She turned right out of the lot and drove a quarter of a mile over empty, snow-covered roads to the convenience store. She arrived at 0559. Hers was the only car in the lot. Someone had plowed it at least an hour ago, and a fresh inch of snow lay over the surface. The storm hadn’t lost any of its power, and at this rate, they’d have another foot by midmorning. She needed to be downtown and out again by then. At six exactly all the lights came on and a teenage boy, tall and skinny and moving slowly, unlocked the door.

The store smelled of burnt coffee and microwaved food. Her boots left muddy tracks on a still-damp floor. The sandwiches in the hot case were probably a day old, but neither she nor Hooker would care about that. Food was fuel, and as long as it wouldn’t make her sick, she’d eat what was available. She picked up half a dozen egg-and-meat sandwiches and four large cups of coffee. She didn’t have anything to say to the boy behind the counter, and he didn’t speak to her either.

Behind the wheel, she started the motor, cranked up the heat, and opened the plastic lid on one of the coffees. She added a creamer and dug out her phone. Robbie answered before it rang a second time.

“Hey,” he said. “Where are you? You good?”

His voice, so familiar, vibrating with warmth and concern, put a lump in her throat. “Less than a day away. You on schedule?”

“More or less. We haven’t briefed today but I’m guessing by tonight we’ll be behind.”

“Remember what Dad used to say about surprise and diversion being two of our most important weapons?”

“Yeah?” Rob sounded uneasy. “What’s going on?”

“If the train stops suddenly, get away from the front.”

“Jesus.”

“And it’s better if you don’t know. I’ll be expecting you to pull into Trinidad tomorrow morning. If that changes, call me. But be careful.”

“Okay. Are you su—”

“It’s going to be fine. Don’t worry.”

She was back at the motel in fifteen minutes. She brought her duffel in along with the coffee and food to change into clean clothes. Hooker must have showered. His stubble was gone, and he’d even put on a clean red-and-black checked flannel shirt.

“Did you call your contact?” She put the food and coffee down on the dull brown metal dresser between the two beds. Hooker picked up a coffee, took off the plastic lid, and shook two packets of sugar into it. He added three of the dozen creamers she’d grabbed and put the lid back on. “Bit early for that. My friends tend to be late sleepers.”

“Wake them up.”

Hooker laughed. “Yes, ma’am. In an hour or two, I’ll do that.”

“Checkout here’s eleven thirty. I’m going to be on the road by then. We need to arrange the meet for this afternoon.”

“I’ll do what I can, but—”

“Five-thousand-dollar bonus. Make it happen.”

Hooker sighed and reached for a sandwich. “Women officers are always a pain in the ass.”

“It’s a volunteer army. You know where the door is.”

Hooker grinned. “No, ma’am. I love my job.”

*

Viv typed in changes to her schedule as the White House deputy press secretary updated the reporters on the day’s events. Par for the course, the morning had been scrambled due to unavoidable changes in the motorcade routes for both POTUS and the first daughter due to weather. The motorcades couldn’t leave the train station until local police finished rerouting traffic and setting up the barricades and perimeter blocks. The station squatted on a river plain on the outskirts of a small rural community with nothing nearby except a few gas stations, a Denny’s, and a Dunkin’ Donuts. Nothing worth braving the storm for. The only good part of the delay was she’d get to spend more time with Dusty before Dusty and Atlas headed out with the advance team. According to the duty roster Phil Virtucci had given her, Dusty and Atlas were assigned to the detail working the underground parking garage where Blair Powell’s motorcade would enter the hospital for Blair’s tour of the children’s ward.

As soon as the briefing was finished, Viv gathered her things and worked her way through the departing throng toward the rear of the train. The only way to get anywhere was to go through the intervening cars, but fortunately, the press section was only a few cars away from the kennel cars. She intercepted Dusty and Atlas as they were climbing back into the car. They both had snow in their hair. Atlas gave a brisk shake and sparkling drops of melting snow flew from his thick, dark coat. Dusty shook her head quickly too, and a halo of flakes hung in the air for a second. They both looked happy.

“Been for a walk?” Viv asked, the sight of them warming her with delight.

“He was getting a little cabin fever in here.”

“How is it out there?”

“Visibility is pretty bad, but the wind’s died down. Could be worse.”

