Secret Service Agent Megan Pete and Normani Hamilton, the President's daughter, return in the sequel to Above All, Honor. Against Normani's wishes, Megan accepts reassignment as the chief of the security detail assigned to guard her. Amidst politica...
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"Mac," Megan said into her transmitter as she keyed the penthouse elevator outside Normani's apartment.
"Go ahead, Commander," Mac replied as he automatically checked the monitor providing visual surveillance of the hallway. His eyes switched to the adjoining screen showing the interior of the elevator as Megan stepped on.
"Sign me out to my apartment," she said tersely. "It's the same address as before. Someone pulled a few strings to get it back for me." She needed a shower, a change of clothes, and a few minutes to herself to erase the sound of Normani's disappointment and the image of the hurt in her eyes. She had to meet with her later in the day to confirm the agenda for the upcoming weeks, and she needed to be in control of herself when she did.
The very first moment she had seen Normani Hamilton, just over a year ago, she'd been attracted to her. She'd been able to ignore those feelings for months, but, as time passed, she'd come to know her, and her desire turned to caring. Finally, she'd succumbed. She hadn't been able to withstand both the pull of her body and the demands of her heart, and she'd touched her. Now, she would somehow have to learn to live with her need.
Mac studied the commander's face in the monitor. Even with the mild distortion of the transmitted image, he could make out the tense set of her jaw and the grim line of her mouth. Uh oh. Things had not gone well with the First Daughter. He wasn't surprised.
Megan had been shot in the line of duty less than a year before; shot while guarding Normani Hamilton; shot while stepping in front of her and stopping a sniper's bullet from entering her chest.
Megan didn't remember the nightmarish scene when she lay bleeding on the sidewalk, agents surrounding Normani while dragging her to cover. Mac remembered it very well. He remembered Normani screaming Megan's name as her commander went down. He remembered Normani sitting by Megan's bedside for over forty-eight hours while her life hung in the balance. And he knew that Normani had requested that Megan be removed from her security detail once she had recovered. He couldn't imagine that she would be happy about this new arrangement.
"You're scheduled for a briefing with Dawn at 1300 hours," he said while glancing over the day's events printed out on a clipboard by his right hand. When in doubt, revert to procedure.
"I've got that," Megan snapped as she walked quickly through the lobby, nodding curtly to the doorman as he hastened to hold the double glass doors open for her. She stopped under the short green awning and surveyed the rooftops of the buildings across the park. It was the first time she had been back since the shooting. She stared at the sidewalk and recalled the fine red mist on her hands and the clear blue sky overhead. She shivered lightly, thinking that it might have been Normani that day, and not her. Then she shrugged the memory away and crossed the street toward her apartment on the other side of the square.
