by Radclyffe
“What kind of activity?”
“New faces turning up, more phone calls, and a rash of Internet communications in the last few weeks.”
“How’d we get this?”
“You wanted us pulling intelligence from all sectors on suspected domestic activity, and when reports from this area went hot, Felicia started monitoring everything coming out of the local field office up there. When several cell members made calls to the same number, the FBI started monitoring that number on the theory it belonged to the ringleader. Last night whoever is using the target phone called someone in Virginia.”
“Virginia. After the prison van was hit.”
“That’s right. Possibly unrelated.”
Cam knew there had to be more. “Did we get a fix on who was called?”
Valerie shook her head, obviously frustrated. “No. Cell phones. We got as far as the local tower, but no trace after that.”
“But we know where the tower’s located?”
“Felicia’s got that. It’s not much of a lead, but we know Matheson has connections in that area.”
“It’s more than we’ve had. Let’s see if we can narrow down the location.” Cam stood. “Pull addresses and property records on Matheson’s family, his academy graduates, any and all known associates, the detainees from the raid on his compound, and known patriot members. Look for anything within a hundred-mile radius of that tower.”
When Cam started toward the hall, Valerie stopped her with a hand on her arm. “You should get some sleep.”
“I’m good for a couple more hours.”
“Maybe, but you look like hell.” Valerie laughed quietly when Cam frowned. “And Blair’s been up all night. Waiting to hear about your status was rough on her. Chances are we won’t come up with anything, and if we do, it’s going to take more than a couple of hours. Felicia knows what to do until you get there, but I’ll go over your directives with her.”
Cam closed her eyes and took a deep breath. “Blair wants to leave for Colorado tomorrow. If we’re closing in on Matheson, I need to be here.”
“All the more reason to spend some time with her now. Take a few hours.”
Cam glanced at the bedside clock. “I’ll be down by noon.”
“I’ll clear everyone out of here so you two can get some rest.”
“You should take a break yourself,” Cam said.
“As soon as I go over things with Felicia.”
“That wasn’t a suggestion, you know.”
“I know.”
“Thanks for handling everything here last night,” Cam said, relenting and sitting back down on the bed. “And thank you for looking after Blair.”
“You don’t need to thank me.” Valerie smiled wryly. “And Blair doesn’t want anyone except you to look after her.”
“All the same, thank you for keeping her safe.”
“You can always count on us to do that.” Valerie paused. “But you can’t keep doing this to her, Cameron.”
Valerie left and Cam slowly removed her clothes. She lay back and closed her eyes, but she couldn’t obliterate the memory of Blair’s torment and the knowledge that she had been the cause of it.
Dana sat on the arm of the sofa in her temporary apartment watching Emory gather her things. “You could always stay here, you know, until we leave tomorrow. You wouldn’t have to pay for another night at the hotel.”
Emory folded the sweats and T-shirt that she’d borrowed from Blair and stacked them on a nearby chair. She wore another outfit of Blair’s, jeans and a dark green sweater, for the trip back to her hotel. She’d had to roll the cuffs of the jeans several times to make up for the difference in their height. “That’s probably not a great idea. Would you mind returning these to Blair later today?”
“Sure. Why is it not a good idea?”
“Are you intentionally being dense?”
Dana grinned. “I try not to make assumptions.”
Emory cut her a look. “There’s something very strange going on between us, and I think it’s better if we get a little distance.”
“It’s called attraction,” Dana said completely seriously, “and I don’t think distance is the answer.”
“What is the answer?”
“Ordinarily, I’d suggest a date,” Dana said, “but I’m here on assignment and my schedule, as you might have noticed, is constantly changing. I can’t very well take you out to dinner when Blair might decide she wants to hop a plane to Colorado.”
Emory shrugged. “You’re right. Bad timing.” She collected her purse and grabbed her coat out of the closet by the door. “Besides, I don’t date women.”
“Yet.”
