headquarters and the townhome complex lessened. By the time Daniel pulled up in front of her unit, she was about to explode. He’d barely stopped rolling when she opened the door and nearly sprinted for relative safety. It seemed lifetimes ago since he’d arrived in the midst of her paranoia about invisible stalkers. After what she’d just been through, she’d take her chances with what she couldn’t see.

  This time, she outpaced Daniel. She was inside and already shoving the deadbolt home by the time he reached the front door. “Jenna, let me in.”

  “When hell freezes over.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “Then I hope you have a good conversation with the shrubbery because I’m not listening. I wouldn’t give half a cent for anything you have to say.”

  His words faded as she set the alarm and then headed for the phone to dial 911.

  “911, what is your emergency?”

  “Yes, I’d like to report a prowler.” She gave her address and a fabricated story about hearing someone trying to open her front door. As she climbed the stairs to her bedroom, a smile tugged at her lips, a smile of justice served.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Jenna awoke with such a jolt she banged her fist into the nightstand and gasped so deeply she started coughing. By the time she got the coughing under control, her eyes were watering and her chest hurt. She ached all over. But the aches were the product of her inability to fall asleep, instead tossing and turning until she felt battered. She must have finally succumbed with all her muscles tensed and been unable to relax as she normally should while sleeping.

  As the fog of sleep receded, the dream that had awakened her played back through her mind. She’d been strapped to that frigid metal table, her arms and legs restrained and her head held in place by some sort of brace. Elliott stood over her in full surgical gear surrounded by ghastly skeletons handing him one sharp instrument after another. She’d watched his scalpel descending toward her and been so frightened she couldn’t scream. When he made the first cut, a scream finally erupted. But it came out silent, and no one heard her. No one could help her. No one would save her, and she couldn’t save herself.

  Jenna didn’t realize she was crying until she heard a tear plop onto her pillow. She curled onto the bed and wished she were a little girl again, back before her dad went away and before her mother knew her secret. She’d had a wonderful, carefree life then. Even she and her sisters had gotten along. Granted, Sara and Bethany had been little and still thought their older sister was neat, but that had been the only magical time in her life. And she hadn’t realized it then when she could focus on enjoying it more. The day her father had disappeared had ruptured their family, and Jenna’s oddity had become the focus of her mother’s grief and fury.

  After the few minutes of self pity Jenna allowed herself, she swiped at the tears and headed for the bathroom to wash her face before her eyes swelled and made her miserable for the rest of the day. Daybreak was barely peaking over the horizon, but she wouldn’t sleep anymore even if she tried.

  Forcing herself not to think about cameras or bugs or invisible peeping Toms, Jenna took a long, hot shower despite the fact that it would likely hit the mid 90s outside by late morning. She wanted to wash away the entire previous evening, but no matter how much she scrubbed she couldn’t get the vision of Elliott and his tools out of her mind.

  Jenna shut off the water, wrapped a thick towel around herself and pulled back the shower curtain.

  And screamed.

  Daniel clapped his hand over her mouth, dampening the sound. She tried to bite him, but his grip was too tight. She struggled against him, afraid he was there to drag her off to Elliott’s cold lair.

  “Stop struggling,” he said in her ear.

  She ignored the command, twisting and pushing until her towel began to slip.

  Daniel tightened his hold on her. “Stop! Unless you want me to see what’s under that towel.”

  Jenna stopped her fruitless efforts, but her mind continued to race, to search for escape. Daniel shoved her down onto the closed toilet. “Damn woman, you’d think you were fighting the devil himself.”

  “Who said I’m not?” Her words came out between gulps for air.

  “Ouch. I think you hurt my feelings.”

  She barked a mirthless laugh. “You don’t have feelings. You proved that last night.”

  Daniel crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe, nearly blocking the entire opening. “I did what had to be done. I had no choice.”

  “We all have choice
s.”

  “No, sometimes we don’t. You ever thought you’re not the only person with secrets, not the only person who is forced into situations?”

  She stared at him, her heart still thumping like crazy. What did he mean? That he wasn’t a willing participant is this mission either? Yeah, right. Or—

  “And no, I can’t make myself invisible.”

  “Oh, what a surprise, you and the rest of the world.”

  “Maybe not the rest.”

  Jenna narrowed her gaze, searching his features, his eyes for a clue to his meaning. But she saw nothing.

  “How do you keep getting in here? And why were you lurking in my bathroom?”

  “I have my ways, and to tell you you’re walking in dangerous territory.”

  “I got that point last night.” Jenna shot to her feet, prepared to claw her way past him if necessary.

  Daniel held out his hands, palms toward her. “I didn’t know they were going to take you to Section C last night.”

  “Yeah, well, you didn’t seem too concerned about preventing it.”

  “I couldn’t.”

  She looked him straight in the eye. “What exactly can you do besides be your boss’s errand boy?”

  With three quick strides, Daniel had her up against the wall, his body pressing against hers. His mouth dipped toward her ear, but instead of the assault she suddenly feared, the only thing to touch her ear was his warm breath and whispered words.

  “I can tell you something you’re not supposed to know. This place is bugged, like you feared. Though there aren’t any cameras that I know of. And there’s nothing here in the bathroom. Everything you imagined about Elliott is true. Part of why I was so rough with you last night was to make you realize that. I don’t want you to have to find out what he’s like first hand.”

  “But—”

  He covered her mouth with his hand. “Don’t say anything. I don’t want to take the chance they’ll hear. Just trust me.” He raised his voice, evidently so the bugs would pick up his words. “I know if you don’t do exactly what I say, you’ll not like the consequences. You and Elliott will get to know each other, and your father, wherever he may be, will stay there.”

