Tropical Safeguard (Men Of The Secret Service) Read Online Free PDF Page B

a
member of the Secret Service. Was she asking for trouble?
    Her long dark hair blew
in the breeze and she raised a hand to pull it back behind her ear. Leaning
against the balcony rail, Katrina stared out at the breathtaking view of the
ocean and the pink and orange hues of the descending sun on the horizon. Even
the best five star hotels couldn’t offer this kind of relaxed, private escape.
It was breathtaking. Being late November, the temperature was cool but
comfortable. The evening air filled with the musical chorus of whistling tree
frogs, a twilight ritual Katrina could always count on. Looking down at the
quaint courtyard below, she noticed movement to her right. Seeing who it was,
Katrina was torn with a desire to crouch out of sight or return to her room.
But then, she wondered if coming out on the balcony and seeing him at this very
moment was fate. Agent Nielsen was strolling down the cobbled path that led to
the cliffs at the far right of the sprawling back lawn. Although it was dusk,
Katrina could see him clearly from her vantage point and at this distance, she
decided he looked a little melancholy as he moped along. He stopped to inspect
a leaf on one of the trees with curiosity and in doing so, turned slightly in
her direction. Katrina felt a wave of panic. The last thing she wanted was to
be seen staring at him, spying. Her feelings of guilt over their shared drama
returned and all at once, she felt the urge to clear the air.

 
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    Cole followed the path wherever it took
him. He felt a surge of freedom with each step he took farther away from the
mansion. He had actually looked forward to this assignment; viewed it as a perk
since he’d been working so hard over the past year. Being fairly young and
single, his boss had piled on the assignments and Cole had willingly complied.
Until his father’s recent health issues, Cole was free to accept any assignment
in any location on the planet. There was nothing holding him back. He viewed
this latest assignment as his boss’s way of saying, ‘Thanks for the hard work’.
Unfortunately, saddling him with Agent Prickly had negated those feelings of
reward. Instead, he felt like this was a weeklong sentence. Throw on the fact
that one of the staff members detested him already. Him . He wasn’t used to being judged so
harshly and dismissed like that. She’d really put him in his place. There had
to be more to her story, he was certain.
    The sound of quickly
approaching footsteps made him stop and place a hand discretely on his
revolver. Turning, Cole saw Katrina appear in the dusk. He stood staring at
her, speechless. Should he prepare himself for another verbal lashing?
    “Agent Nielsen, I’ve
come to apologize.”
    Shocked, Cole’s face
broke into a wide grin he couldn’t control if he’d wanted to. “Thank you. And I
apologize too…again.”
    An awkward silence hung
between them in the night air and Cole shifted his weight from one foot to the
other.
    “May I walk with you?”
she asked, smiling.
    Cole found it difficult
to hide his look of surprise and was thankful for the late evening’s fading
light. They both turned and walked casually side-by-side toward the cliff. They
stopped and leaned against the stone walled rail that overlooked the ocean.
Looking down toward the jagged rocks below, they silently watched the
thundering waves crash and retreat in a frothy aftermath. The moonlight
illuminated the white rushing water, making it look like it was dancing and
animated.
    “This place is
mesmerizing. I’ve been to many tropical places, but his is top of the list. It
sure beats Manhattan’s summer smog,” Cole commented as he looked out at the
endless shimmering ocean.
    Katrina snapped her head
toward him. “Manhattan? Is that where you’re from?”
    “Yep, grew up there.
Have you been?”
    “It just so happens that
I’ve lived in Manhattan for the past three