Dusty rested her hand on Atlas’s head, and Viv had an instant of wishing she was the one being petted. Okay, enough of that. The day would be a damn long one if she didn’t get her mind off sex.

Dusty said, “There’s a little coffee kiosk over in the station. It looks like they have pretty decent Danish. You hungry?”

Oh yes, she was, she definitely was. If she couldn’t get Dusty alone in a cabin, at least she could grab a few minutes with her away from curious eyes.

“That sounds great.”

Dusty held out her hand and drew Viv toward the ramp leading down from the car. “Watch it, it’s slippery.”

Viv followed her out and onto the train platform. Local law enforcement and Secret Service agents kept the station clear of pedestrian and vehicular traffic, and all the other trains had been rerouted. The area was deserted except for the agents posted on the platform and along the train. The old-fashioned train station was a long, low green building with high-backed wooden benches in front. A Secret Service agent stood post outside the station, her topcoat collar turned up against the wind and a hat with ear flaps pulled down to practically obscure her face. She didn’t move as they passed.

Inside, more benches filled the tiled waiting area. The ticket area at the end of the large, high-ceilinged room consisted of individual windows lined up side by side behind a red-velvet rope line. Two ticket sellers waited at the windows with nothing to do. Another Secret Service agent stood just inside the main entrance. Sepia photographs on all four walls displayed scenes of old cars, a bus and train station, and a town with board sidewalks. The light fixtures dangling from chains overhead were wrought iron and looked to be a hundred years old. Everything about the place was old, but genuinely old, not reproductions.

Three round tables with wooden slat-back chairs were tucked into one corner in front of a coffee kiosk. A cold case and a small barista bar offered hot and cold drinks, fruit, yogurt, ubiquitous doughnuts, and some excellent-looking Danish. Viv ordered a cinnamon roll and coffee, and Dusty did the same. They sat at one of the small round tables, almost alone.

“It’s kind of eerie with no one else here,” Viv said into the hushed silence.

“Kind of nice.” Dusty looked completely at home in the rustic setting in her black nylon windbreaker and boots and black pants. She had the windblown look of someone who lived and worked outdoors. Rugged and strong and sturdy.

Viv had never really gone for earthy and dependable before. Most of the women she met and consequently dated were urban sophisticates. Dusty was completely different, but definitely not simple. Nothing was simple about Dusty, except that she was genuine. Viv was finding genuine to be decidedly sexy. She dragged her mind back to work. “Can I follow you on your rounds this morning?”

“If Phil says it’s okay, I don’t see why not.”

“It won’t bother you or Atlas?”

“Nope. There’s always a few spectators around. People like to watch us.”

“I’m not surprised. You’re kind of exciting.”

Dusty laughed. “You’re putting me on, right?”

“No, really. People think your job is glamorous. To travel with the president and his family. You guard the most important man in the world. And of course, there are the super powers.”

Dusty narrowed her eyes. “You know, I can tell when you’re making fun.”

Viv grinned. “Only just a little. I happen to think you’re pretty glamorous, and I know you have super powers.”

“Is that right?”

She nodded solemnly. “I’ve kissed you, remember.”

Dusty’s eyes darkened and her grin turned into a hungry smile. “I remember very well. Every single one.”

Viv’s heart fluttered in her throat. She was hopeless—she just couldn’t stop flirting with her. Hell, she wasn’t trying to flirt with her, she just wanted to seduce her. And she wanted to know that Dusty was as crazy out of her mind as she was. “I remember every one too. Especially the last one this morning. I’m still recovering.”

Dusty glanced at her watch. “In about twenty-five minutes I’ll go to work, and I’m not gonna think about kissing you until we’re back on the train and Atlas is in his crate taking a snooze.”

“Good, I don’t want you to.”

“I’m not quite finished,” Dusty said in a tone of voice Viv hadn’t heard before.

Strong and certain. Commanding. The fluttering in Viv’s chest flamed into her throat.

“The minute he’s squared away, I’m going to find you, and the next minute I want more kisses…more of everything.”

More of everything. Yes. So did she. Viv grasped at reason. “I know this sounds completely ridiculous seeing how I’ve been thinking of nothing else myself, but I don’t usually move so fast.”

“Is that a no?”

“No! It’s not. No. I mean, most definitely a yes.” Viv’s face heated. “I just want you to know this is different…I’m not usually like this with women.”