Amelia Autin - Cody Walker's Woman

And Keira’s partner since she joined the agency would know Cody hadn’t met her on a special op. “Sorry,” he lied, making light of it. “That’s classified.”

“Mmm-hmm.” The sound conveyed that McKinnon unmistakably knew Cody was lying, but wasn’t going to pursue it further.

Both men were silent for so long Cody thought McKinnon must have fallen asleep, but when he glanced to his right, he saw the other man was wide-awake. “I was surprised when I heard you worked for the agency,” he said on the spur of the moment. “I thought you were a fixture in the U.S. Marshals Service.”

McKinnon laughed a little. “I heard your name mentioned within the agency last year in reference to a couple of cases that earned you a commendation, and I figured it had to be you—how many Cody Walkers can there be out there? But before that, the last I knew, you were in the DEA. How long since D’Arcy recruited you?”

“Just over four years.”

“Going on five for me, ever since the agency debuted.” He was silent for a moment. “My wife didn’t want me to take the job, but...I’ve worked for D’Arcy ever since I got out of the service, and when he asked me I couldn’t tell him no.”

Cody spared him a quick look. “I didn’t know you were married.”

“I’m not.” McKinnon’s tone was dry. “Not anymore.”

“Sorry to hear that,” he replied automatically.

“Yeah, well, you know how it goes. Most women want a man home nights and don’t understand this job isn’t a nine to five you can just leave at the door.” Cody laughed with wry understanding. “And when I teamed up with Keira,” McKinnon continued, “that was the last straw as far as my wife was concerned.”

Cody suddenly wondered if... But McKinnon answered the question before Cody could voice it. “Not that there was ever anything between Keira and me, not the way my wife suspected.”

“You’ve been with her three years. Isn’t that what she said yesterday?” Cody asked in a casual tone he was far from feeling.

“Yeah. We’ve closed some tough cases together. I’ve never had a better partner, but that’s as far as it goes.”

Cody glanced in the rearview mirror, noting the lights of the SUV that had been following him at a safe distance for the past half hour, ever since he’d pulled onto the highway. There were no other vehicle lights in sight, so he knew they weren’t being tailed—covert tailing at night on a long, lonesome stretch of highway was nearly impossible.

“What can you tell me about her? As a special agent,” he added quickly, not wanting to reveal his personal interest in Keira to the other man.

McKinnon shifted positions, adjusting the jacket behind his shoulders and settling back against the door again. “She’s got a knack for figuring things out that has come in handy more than once. I’ve never known anyone better at putting a few pieces together that don’t seem to fit and solving a riddle that has everyone else stumped. Except D’Arcy, of course. Nobody can touch him.”

“I know what you mean.” He was quiet for a moment, then asked diffidently, “What else can you tell me about Keira?”

Cody could feel the other man’s eyes on him in the darkness. That was a mistake, he acknowledged. But he hadn’t been able to help himself. He wanted to know more about Keira, about what made her tick. Who better to ask than her partner?

“She’s twenty-nine, served two tours of duty overseas—she was in the Corps, just like you and me—military police. Then she came back to the States and got a degree in criminal psychology. She joined the agency right after college, three years ago,” McKinnon rattled off.

Then he added, “She comes from a large family—four brothers, all older, all former marines, too. Maybe that’s why she has a thing about wanting to do her job as well as, or better than, a man could. Maybe that’s why she jumps at every chance for a field assignment, even though her strength is research and analysis. And I know that’s why it galls her, what happened last week.”

McKinnon’s not stupid, Cody thought. He knows I’m interested—he wouldn’t be sharing personal information about Keira otherwise. And he suspects I know something.

“You keep referring to something that happened last week. What’s that about?” he asked, lying through his teeth.

“If you don’t know, it’s not my place to tell you,” McKinnon replied. “Keira can tell you if she thinks it’s important. But it won’t interfere with her job performance. That much I can tell you.”

“Fair enough.”

“I just have one more thing to say, and then I’ll keep my thoughts to myself,” McKinnon said slowly, and Cody stiffened at the tone in the other man’s voice. “I’m curious—how did you get those scratches on your cheek?”

Cody had no answer.

* * *

Shortly after eight Friday morning, Cody drove the pickup truck toward a dead-end clearing at the end of a winding muddy road that still had traces of snow in the ruts even though it was nearly the end of May. Then he braked so abruptly the SUV following him almost rear-ended the truck—another vehicle was already reverse-parked in the clearing, a large four-by-four.

“Wait here,” he told McKinnon softly and saw the other man reach for his SIG SAUER. Cody drew his own gun. He left the engine running and got out, signaling to Keira to stay in the SUV with his left hand.

Eyes flicking left and right, Cody approached the abandoned vehicle with caution. A quick glance inside at the two car seats in the middle row told him everything he needed to know, and he relaxed his guard a fraction. Callahan’s here already, he realized. Who else could it be? Who else knows where this cabin is located?

He sheathed his Glock and quickly returned to the truck. “Callahan’s here,” he told McKinnon briefly. “Let Keira know, will you?” If you can get cell-phone reception in these mountains, he thought but didn’t say. If they couldn’t, they had other communication equipment in the back of the truck they could substitute, but it wouldn’t be as convenient.

McKinnon tapped a button on his Bluetooth earphone and relayed the message to his partner as Cody shifted into gear and drove the truck forward, then reverse-parked it next to the four-by-four, just in case they needed to make a fast exit. The air had an early-morning mountain chill as both men got out and were joined by Keira, who had parked the same way and was now shrugging into her warm jacket, although she didn’t zip it up.

“You were right,” McKinnon admitted. “I don’t think the GPS could have found this place.”

“And we’re not even at the cabin yet,” Cody confirmed. “It’s about fifty yards in that direction,” he said, pointing. “But the fact that Callahan’s four-by-four is here already isn’t a good sign. One of us had better stay with the gear while we reconnoiter.” He started to give Keira the assignment, but instantly thought better of it. “You stand guard, McKinnon,” he said. “Keira, come with me.”

Cody led the way along the rough path he could have followed blindfolded. He used to come here often when he lived and worked in Black Rock, but his visits had been sporadic ever since he’d moved away. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to sell his cabin, especially after the economy took a downturn and the real-estate market headed south with it. Damn good thing I didn’t sell after all, he told himself. It was a bolt-hole for Mandy and Callahan six years ago, and it looks as if it’s being used for the same thing again.

The path narrowed in a couple of places, so they were forced to walk single file, but eventually it widened, then opened into a clearing, and Cody’s split-log cabin suddenly came into view. Snow still clung to the roof, and patches of snow were scattered around the clearing. There were footprints in the snow leading up to the front porch, too, none of them fresh.