At 06:59 a.m, Megan walked into the command center and strode to the head of the table where the other agents were gathered. Despite her lack of sleep, she looked focused and intent. Without preamble, she said, "Let me hear the analysis on the photograph."
Jeremy Finch, a short, mildly overweight, bespectacled agent, cleared his throat. He was the resident nerd, the computer genius, and technical wizard. "We've analyzed the potential elevation and angle of view by extrapolating from the available shadows and the known time of day. Basically, the photograph was taken from one of the buildings facing Dawn's across Gramercy Park." He looked down at the tabletop uncomfortably.
"That leaves us with a lot of potential sites, Agent Finch." Megan stared at him, biting back another sarcastic remark. It wasn't his fault that she couldn't manufacture evidence.
Finch nodded almost miserably. Like every other agent in the room, he had come to value his position on this team and felt a sense of loyalty to his intense, demanding Commander. "Yes, ma'am, I know that. What it does tell us is that the shooter has a fixed location, rather than a vehicle. Therefore, there is a better chance of finding him since he may be relatively stationary."
Megan nodded. "You're right. We need to get a list of every occupant of every building on each side of the Square, not just the street directly across from this building. You'll need to check realtors, building managers, and also any corporations that lease apartments for use by employees. It's possible that this UNSUB is only here intermittently when business demands it."
"We have people assigned to begin the reconnaissance at the opening of business hours," Mac interjected.
They spent a few moments reviewing other methods of narrowing down the list of potential perpetrators who might have access to the surrounding buildings. Finally, Megan looked around the table, meeting the eyes of each of her agents.
"I'm going to have to report this to the White House. At this point, we must assume that Normani Hamilton is in imminent danger of either an assassination or abduction attempt. I'm going to recommend that she be secluded for the time being until we can carry out our investigation. It is possible that this investigation will be removed from our jurisdiction–" she held up her hand for silence as the agents shifted in their seats and murmured in protest.
"I know how you all feel, and I think that we're the best people to protect her as well as get to the bottom of this. But situations like this often become political, and it's possible we'll have nothing to say about it. If it comes to that, I expect total cooperation with whoever is running the investigation. Remember, the bottom line is Dawn's safety. There is no room for ego or personal gain where she is concerned."
Megan stared, knowing she had everyone's attention. "As soon as Miss Hamilton arrives home, inform me. I'll meet with her and let her know the situation. That's all."
Megan walked through the command center to the elevators and left the building without speaking to anyone. She crossed the square to her own apartment and shed her clothes immediately upon entering. She went to the bathroom and into the shower. She turned the cold water on full and let it blast the fatigue from her body and her mind. She was furious. Furious that someone dared to threaten Normani for no other reason than the position she represented. Megan was furious at herself for allowing her feelings for Normani to interfere with her duty. She was furious that the thought of any harm coming to Normani terrified her.
When the phone rang two hours later, informing her that Normani had returned to her penthouse apartment, she was seated in front of her large bay windows, dressed in a starched white shirt, black silk trousers, and a charcoal gray silk jacket. She had been waiting for the call, her mind uncommonly still. Megan felt sure of herself for the first time in weeks.
...
"What's the emergency?" Normani asked more abruptly than she had intended. She stood across the room from Megan, having barely gotten out of the shower when she had been informed that her security chief was on her way up. "This isn't a very good time. Can't we do this later?"
She had not seen Megan in the ten days since they had returned from the ski resort. She'd worked feverishly, spending hours applying paint to canvas– sweeping abstract vistas of anger and longing and frustrated desire. When finally her emotions had run dry, she looked up from her easel and felt the walls of her loft closing in on her. Megan's unbidden image still haunted her. The comfort of her embrace on the airplane had been harder to forget than the sexual desire she had felt previously. Lust was something she could control, ignoring it if necessary. But what she felt for Megan Pete was something she hadn't experienced since she had been innocent enough to believe in love. More than anything else, it frightened her.
Normani thought her normally imperturbable security chief looked tense, and Megan's eyes showed a hint of shadow that spoke of fatigue. Normani's stomach tightened.
"What is it?" she asked quietly.
