by Radclyffe
her or the operation—”
“I think I’m perfectly capable of making expert observations,”
Wes said calmly, “and would probably recognize conditions or
circumstances conducive to exchanging and transporting a biologic
agent more readily than anyone else. If it’s a question of asking her
out to dinner or spending an evening with her or more, I’m perfectly
willing.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Evyn squared her body to Roberts. “You can’t
really expect her to do this.”
“Evyn—” Wes said.
“It’s up to the captain, of course,” Roberts said, “but we expect an
attack to be imminent, and we need to take advantage of every avenue
of information we possibly can. I admit it’s a long shot, but even the
remote possibility of picking up information that would help us pinpoint
and intercept the individuals involved is worth pursuing.”
Stark asked, “How strong is the connection between the lieutenant
and Angela Jones?”
“Loose,” Roberts admitted. “But more than we have been able to
find anywhere else. I want Agents Daniels and Block to work together
on surveillance. The lieutenant is familiar with PPD, so Agent Daniels’s
presence will likely be unnoticed. And Pattee doesn’t know Blair’s
agents at all, so Block can take the lead outside official functions. That
will allow us to stagger the coverage without putting a larger detail in
place. Unfortunately, we’re not sure how deeply we’re compromised.”
Evyn was no longer a suspect, but that knowledge didn’t make her
feel better. All she could think about was Wes suddenly in the middle
of some crazy extremist conspiracy, without backup.
“Is Wes going to wear a wire?”
“Yes.”
Evyn closed her fist by her side, struggling to keep her voice even.
“That’ll help us monitor her. But if she’s discovered with it on, she’ll
be an immediate target.”
“You forget, Agent,” Wes said softly, “I earned my rank. I can take
care of myself.”
“This isn’t some field hospital, Wes—”
• 233 •
RADCLY fFE
Roberts cut in. “You can leave Captain Masters’s security to
me, Agent Daniels. Your job is to keep the lieutenant in your sights
whenever she’s in proximity to the president.”
“Yes, ma’am,” Evyn said tightly. As much as she trusted the
director—Roberts had proved more than once she was the best—she
didn’t plan on leaving Wes’s safety in anyone else’s hands. She kept
her mouth shut though—she’d already revealed too much about her
personal feelings. “Why isn’t Tom here?”
“Need-to-know,” Cam said quietly.
“I’ll get to work on adjusting the schedule,” Wes said.
“Good. We’ll communicate by phone and text. Stay off the comm
channels. Block, your contact is Stark. Agent Daniels, I’m yours.” Cam
glanced at Wes. “And yours.”
“Understood,” Wes said.
Cam stood. “Good. Let’s go.”
Evyn held back while others pushed back from the table. “Wes—
Captain Masters—a word, please.”
“Of course,” Wes said as the others filed out.
The door closed, leaving them alone, and Evyn stalked around the
table. “This is crazy. You know that, right? Jesus Christ, Wes.”
“Evyn, we have jobs to do. There’s no time for this.”
Evyn gripped Wes’s forearm. “Just be sure you observe and
nothing else.”
Wes shook her head. “Do you really think I’m in need of
protection?”
The metallic taste of fear, foreign and paralyzing, blurred Evyn’s
focus. She took a deep breath, then another. “I know you don’t. It’s
just—if something happens to you…I can’t go there, okay?”
“Then don’t. Just trust me.” Wes skimmed a fingertip along Evyn’s
jaw. “It’s okay. I like that you worry, but you don’t have to. I’ll be
fine.”Evyn wanted to grab Wes’s hand and hold it to her, wanted the
warm certainty of her touch. She went very still as Wes’s eyes turned
that deep green they got when they were alone with nothing between
them—no pretense, no fear, no excuses. Deep calm—solid and clear—
centered Evyn like no amount of self-imposed control ever had. Last
night she’d thought she was losing herself in Wes’s eyes. Now she
• 234 •
Oath Of hOnOr
realized she was finding her true strength. “I’m sorry. I know you can
handle this. It’s just—last night. Wes, I thought—”
Wes shook her head. “Evyn, don’t. You don’t need to explain.”
“Yeah—I do. I need you to know—” Evyn shook her head. “We’ve
got work—I know it’s not the time.”
“There’s always time if you need me—but I promise you don’t
need to worry about this.”
“You’ll be careful?”
“Yes. You too.”
“Always.” Evyn gave her stock answer, only now it wasn’t just a
piece of the armor she put on to compete every day in a world where
she had to be the best. Now she knew she could feel and still win. “Last
night isn’t over. It can’t be over.”
“I don’t want it to be either,” Wes said quietly, “but I don’t want to
need what I can’t have.”
“I know I fucked up—”
“I didn’t say that.” Wes smiled wryly. “When this is over, we’ll
talk.”Not what Evyn wanted—not all of what she wanted. But she’d
wait. She’d wait, but she wasn’t going to let Wes forget. Or slip away.
