Неизвестный - 06. Honor Under Siege

When the others had left, Cam walked down the hall to Diane’s bedroom and tapped on the door. “Can I talk to you a minute, Blair?”

“Sure,” Blair said. After she’d finished helping Diane pack, she’d gone to the kitchen for more coffee and heard the murmur of voices in the living room. Although she knew Cam wouldn’t exclude her from the discussions if she asked to sit in, she also knew that Cam and Stark were getting their first real test of working together in their new roles. She doubted that anyone in security or intelligence was going to like being overridden by agents from the new Homeland Security Office, not even Stark, not even when the agent in question was Cam. She decided her presence would only add to the tension. “When are we leaving?”

“About forty-five minutes.”

Blair glanced over her shoulder at Diane. “I’ll meet you in the living room in a few minutes, okay?”

“Yes. I’ve got some calls to make. I should let my gallery manager know how long I’ll be away.”

“Tell her three weeks for now.” Cam rested her hand lightly on Blair’s shoulder. The contact felt good. She had missed her the previous night, missed the way holding her through the night rejuvenated her.

Diane nodded. “All right, but I can’t be away any longer than that.

Sooner or later, I have to go back to my life.”

“I understand.”

“Will I be able to call or give them a number where they can reach me?” Diane asked.

“Everyone will have temporary cells by tonight. Once we reach Whitley Point you can call them.”

“Thank you.” Diane squared her shoulders. “You two go ahead. I’m fine.”

Blair slid her arm around Cam’s waist. “Come on, darling. Better fill me in on what’s going on.”

“Let me get this straight.” Blair leaned against the dresser in the bedroom watching Cam pack this time. “I’m being spirited away to Whitley Point surrounded by armed guards, while you drive for twelve hours out in the open where anyone could follow you.”

“We’re not going to be followed.”

“Then why can’t I come with you?”

Cam passed Blair the extra suitcase. “You need to take anything?”

Blair dropped it on the bed. “Yes. I’ll pack in a minute. Why can’t I go with you?”

“If anyone is watching us they’ll have a hard time following two separate groups. It buys us time.”

“Bull. You don’t want me with you in case someone comes after you again. In case someone…” Blair stalked across the room and pulled the shirt Cam was folding from her grasp. “Someone tried to kill you last night. And you think they might try again, don’t you?”

“Blair—”

“Don’t lie to me.”

Cam cradled Blair’s face between her hands and kissed her softly. “I won’t. You know that.”

“That’s what you think, isn’t it?”

“It’s a consideration, especially in light of my past relationship with Valerie. Matheson might suspect that she would come to me and that I might be able to bring her in. If someone wants to prevent that, getting me out of the way is the logical step.”

Blair forced herself to keep her expression neutral, even though the calm way that Cam discussed why someone would want to kill her chilled her to the core. If she wanted Cam to tell her the truth, she had to be able to handle the truth. No matter how much it terrified her. “Did you tell Valerie where we’re going?”

“No, but she has a number to call me.” She lowered her hands to Blair’s shoulders and rubbed them softly. “I’ll be okay. I’ve got good people with me and I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you think Valerie will call?”

Cam sighed. “I don’t know. When it comes right down to it, her training may win out. And she’s been indoctrinated not to trust anyone.”

“I don’t like us being separated.”

“Neither do I, but it’s only for a few hours. I’ll be there tonight, and we’ll wake up together tomorrow.”

Blair closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Cam’s waist. “You didn’t sleep all night. You’re hurt and tired. You’re not at your best, Cam, and you need to be.”

“Savard and Davis will be with me. They’ll do the driving. I’ll sleep.”

Blair rubbed her cheek against Cam’s shoulder. “I don’t want other women taking care of you.”

Cam laughed. “I think I’ll be safe with them.”

“What about the thing Saturday night I’m supposed to do for Lucinda?”

“I don’t like it,” Cam said, “but we all agree we can’t keep you completely out of the public eye. Lucinda is arranging for a suite of rooms at the Copley for us and the rest of the team for the weekend. I’ll be your escort, and Savard will accompany Diane.”

“Oh, Stark’s going to love that.”

Cam grinned. “It’s all in the line of duty.”

Blair leaned back, a glint in her eyes. “Is it, now? Then you’d better pack something besides work clothes. Like a tux.”

“That’s what rental places are for.”

“And you better make sure you sleep in the car,” Blair murmured, running her fingers along Cam’s collarbone and down over her chest. “I missed you last night.”

“Me too.”

“What about your hip and shoulder?”

“I’m stiff and sore, but functional.” Cam kissed Blair, taking her time, because it would be hours before they saw each other again and despite her words of confidence to Blair, she knew that anything could happen in the interim. “Besides, massage therapy will be good for them.”

“Then I’ll put you on my schedule for the morning.”

“I’ll be there.”

Blair held her tightly, unable to imagine any other possibility.

Chapter Thirteen

“Paula,” Blair said with quiet intensity, just the slightest bit of edge in her voice.

“Yes?” Stark said solemnly.

“If you had a round robin, why didn’t you bid more?”

Diane snorted and, despite the fact that it had been dark for over three hours and it was impossible to see the beach, Wozinski seemed to find something fascinating happening out the window. Stark hastily squinted at her cheat sheet, obviously at a loss.

“A king and queen in every suit. I would’ve taken the bid if I’d known you had that much meld,” Blair said.

“I didn’t see it,” Stark said bleakly. “I was so excited about the pinochle—”

“Never mind. It doesn’t matter.” Blair abruptly pushed back her chair, strode across the kitchen, and slammed out the door.

The room was silent for a moment and then Diane rose. “It’s freezing out there. She doesn’t have a jacket.”

Wozinski glanced at Stark. “Should I go with her, Chief? I can take her jacket.”

Stark shook her head. “Hara is out back and Tanner stationed a team in a vehicle on the street. She’s covered.”

“I’ll take her jacket,” Diane said, patting Wozinski’s shoulder as she passed behind his chair. “But thank you.”

“Yes ma’am.” Wozinski flushed. “Pleasure.”

It took less than thirty seconds for Diane to reach the back deck after grabbing Blair’s jacket, but she saw only a single figure standing at the railing, facing toward the ocean—shorter than either herself or Blair by several inches and more slender than Stark. Hara. Not Blair. For an instant, her heart twisted with an overriding sense of dread, as if Blair too had walked out the door and simply vanished. Just like the morning she had awakened in the guesthouse in a still room beneath a silent dawn and realized that Valerie had disappeared while she’d slept. “Where’s Blair?”

Hara did not turn, and even in the darkness, Diane knew that she was watching Blair. The cloud cover was so dense even the light from the full moon barely penetrated the inky sky.