"There's been further contact from the stalker," Megan said flatly. "A photograph was left– a photograph that makes it clear that he's been watching you. It may be nothing more than his way of letting us know that he's around. Empty posturing. But it may also be an indication that he's escalating. I have to assume that to be true."
Normani took a deep breath. "What do you intend to do about it?"
"I thought it only right to inform you first that I am flying to Washington later this morning to conference with the Chief of Staff and my bosses. I would anticipate that a task force will be formed to investigate and apprehend this individual."
Normani said nothing, turning to look out her windows into the park below. She thought she knew how a caged animal felt. "What will that mean for me?"
Megan saw the rigid set of her back, and heard the slight tremor in Normani's voice which she tried to hide. For an instant, Megan wanted to take her into her arms and comfort her. She couldn't stand the thought of her being afraid. But instead, Megan forced herself to say, "I would imagine you'll be moved out of the city until he's apprehended."
Normani spun around, her brown eyes seemingly nearly blood red with fury. "You mean they'll close me up in some compound with guards twenty-four hours a day, as if my life were so insignificant I could walk away and leave everything behind."
"No! As if your life were too significant to risk for a single moment!"
"Bullshit!" Normani spat. "The only thing you people care about is protecting the reputation of the United States government and the people who run it."
Normani turned on her heel and stalked to the opposite side of the room, stepping behind a half-wall partition that enclosed her sleeping area. After a moment, Megan followed. Normani was hastily throwing clothes into a suitcase.
"Exactly what do you think you're doing?" Megan said, a deadly seriousness in her tone.
Normani didn't bother to look up. She threw jeans and underwear into the bag, searching on the dresser for her wallet and keys.
"I'm getting out of here. I wouldn't suggest you try to stop me. I don't think my father would be pleased if I were man-handled by one of his Secret Service agents." Then, she reached for her bag and was stunned when Megan grasped her forcibly by the shoulders, stopping her in her tracks.
"Normani, you listen to me. I don't give a damn what your father thinks! I don't even give a damn what you think! You are not leaving this fucking apartment!"
For a brief second, Megan became every person who had ever conspired to keep Normani a captive in a life she had never chosen. A life she had been forced to live by virtue of her father's ambition. Normani swung her hand at Megan's face, lashing out not at the woman who had done nothing more than attempt to protect her, but at the faceless many who had carried out their orders despite her wishes.
Megan intercepted the blow with her left arm, angry, but not at Normani for attempting to strike her, but at her stubborn refusal to accept that she was in danger.
Megan's fear surfaced on a wave of uncontrollable desire. Suddenly, she was pulling Normani into her arms and covering her lips with her own in a passionate embrace. She kissed her roughly, her hands pinning the President's daughter's arms to her sides as she pressed her body hard against hers. For a moment, Normani was too stunned to react, but there was never an instant of resistance. When she felt Megan's mouth on hers, she kissed her back, her tongue pressing urgently to join Megan's, her arms clutching Megan's waist, her legs straddling Megan's thigh tightly.
Megan's breath rasped in her chest as reason threatened to desert her. She wanted Normani so badly, and her body was racing beyond her control. She groaned, moving her head enough to bury her face against Normani's neck. Normani arched her pelvis into Megan and tilted her head back, exposing her neck as if for sacrifice.
"Oh god, Megan please– touch me," she managed to gasp.
The sound of Normani's voice sliced through the commander's consciousness, paralyzing her as awareness crashed upon her.
My god, what am I doing!
Megan halted her feverish caresses but did not let go of the woman in her arms. Instead, she cradled her closer, pressing her lips to Normani's ear.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. Forgive me," Megan whispered urgently, her body shuddering with arousal.
"No!" Normani choked. "Don't stop. God, don't stop..."
"I have to," Megan murmured in anguish. "I have to." She couldn't do this, not again. She couldn't feel this much; she couldn't want this much; she couldn't be this vulnerable. She had not touched another woman with passion since the morning she had last made love to Victoria. And six hours later, she held her lover as she lay dying. She had vowed never to feel the longing, nor the loss, again.