“You are remarkably sure of yourself.” Emory thought she should probably be annoyed, but she wasn’t really. Part of her wanted to stay exactly where she was. Actually, part of her very much wanted Dana to kiss her. And that was why she knew she should leave.
“I’m not sure of anything where you’re concerned,” Dana said, moving closer. She took Emory’s coat and held it for her. When Emory turned to slip her arms into it, Dana pressed against her back, rubbing her hands over Emory’s shoulders and down her arms. She put her mouth close to Emory’s ear. “But I know the last thing I want is distance between us.” She skimmed Emory’s hair back with the tips of her fingers, exposing her neck, and kissed her softly behind the ear. “If you stay here, we can get to know each other better.”
Emory shivered and closed her eyes, glad that Dana couldn’t see her face because she wouldn’t be able to hide what that kiss had done to her. She leaned her back into the front of Dana’s body and felt Dana’s hands tighten on her arms. Dana’s breath blew hot and fast against her skin. “You’re breaking the no-touch rule.”
“I know,” Dana whispered, her voice husky. “I’m sorry. I stood it as long as I could. God, you smell good.”
“It’s Ivory soap.” Emory laughed shakily.
“Don’t ever wear anything else.” Dana slid her arms around Emory’s waist and slipped her hands inside Emory’s coat, pulling Emory more tightly against her.
Dana’s hands rested on the sweater covering Emory’s abdomen, and Emory could easily imagine those bold and possessive hands on her skin. She couldn’t remember ever wanting to be kissed more than she did at that moment, and she worried that she was allowing herself to be attracted to Dana’s attraction to her. Dana was, after all, infuriatingly charming and relentlessly sexy. “I don’t do one-night stands.”
“Thank you for telling me that,” Dana said quietly, turning Emory to face her. She put her hands back inside Emory’s coat, resting them on her waist just above her hips. She ran her thumbs up and down Emory’s abdomen. “But I don’t want to go to bed with you.”
“You don’t?” Emory had a hard time focusing on anything except the fiercely intent expression in Dana’s eyes and the pleasure that spiraled from beneath Dana’s hands into her depths. She was horribly, terribly aroused and frighteningly close to letting something happen she would regret. And she couldn’t seem to stop.
“No,” Dana murmured. “This is what I want.”
As Dana leaned closer, Emory knew she was about to be kissed, but the reality was nothing like she had expected. True, Dana’s mouth was soft and hot and certain, but Dana was surprisingly patient. She took her time, teasing Emory with the tip of her tongue, waiting for Emory to kiss her back. Caught off guard by the gentle invitation, Emory responded, stroking over the surface of Dana’s lips and tongue because it just felt so damn good. She clasped a hand behind Dana’s neck and sank into her, moving against her in a way completely foreign to her and so completely right. She pulled away from the kiss and struggled to control her out-of-control body. “I don’t…I can’t…”
“Shh,” Dana said as she caressed Emory’s cheek. Her hand trembled. “We’re not. It’s okay.” She kissed her again, slowly, and drew back. Her chest heaved and she fought to steady her breathing. “I was thinking we could start simple. You
know, with a kiss or two.”
Emory nodded dumbly, trying to envision kissing her—just kissing—without bursting into flames. Well, she’d never been afraid of a challenge. “Okay. Yes. That sounds reasonable.”
Dana grinned. “Reasonable.”
“You suggested it,” Emory said hotly. “So don’t look so damn supercilious.”
“Hey,” Dana said, raising both hands in surrender. There was no reason Emory had to know she wanted her so badly she ached all over. She needed to get a grip on her runaway libido just as much as Emory needed time to get comfortable with hers. Then they could have a nice, adult interaction with no one getting disappointed or hurt. “I agree. Reasonable is good.”
“You agree?” Emory asked suspiciously.
“I do. Absolutely. How about I walk you back to your hotel. You can tell me all about tissue engineering on the way.”
“All right, but that doesn’t mean I’m coming back here later.”
“I promise. No expectations.” Dana just had to figure out how to convince her body of that.
