sunglasses concealed the top half of her face. The rest of her attire seemed to be a uniform for everyone headed west this morning.
She deliberately turned to Nick and looked him up and down, making no comment on what he wore. Instead, she said, “I understand you’re an experienced skier.”
“I’m not up to Olympic standards, but I enjoy it.”
“It was your experience that caused you to be chosen for this trip, you know.”
He grinned. “So I was told. I certainly didn’t assume that you’d requested my company.”
“Just so we understand each other.” She turned away, then gave a little bounce. “Oh, here come the rest of them. They must have ridden together to the airport.” She gave a quick skip and darted closer so she could greet them as soon as they came through security. She hugged each one, exclaiming how glad she was to be going with them. Ashley appeared to be delighted with everyone and everything this morning. Except him.
So what else was new?
In the flurry of introductions, Nick studied the other members of the group, watching their interactions for clues to their personalities.
There were three men and two women:
Joe, who looked to be in his mid-twenties, the obvious leader of the group, tall, dark-haired, athletic and ruggedly handsome;
Derek, a couple of years younger than Joe, light brown hair, medium height, with a puckish sense of humor;
Craig, probably close to Derek’s age, with a shock of red hair, medium height, and a sunny disposition;
Erin, early twenties, a willowy brunette with a sultry look and a shy demeanor; and
Trish, probably Ashley’s age, a diminutive blonde with a flirtatious manner, who seemed to enjoy the glances that came her way in her snug-fitting jeans and figure-hugging sweater.
All of them had been briefed on why Ron and Nick were along. They were obviously enjoying the secrecy and security surrounding the outing and the parts assigned to the agents. Each member of the group assured Ron and Nick that he and she would be watchful and attentive at all times and would report anything that drew their attention as suspicious.
By the time they lined up to board the plane, Ron was shaking his head. “Do we have any idea what we’re getting into with these kids?” he asked as they followed the group through the jetway to the plane.
Nick grinned. “I’m beginning to have a hunch that this may not be the vacation of a lifetime.”
“Did you see how that Trish gal was eyeing you?” Ron asked in a low voice.
“Afraid not,” Nick replied, amused by Ron’s expression.
“She looked like she wanted to take a bite out of you and was just trying to decide where she wanted to start!”
Nick could feel himself flushing. “C’mon, Ron. Give me a break, okay?”
They paused as they entered the plane and greeted the flight attendant.
Their seats were grouped together. Trish and Ashley took the aisle and window seats on one side of row eighteen, while Joe and Derek took the seats across from them. Brian and Erin were in row nineteen, behind Joe and Derek, while Ron and Nick sat across the aisle from them, behind Trish and Ashley.
Joe looked behind him at Brian and said, “Want to change places?” Brian glanced at Erin. She smiled and shrugged her shoulders, her cheeks reddening.
“Sure,” Brian said, stepping out into the aisle.
Ron leaned over to Nick and whispered, “You want me to trade with anyone?”
“Give it up, Stevenson!”
Ron straightened and laughed. “Well, I offered.” He reached into the pocket in front of him and pulled out the airline magazine.
Nick reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the information he’d been given on the resort where they’d be staying, as well as the travel arrangements.
According to his notes, they would be flying nonstop to Denver. Upon arrival at the airport they were to pick up a van, which would get them to the resort where the chalet they’d rented was located.
He knew the area, but hadn’t been there in several years. In fact, he hadn’t been on skis in at least that long. He hoped Ms. Ashley didn’t intend to hotdog it down the slopes to show him up.
He certainly wouldn’t put it past her.
Chapter 3
Denver International Airport
Monday, December 28
A wave of noise hit Nick when he stepped out of the jetway in the Denver terminal. Loudspeakers were blaring, carts carrying luggage beeped loudly to clear a path, and a mob of people milled around looking for gates, getting off planes, searching for people, and talking at the top of their voices.
It was enough to give anyone a raging headache.
The holiday spirit was alive and well and going full blast, from all indications.
His group immediately fit in—all laughing and talking at once, asking questions, reading the signs, arguing about where they would find their luggage.
Craig took his role as one of Ashley’s bodyguards seriously by draping his arm around her shoulders, keeping her snug against his side. Although he was only a few inches taller than Ashley, Craig was twice as wide. She looked smothered in his embrace. From what Nick could see, she wasn’t complaining.
Nick glanced around for Ron, who was trying to get through a family group noisily greeting passengers following him off the plane. As soon as he was free of them, Ron gave Nick a thumbs-up motion accompanied by a grin. Nick just shook his head.
Their group finally agreed on the direction they needed to go and were now dodging people and moving toward the exit signs.
The agents hurried after them. Nick realized that trying to keep this group corralled would take all the energy he had and then some.
Ron caught up with Craig and Ashley and stayed with them as well as he could, considering the oncoming foot traffic. Nick followed along behind. Trish showed up beside him, chattering away, giving an occasional skip to keep up with his longer stride. He did his best to ignore her.
Nick felt out of place in the holiday hustle and bustle. Would anyone believe that he and Ron were here to play in the snow and bask in the sun? Nick knew his expression wasn’t particularly relaxed. Maybe he could work on that part of it. The problem was that he couldn’t relax and do his job. Somehow being around so much exuberance made him more conscious of the wide gulf between vacation mind-sets and attitudes versus his type of work.
When they reached the baggage-claim area, Nick was surprised to see Sam Masters standing near the sliding doors that led to the street, his thick blond hair gleaming in the light. He and Sam had worked together overseas during his stint with Intelligence. They’d both gone to work for the Treasury