Normani pushed away from her unsteadily, running her trembling hands through her hair. Her eyes were bruised, from passion and from the pain of Megan's rejection.
"No, of course you can't. It's not in your job description, is it, Commander? You can't feel anything for me because it would interfere with your duty. Isn't that right?"
Megan willed her voice to be steady. "When I meet with the others in Washington later today, I'm going to resign from this position. Whatever you may think of me, I will not jeopardize your safety by remaining. I can't do my duty, simply because I can't think of you as just another assignment."
Megan turned to leave.
"Wait!" Normani called.
Something nearly helpless in her voice caused Megan to stop.
"I have to attend the opening of the new children's wing at the city hospital this afternoon at three. Can't this wait until after that? It's been arranged for months, and there are children who might not be there later."
Megan nodded slowly. "I'll leave for Washington right after that."
...
At two thirty, Megan stood outside Normani's door, dressed much the same as she had been that morning. She had changed shirts, substituting a pale gray silk for the white. Normani opened her apartment door, her eyes meeting Megan's.
"Will you come in with me?" Normani asked in an unusual display of vulnerability.
"Every step," Megan said quietly.
Normani wore a simple black sheath, a string of gray pearls at her neck. Her low heels brought her just under Megan's height, a welcome change from having to tilt her neck to peer up at her. Together, they were a striking couple. As Normani stepped to Megan's side, Megan touched her hand softly.
"Everything will be alright."
Three other agents joined them as they exited the elevator and moved toward the lobby doors. Mac had the limo waiting at the curb, the rear door open. The bright afternoon sunlight outside the large glass doors cast a blinding glare directly into their faces. Stark and Johnson exited first, followed by Megan and another agent - Normani between them. Automatically, Megan looked up, squinting into the sun, scanning the buildings across the small square. She sensed rather than saw movement flickering somewhere in the haze that silhouetted the ornate cornices along the rooftops.
Megan Pete's instincts were her guiding force– the one thing in her life she neither questioned nor doubted. She stepped quickly in front of Normani, pushing her backwards into the shelter of the entrance. Normani looked more confused than frightened.
Megan must have tripped because the next thing she knew, she was kneeling on the sidewalk, trying to catch her breath. A cacophony of cries filled her head as agents screamed into their mikes.
Code red, code red. ...Oh fuckfuckfuck!....
"Get her inside," Megan ordered, but her voice came out a whisper on a plume of red mist. She had her gun in her right hand, but it was very difficult to raise her arm. She turned her head with effort, her vision oddly blurred.
Normani was surrounded by secret service agents who were half carrying her back into the building. Normani appeared to be struggling, screaming something, her hand outstretched toward Megan.
She's safe. Thank God, is what echoed in Megan's mind.
The commander's mind was quite clear, and she relaxed, accepting the strange lassitude that suffused her. She rolled slowly onto her back, opening her hand, letting her gun rest gently on the sidewalk. She stared up into the bluest sky she could ever recall, then peacefully closed her eyes as her heart stopped beating.
...
Hey readers ☺️,
So... this chapter was intense. Normani's stalker is ramping things up and the situation is getting violent. Fast. I'm excited to hear your thoughts.
Thoughts on the stalker? How he was able to take those photos so sneakily? What do y'all think of Megan and the other agents' assessment? First reactions? Are they on the right track, or completely off?
Thoughts on Megan and Normani's argument, and the kiss that ensues afterwards? Why did Megan kiss her in that moment, only to quit right after? Is she wrong, or has she made the right decision? What could change her mind?
Thoughts on Megan's instincts? Her protecting and saving Normani at the end of the chapter? What will her fate be? 👀
Any lingering thoughts on Megmani as a couple? Normani finally admitting to herself that she's in love with her commander? What will Megan leaving mean for them? And how will the White House getting involved affect their relationship moving forward?
As always, thank you all so much for reading and your patience! I'm gonna keep pumping out these updates as much as I can. I know this app isn't what it used to be with a lot of our favorite authors going on hiatus, but I intend on keeping this train going! I'm having so much fun with every story. Once again, thank you all for reading, favoriting, and leaving feedback! See y'all again soon for the next update! 🤍