Blair pulled the shades and stripped by the side of the bed. Slipping under the sheets, she turned on her side to face Cam. She stroked Cam’s hair and kissed her cheek. “Valerie ordered everyone out, and me to bed.”
“And you listened?” Cam teased.
“I could hardly disagree.” Blair snuggled closer, drawing one leg over Cam’s thigh. “How are you feeling?”
“Better. The Motrin kicked in.” Cam urged Blair down into the position they normally slept in, with Blair’s cheek on Cam’s shoulder, and kissed her forehead. “Both of us could stand to get some sleep.”
Blair smoothed her hand over Cam’s chest and down the center of her abdomen. “What did Valerie need to see you about?”
Cam hesitated, her natural instinct not to worry Blair surfacing even as she knew what she had to do. What Blair needed her to do. “We got a little bit of a break. We might have a lead as to Matheson’s whereabouts.”
“What will you do if you find him?”
Blair’s tone was casual, but Cam felt her tense and the hand that had been playing over her abdomen grew still. “We’ll go after him.”
“We?”
“The last time I shared our intelligence, someone warned him and he slipped through our net.” Cam couldn’t keep the fury from her voice. “That’s not going to happen again.”
“But I thought that was because Valerie’s handler was working with Matheson and tipped him off. There’s no way that can happen again.”
Cam sighed. “No, that particular leak has been taken care of. But I can’t trust that he was the only one who wanted Matheson to succeed, and what happened yesterday afternoon makes me suspect Matheson has more friends on the inside than we realize.”
Blair sat up so she could look directly into Cam’s face. And so that Cam could see hers. “I understand, I really do. I know he has to be stopped. I know how badly you want to stop him.” What she had to ask next—opening herself, revealing herself—went against every instinct and everything she was, but she did it without hesitation. Cam meant that much to her. “I need it not to be you who goes after him. Please, Cam. Send someone else.”
“Ah, baby,” Cam murmured. She wanted him dead, but she could live with him behind bars. What she couldn’t live with was him free to come after Blair again or help orchestrate another savage attack that could cost hundreds, possibly thousands of lives. Matheson and everything he represented was the reason she did what she did. In many ways, fighting men like him made her who she was. Valerie’s voice played in her mind. You can’t keep doing this to her, Cameron.
For as long as she could remember, Cam had relied on her duty to give her a sense of purpose and meaning, even in the darkest moments. After Janet had been killed and she’d been tormented by guilt, when she’d felt dead inside and disconnected from everything in her life, her duty and Valerie’s humanity had been her only salvation. She was not that person any longer, and she had other duties, perhaps even a greater duty, beyond that to her country. “We have no evidence that he has a large force with him. Hopefully I’ll only need a small team to apprehend him.” She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. “I’ll put Savard in charge.”
“And you won’t go?”
Cam took Blair’s hand. “I won’t go.”
Blair bowed her head and kissed Cam’s fingers. “Thank you.”
Cam shook her head. “Don’t thank me. I love you. You let Stark and her team protect you, and I know how much you hate it. You do that because I need it.”
“It doesn’t feel like the same thing.”
“It is.” Cam threaded her fingers through Blair’s hair and drew her back down beside her. She kissed her. “It’s exactly the same thing.”
“This love thing is really hard, isn’t it?” Blair murmured.
Cam laughed. “It is. But I wouldn’t change a thing.” She guided Blair on top of her and shifted her legs so their bodies melded. “And it definitely has its advantages.”
Blair skimmed her mouth over Cam’s breast. “Let me show you just how many.”
Chapter Eighteen
Renee found Paula working at the desk that used to be Cameron Roberts’s in the far corner of the command center. Other than the agent watching the monitors at the opposite end of the room, the place was empty. It was five p.m. on Saturday, after all, and the agents who were off-shift were probably either with their families or out enjoying themselves. She couldn’t remember a time when Saturday night had seemed any different than a weeknight. She and Paula hadn’t had an evening alone together since before 9/11. And they weren’t going to tonight, either.