  His words sliced her raw, even if it was for the benefit of anyone listening. How was she to know whom to believe? Who to trust? All she could trust was herself and her determination to find her father. Even if she had to be a government grunt and face her worst fear to do it.

  ****

  Jenna sneaked closer to Ken Harmon’s office, as she had several times throughout the day, to listen to the chief of staff’s conversations. She’d heard no more about the president’s safety, but she’d be able to make one heck of a splash as a Post reporter with the things she’d overheard.

  “Has your man heard any more?” Harmon asked just as Jenna came within earshot.

  She wished she could hear the other side of the phone conversation.

  “You’re positive?” Pause. “Okay, I’ll keep the president informed.”

  Of what?

  Damn the janitor charade. She needed to stick with Harmon. When he left his office, the timing forced her to abandon pursuit.

  When her lunch break came, she couldn’t find Harmon or anyone else remotely interesting so she retreated outside to eat her sandwich.

  “Now that’s the sourest face I’ve seen in a long time.”

  Jenna looked up to see Calvin standing a few feet in front of her. “Hey.”

  “And such an enthusiastic hello. What’s bothering you, sugar?”

  What topic would end his questions? “Guy trouble.”

  “Now, see, I have the answer to your problem. Dump the loser and go out with me.”

  Jenna couldn’t help it. She laughed. Calvin’s personality was infectious. “That’s the last thing I need, yet another man to worry about. I’m thinking about giving up the lot and growing old with only about twenty cats for company.” And fifteen dogs, a couple of rabbits and an orphaned box turtle, but who was counting? A pang of longing for her animals hit her and dampened her mood again.

  Calvin sat down in the grass with his back to a tree near the bench where she was sitting. “Want to bounce the situation off me?”

  “No, thanks. It’s just something I’ve got to deal with.”

  “Suit yourself, but the invitation stands. Say, some of us are going over to Hullabaloo’s after work. Want to join us?”

  “What’s Hullabaloo’s?”

  “Lordy, girl, you are newer than new. It’s only home to the world’s best apple pie.”

  “World’s best, huh?”

  “It’s slap-your-granny good. And we’ve been known to enjoy a lively game of darts now and then.”

  “Sounds great. I’d love to.” Maybe she’d get lucky and her co-workers would actually yield some useful information she could trade for the next snippet about her father. Doubtful, but since she was determined to do some nocturnal snooping in the White House later, she needed to stay in the District after her shift anyway.

  After her shift, she followed her co-workers for several blocks. She’d seen their personnel files, but she still felt like she didn’t know them, like an outsider.

  Never had she been somewhere that matched its name more perfectly than Hullabaloo’s. She had a Cheers moment when she, Calvin and three of their co-workers entered the bar and several people called out an enthusiastic “Hey!”

  Calvin led them toward a corner table that must be their usual spot because everyone except her slid into place as if they’d done it a million times before. A waitress with twin braids arrived at the table almost immediately with drinks already poured.

  “Hey, Pippi,” Calvin said. “We decided to throw you a curve ball today and brought in someone new. This is Jenna.”

  “Hi. What can I get you?”

  “You have lemonade?”

  “Yeah.”

  “I’ll take the biggest one you’ve got.”

  After the late summer heat outside, she felt as if she could drink a gallon without pausing to breathe.

  “Going for the hard stuff?” Calvin asked, his smile wide.

  “I’m not much of a drinker. Besides, I’ve got to keep my head about me if there are going to be darts involved soon.”

  Jenna turned her attention back to the bar at large and saw Pippi coming back with her lemonade. She couldn’t help but wonder if Pippi was her real name or a nickname given to her by someone who first saw the resemblance between the waitress and Pippi Longstocking.

  After Pippi deposited the lemonade in front of her and returned to the bar area, Calvin leaned forward over the table. “Her real name is Penelope, but she hates it. And Pippi fits better anyway.”

  Jenna was beginning to think D.C. was full of mind readers. First Daniel, now Calvin. She felt like she needed a force field around her head to protect her thoughts. She wished one of them would figure out who the would-be assassin was so she could go home and resume a normal life.

  “I take it you all are regulars here.”

  “Yeah. We’re here two or three times a week. Helps us unwind.”

  “So,” said Barb, one of Jenna’s fellow janitors. “What’s up with you and the cute painter?”

  “Nothing.” Jenna’s face warmed at the thought of Kevin — his smile, how he’d held the door for her that morning so she could shove the vacuum and a rolling trash can into one of the offices.

  “But you want there to be,” Barb teased.

  Everyone at the table hooted.

  “So, where’s that dartboard?” Jenna’s attempt to change the topic elicited more laughs and a jab in the ribs from Calvin.

  “Honey, I find myself wanting to clean the East Room every day, and that boy is young enough to be my son,” Barb said as she fanned herself.

  Pippi arrived with refills. “So, you all going to get a game going?”

  Jenna wanted to kiss Pippi for her timely interruption.

  “In a minute. We’re in hi
gh level talks here,” Calvin said and winked at Pippi.

  Pippi rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I know exactly what each of you do, just like I do all the staffers who come in here. See that guy in the corner, he’s a limo driver. One next to him, co-pilot on Air Force One. The yummy one on the end, Secret Service agent. You want high level talks, go to that table.”

  Jenna turned slightly to see the men Pippi had indicated, and her heart nearly stopped. The Secret Service agent who’d frozen her in her tracks during the state dinner fiasco was staring at her like he recognized her. Don’t overreact, she told herself. If he’d seen her standing in the middle of the tumbled pastries, he’d have wasted no time tackling her.

  Or maybe he was the spy the agency had inside watching her. She had no proof there was someone keeping an eye on her. But if this guy was one, that would explain how quickly and accurately Daniel’s boss had found out about her dangerous mishap.

  She returned her gaze to her lemonade.

  “You know that guy?” Calvin asked.

  “What guy?”