Off the Grid Read online

  “I’m fine,” she assured her fiancé. “Just tired. You know how I don’t sleep well on planes.”

  If Percy didn’t quite believe her explanation, he was too polite to disagree with her. Sometimes his very proper Englishness could come off as coldness or aloofness, but right now she was grateful for it.

  “Don’t forget about the party tonight. The car will be there at five to pick you up.”

  “You aren’t coming home to change?”

  “I brought my tux with me.”

  “I’ll be ready.” She wasn’t looking forward to a formal party tonight, but she knew it was part of her duties as the soon-to-be Mrs. Ambassador.

  They’d met while she was briefing him on a joint US/UK operation. There had been some pushback from both sides about security issues when they’d started dating, but because she was a counterterrorism analyst and not a field agent (aka a spook), they had only been asked to give an occasional report on their dates.

  Marriage was more problematic. A CIA agent marrying a foreign national—even from our closest ally country—was frowned upon, which is why she hadn’t formally told her superiors yet. They could try to revoke her security clearances, although she thought it unlikely since she didn’t do clandestine work. Percy intended to retire from the diplomatic service when his posting was up. She knew he wanted to return to England, but they hadn’t really talked about that. They hadn’t talked about a lot of things. She paused. “I was hoping we might have time to talk along the way.”

  “About what?”

  “Have you had a chance to look over the information I gave you?”

  He paused for long enough to let her know that he wasn’t keen on the conversation. “Not yet. I thought it was agreed that we would discuss a possible adoption after my posting was complete. I’d like you to spend some time with Poppy and George first.”

  Percy’s kids lived with their mother in England. Kate had met them only once.

  She knew what he was hoping. That she would fall in love with his children and not feel the need for her own. But she wanted both. She loved that Percy had kids, and she couldn’t wait to get to know them better, but they were in their teens already. She wanted a baby or a young child to raise.

  “I don’t think I want to wait,” she said quietly, remembering how it had felt to have the baby pulled out of her arms yesterday. She hadn’t wanted to let go.

  “What brought this on, Katherine? Does it have something to do with seeing your ex-husband?”

  It was not said unkindly. Percy could be abrupt and standoffish at times, but he was a genuinely nice man. And he cared for her. She did not doubt that. He just liked their life, and a child would disrupt that.

  “It has nothing to do with Colt. I gave you that material weeks ago.” Although Colt and what happened yesterday had brought it to the forefront. “I’m almost thirty-five.”

  “You have plenty of years left to be a mother. There is no need to rush.”

  Kate let it go for now. She didn’t want to press him. But it had become blatantly clear that she could not wait a few years. She wanted a child now. Today. Yesterday.

  Three years ago.

  Don’t go there. . . .

  She said good-bye, telling him she would see him later, and hung up. She spent most of the morning and early afternoon trying to figure out more about Natalie Andersson—the woman Scott had been involved with whom she wasn’t supposed to be investigating. Scott would be pissed when he found out.

  Natalie had been killed shortly after warning Scott of the danger to the platoon, and he didn’t think it was a coincidence.

  Neither did Kate, which was why she was pursuing it. If she could find out who killed Natalie, it could presumably lead her to who set up the platoon.

  Given what had happened to Natalie, Scott thought it was too dangerous. He was probably right, but it was also their best lead. Kate would be careful not to leave any trace of her snooping.

  Scott had left out some rather pertinent information about the woman he wasn’t supposed to be seeing (members of Team Nine weren’t supposed to have any ties), such as the fact that she worked at the Pentagon as an executive assistant to the Deputy Secretary of Defense. Talk about having a girlfriend in high places. The commanding officers of Team Nine wouldn’t have been the only ones objecting to their seeing each other. With her security clearances, fraternization with a SEAL, or anyone in the military, would have been frowned upon.

  Jeez, Scott, nothing like making your life even more complicated.

  But she knew better than anyone that the heart didn’t always follow the path you wanted it to.

  Understatement.

  Kate had finally accessed Natalie’s personnel folder—which had been difficult even for her to get to—when she looked at the clock and realized she’d better get ready. Percy wouldn’t be happy if she was late.

  She’d just stepped out of the shower when her cell phone rang. Seeing the “unknown” caller, her heart jammed in her chest. Was it Colt? She didn’t think she was ready to talk to him.

  But what if it was Scott?

  Tentatively, she picked it up and answered. She sighed with relief at the sound of the voice on the other end of the line.

  “How did it go?”

  It was a simple question, but she could hear the concern in Scott’s voice. He knew how hard it would be for her to see Colt. She knew he would never have asked her if there had been any other way.

  “Fine.” She gave a brief overview of their meeting with the rear admiral and the accident that had followed. She didn’t mention Colt’s cruel dig or the fact that he’d managed to get to her.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me. Wesson always did have a knack for being in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

  “It was the right place for the little boy,” Kate said quietly.

  Maybe too quietly. Scott had heard something. He swore. “I never should have asked you to do this. He did something, didn’t he? What aren’t you telling me?”

  “Nothing,” she said quickly. “Seriously, I’m fine. I can handle him.”

  That was a flat-out lie. No one could handle Colt Wesson, least of all her. God knew she’d tried.

  But Scott chose not to call her on it—at least right now. “What did you think? Was there anything to Morrison’s gambling?”

  “I’m not sure. Colt did his job and made the rear admiral furious, but so far Morrison hasn’t made any calls or logged into his computer.”

  She could practically hear Scott frowning. “That’s odd—even for someone who isn’t guilty.”

  Kate agreed. But she’d double-checked her equipment and programs, and everything seemed to be in order.

  “Something else came up,” Scott said. “I was hoping you could run it down for me and see what you can find out. It’s about Blake’s sister—the reporter who is causing a lot of problems. She apparently has a source high up in the DoD.”

  Scott passed on what John Donovan had told him, and Kate agreed to see what she could find out.

  “You know how to reach me,” he said, and then paused. “Are you sure you are okay?”

  “I’m fine,” she repeated, this time more forcefully. “Really. You worry too much.”

  “It comes with the job, Katie. And when it’s about Wesson, I worry a lot. I know what he’s capable of.”

  “Well, he’s not going to be happy with either of us when he finds out the truth.”

  “What else is new?”

  They both laughed, but it wasn’t really funny. It was true.

  She hung up and finished getting ready. When the doorbell rang at a quarter to five, she assumed it was her driver—which was why she was totally unprepared to see Colt standing there.

  She gasped, and just for a moment she forgot how much she hated him. Her heart lurched the way it