“We got a hit,” Renee said. “I’ll be leaving soon. Probably won’t be back until late morning.”
Stark put her pen down and pushed the work aside without looking up. After a pause, she shifted slowly in her chair and looked up at Renee. “You’re heading the mission?”
Renee nodded. The OHS team routinely shared intelligence with Blair’s protection detail, especially when the information impacted the first daughter’s security. This mission didn’t, not yet, but they all had a stake in tracking Matheson down. Especially Paula. Renee didn’t want to worry her lover any more than necessary, but she’d already changed into her black camos and T-shirt. She wasn’t wearing her weapons yet, but Paula had to know what kind of operation was planned.
“Where?” Paula asked.
“Where we suspected. Virginia.”
“How many people are going with you?” Paula asked.
“Enough. All good people.” Renee checked that the other agent’s attention was occupied, then squatted down beside Paula’s chair and put her hand on her knee. “I won’t be able to call until it’s over, but I will as soon as I can.”
Paula held Renee’s hand in both of hers, her head bowed as if she were studying the surface of Renee’s fingers. She rubbed her thumb over Renee’s knuckles. “You’re okay? You didn’t get much sleep.”
Renee leaned closer. “I’m fine, sweetie. I hate for you to worry.”
“Make sure someone has your back, okay?” Paula raised her head, her eyes dark with thinly disguised anxiety. “Don’t be a hero.”
“I don’t plan to be.” Renee kissed her. “We’ve got more than enough of them around here already.”
“Okay then,” Paula said, forcing a smile. “So I’ll see you tomorrow sometime. We may be on our way to Colorado by the time you get back.”
Renee brushed her thumb over Paula’s cheek, then straightened. “Then I’ll see you on the slopes. Love you.”
“I love you too,” Paula murmured.
Renee turned and walked swiftly away, knowing that the best way for her to ease the worry in her lover’s eyes was to get the job done, get it done right, and come home. That was exactly what she intended to do.
Blair closed her book and dropped it onto the floor beside the couch. She could feel Cam’s tension from across the room. “W
hy don’t you go downstairs.”
“In a few minutes.” Cam leaned over and kissed Blair’s forehead. “Trying to get rid of me?”
“Actually, yes. You’re driving me crazy with your pacing.”
“I’m not pacing.”
“We’re going to have to have the floors resurfaced in front of the windows, darling. You’ve walked off the varnish.”
“Sorry,” Cam muttered.
“Sit for a second.” Blair patted the space next to her. They’d slept all morning, then Cam had showered and gone to the command center. She’d come back a little over an hour before so they could eat dinner together. Cam tried to hide it, but Blair could tell she was distracted. “You’re sending a team out, aren’t you?”
Cam settled next to her and leaned her head back. “Yes.”
“Is it big?”
“We might have Matheson’s safe house.”
Blair tensed. “How?”
“Felicia tracked a suspect cell phone call to the Norfolk area. We found a property in the tower radius owned by a man named Jeremy Barton. He’s the son of an Army buddy of Matheson’s. We’re hoping Matheson is there.”
“Did Lucinda call in the special ops?”
“Not this time,” Cam hedged, since Lucinda didn’t know about the operation. No one did. “We’re going in fast and light. Just our people and some of Tanner’s.”
“Is Tanner here?” Blair knew her childhood friend employed a security force that was made up of ex-military people, and after seeing them in action she began to suspect that Whitley Industries had more involvement in what was happening in the Middle East than she had ever realized.
“Not Tanner. She flew Steph down with a couple of men.”
“What if Matheson is there and he’s got a force with him?”
Cam shook her head. “We’ve got satellite images—no cars, no real signs of activity for the last five hours. He knows we know who he is, and I expect he’s doing everything he can to stay under the radar. I doubt he’s going to have direct contact with any of his people, because he’s got to know we’re looking at everyone he’s ever been associated with. A lone man is the hardest to track.”