She kissed her—swift, hard. “I’m not quitting.”
“Do you ever?” Wes asked.
“Never.”
v
Jennifer knocked on Wes’s office door. “Hi. I got your text. I’m
fine with the schedule changes.”
“You’ll be short and then doubling up two days in a row.” Wes
pulled a file folder over the report she’d been reading.
“Like I said, it’s no problem. This time of year, OT is always
welcome.”
“Thanks. Sorry about the late notice. A couple of people have had
personal matters come up—it’s the season for it, I guess.”
Jennifer stepped a little farther into the room, her shoulder nudging
the door almost closed. “I’m glad for the excuse to spend time with
you. It should be pretty quiet.”
• 235 •
RADCLY fFE
“I hear the Christmas buffet for staff is a big event.” Wes thought
ahead to the president’s schedule—no trips planned until after New
Year’s. No State events during the holidays either. The largest gathering
of staff and press would be in two days.
“Shouldn’t be a problem.” Jennifer smiled.
“Well, I’m sorry you’ll be working part of Christmas Eve and
Christmas Day too.”
“You’re in the same situation, right?”
“I’m new in town, remember? I didn’t have any plans, so working
isn’t that much of a hardship.” Wes wasn’t really sure how convincing
she’d be suggesting a personal interest. She didn’t have a hell of a
lot
of practice—make that no practice—getting up close and personal with
colleagues or anyone else. Except with Evyn—being close to Evyn
hadn’t taken any effort at all. Last night isn’t over.
“Well,” Jennifer said quickly, “like I said, my plans fell through
too. Maybe that’s a sign.”
“Maybe you’re right.”
Apparently, her skills weren’t as bad as she thought. Jennifer’s
eyes sparked, and color rose above the vee of her pale-blue cashmere
sweater to her throat. “How about we catch a late dinner when our shift
is over tonight. Unwind before the last-minute Christmas Eve duty.”
“If you don’t have any plans—”
“I don’t, but even if I did,” Jennifer said, her smile slow and
seductive, “I’d change them. I’ve been hoping we’d have a chance to
spend some time together.”
“Then I’d like that. Tonight, then?”
“Yes, perfect.”
“Shall I meet you somewhere?”
“Why don’t you come over to my place for a drink after work, and
we can leave from there.”
“All right. That sounds perfect.”
Jennifer smiled that suggestive smile again. “It does, doesn’t it?
See you later.”
“Yes. Definitely.”
Jennifer left and Wes sagged back in her chair. When she was sure
Jennifer wasn’t returning, she called Cameron Roberts and reported the
conversation.
• 236 •
Oath Of hOnOr
“Report to the briefing room before your shift ends,” Cam said.
“We’ll wire you up.”
“There’s something else,” Wes said.
“Go ahead.”
Wes slid Len O’Shaughnessy’s toxicology report out from under
the file folder. Nothing had jumped out at her until she’d looked at the
tissue analysis. “Colonel O’Shaughnessy had unusually high levels of
potassium in his cardiac muscle. Enough to cause cardiac arrest.”
“Enough for us to investigate his death as a homicide?”
“Postmortem levels might vary depending on when they were
drawn—and he was given a lot of drugs during the resuscitation. This
isn’t hard evidence, I’m afraid.”
“Your opinion, then,” Cam said.
“If someone had wanted him out of the way,” Wes said, “I’d say
they succeeded.”
• 237 •
RADCLY fFE
chapter twenty-nine
Blair set her book aside when the door opened and Cam walked
into the apartment. Cam looked tired, and she never looked
tired. She always seemed to have endless energy and incredible stamina.
The only signs of fatigue were a crease between her dark brows and a
tightness around the corners of her mouth. Blair saw the stress, even
though to anyone else Cam would appear as calm and centered as
always. “Did you catch any sleep?”
“I grabbed a couple of hours in the ready room. I’m okay.” Cam
leaned over the sofa and kissed her. “Morning.”
“What’s going on?” Blair grasped Cam’s hand and pulled her
down beside her. Draping her legs over the arm of the sofa, she shifted
until her head rested in Cam’s lap. Blair tugged Cam’s shirt from her
trousers and kissed her bare abdomen. “Have you eaten?”
“Coffee and half a chocolate doughnut.”
“That’s not food.” Blair settled back, and Cam stroked her arm
beneath the edge of the threadbare USSS T-shirt of Cam’s she wore to
bed. The light touch was gentle and reassuring and exciting all at the
same time. She never realized how much she missed Cam until she
walked back in the door. The scent of her, just looking up and seeing
her nearby, filled her with comfort and a peace she’d never known
she wanted. “You’re not supposed to deal with everything alone any
longer.”
Cam sifted Blair’s hair through her fingers, soothed by the silky
softness. “I’m not. I promise.”
“But?”
“I can’t help wanting to protect you.”
• 238 •
Oath Of hOnOr
“I know that. I love you for that. But it’s a two-way street,
right?”
“Yes, it is.” Cam sighed. “I think we may be honing in on our
leak.”“Who is it?” Blair kept a tight rein on the anger blazing in the very
core of her. Disbelief and outrage stoked the flames. She wanted to
strike back—and not being able to focus her rage only fueled her fury.
Cam gave her a capsule summary of what she’d reported to
Lucinda. “If I’m right, there may be an attempted assault soon.”
Fear licked around the edges of Blair’s consciousness, but she
pushed it away. “How? When?”
“I don’t know. Guesses are all I have.”
“Your guesses have always been good.” Blair sat up and faced
Cam, her knee sliding over Cam’s thigh. She kissed her. “I know you’re
doing everything that can be done. It’s not all on you.”
Cam nodded. “I know. I’m just...things are starting to move and
I’m preoccupied. Sorry.”
“You’re also not giving me much in the way of details.”
Cam smiled softly. “Noticed that, did you?”
“Really, Cam.” Blair shook her head. “Who told you to keep me
out of the loop? Lucinda?”
A spark of humor lit Cam’s dark eyes. “I’m not at liberty to say.”
“Uh-huh. Okay. And exactly why aren’t you following Lucinda’s
orders?”
The humor disappeared but the darkness remained in Cam’s gaze.
“Because I want you to be safe, and you can’t be safe if you don’t
know what’s going on. I think Lucinda’s wrong in thinking you’ll be
safer if you’re away from the action. We don’t know what’s coming, or
where it’s coming from, and the only way to be prepared is to hone our
defenses while we work out an offensive plan.”
“Meaning?”
“If your father’s the target, and I believe he is, you should limit
your time with him.”
“That’s not going to happen. If my father’s the target, then I want
to be with him. That means more agents, more surveillance, more
protection for him.”
“That’s exactly what Lucinda wanted to avoid—both of you in the
line of fire.” Cam stroked Blair’s jaw. “She loves you, you know.”
• 239 •
RADCLY fFE
“I know. So why are you telling me anything at all?”
Cam circled the back of Blair’s neck, feathering her fingertips
through her hair. “I’m telling you because I don’t think anywhere is
safer than any other place, right now. And since you won’t abandon
your father, you need to know what the potential threats are, to best
protect yourself.”
“And you know I’d kick your ass if you kept this from me.”
Cam grinned again. “That too.”
“So tell me what you think I need to know.”
“I will.” Cam kissed her, a slow exploration that melted the tension
in Blair’s body and settled the disquiet in her mind. “As soon as I say a
proper good morning.”
Blair slid her hand under Cam�
�s shirt and stroked upward to her
breasts. “Not too tired?”
“Not tired at all.”
v
Just before 1800 hours, Wes finished writing a prescription for
one of the groundskeepers who had severed the tip of his little finger
while attempting to clear ice from his snow blower. He hadn’t been
able to find the missing piece of tissue, so Wes had shortened the bone
fragment beneath his nail and closed it with a local skin flap. A week of
antibiotics and a protective splint ought to be all he needed. His finger
would be a little bit shorter, but he should have no functional deficit.
He was lucky. She walked down to the treatment area where the PA on
duty with her was splinting the digit. “Here you go. Stop by in two days
for a bandage change. We’ll get the stitches out in a week or so. How
does it feel?”
The groundskeeper smiled. “Doesn’t bother me at all. Can I go to
work tomorrow?”
“Is there work you can do one-handed, because I don’t want you
taking that splint off.”
“I’ll manage.”
“The splint stays on.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“All right, then you can go back to work.” She clipped the
• 240 •
Oath Of hOnOr
prescription to his chart and went back to her office to finish her notes
and shut down her computer. Five minutes later she headed for the
briefing room she’d been in that morning. When she walked in, Evyn
was there, sorting through an array of equipment on the table.
“Hi,” Wes said, eyeing the small receiver and attached wires.
“What’s happening?”
“The director asked me to suit you up.” Evyn looked up. “You
need to be wired.”
Wes loved the hazy purple of Evyn’s eyes, a sure sign her
emotions were running hot. She hoped she was the cause—even if the
timing was bad. Even if that turmoil in Evyn’s gaze was annoyance
rather than attraction. Anything was better than the indifference and
distance Evyn was so adept at hiding behind. “What do you want me
to do?”
“Just take off your shirt and loosen your belt,” Evyn said
neutrally, her attention back on the equipment.
Wes removed her blazer, folded it over the back of a chair, and
unbuttoned her shirt. She tugged it from her pants and laid it with her
jacket. She opened her fly and pulled up the bottom of the silk tank she
wore beneath her shirt.