Неизвестный - 06. Honor Under Siege

“Sometimes I still can’t believe that any of it really happened,” Blair said quietly.

“I know.” Paula took a deep breath. She was still trying to understand her new role as Blair ’s security chief and what the boundaries were. Most of the time when she wasn’t certain, she followed her heart. That probably wasn’t the way the commander did things, but she would never be the commander. “We weren’t prepared for what happened in the Aerie, but we will be now. They failed, which just shows you how good your security was, even against the unexpected. Now it will be even better because we know the game has changed.”

The game has changed.

Blair suppressed a shudder. Yes, the rules of engagement had definitely changed, and she was an unwilling player in a game where the stakes were higher than she’d ever imagined. She glanced toward the door as Cam walked in. Her black hair was wet and slicked back, making the sharp planes of her face stand out even more. Even in a loose black T-shirt and blue jeans, her body looked taut and fighting ready. Blair could tell from the set of her jaw that she’d heard the last part of the conversation; she had that intense, hard expression she always got when the subject of Blair’s vulnerability came up.

“I’m not worried.” Blair said, “We have the winning team.”

Cam leaned down and brushed a kiss over her cheek, then regarded the tea with a raised eyebrow. “Is that for me?”

“Yes,” Blair said with exaggerated seriousness. “And there’s honey on the counter. Put some in. It will help your throat.”

“I think coffee will do fine.”

“Cameron.” Blair’s eyes glittered dangerously.

“But tea is probably better,” Cam amended as she retrieved the jar of honey.

Paula watched the exchange with apparent interest, then looked quickly away as Cam gave her a pointed stare. She rose without finishing her coffee. “I’ll be in the command center.”

“Wait, Paula.” Blair kept her gaze on Cam, thinking how much she loved going to sleep with her every night and waking up with her in the morning and having her around during the day. Just being with her. Not being guarded by her, not being worried over. Just being in her company. But this week had been an anomaly, and they both knew it. Softly, she said, “Ready?”

Cam nodded.

“Paula,” Blair said. “I think we better make that call.”

Chapter Two

I just sent a transport plane to Lexington for you.” In her usual rapid-fire fashion, Lucinda Washburn continued, “It should be there in two hours. Come on over to the office when you get in.”

“Hi, Luce,” Blair said sarcastically. “How’s your day going?”

“About the way they’ve all been going for the last month.”

Blair was surprised by the weariness in Lucinda’s voice. She couldn’t remember ever seeing her tired. In fact, she wasn’t certain she’d ever known Lucinda to actually sleep. “Is everything all right?”

“As all right as can be expected.” A small, impatient sigh filtered down the phone line. “Come home. We’ll talk.”

Home. The White House would never feel like home to Blair, because it wasn’t, even though her father and Lucinda were there. True, she had no other family home. Her father had sold the house she had grown up in when her mother died. Blair was twelve at the time, and after that she had lived in the governor’s mansion or whatever other house came with her father’s political position. Lucinda had always been like family. She’d been a close friend of both Blair’s parents before Blair’s mother died, and she’d been a constant figure in Blair’s life ever since. Not a mother figure, but strong and capable and comforting, for all her demands. But Blair’s home was her loft in Manhattan, and that had been nearly destroyed in an attack that had come at the same time as the devastation at the World Trade Center. She didn’t have a home now, and the memories of terror and death chilled her. She glanced at Cam, who watched her pensively. Cam. Cam was home.

Blair pushed the images of loss away. “It will take us a while to arrange transportation to the airport.”

“I can get State Troopers to escort you.”

“God, no,” Blair said with barely suppressed horror. “I’ve got all the protection I need. Just tell the pilot he may have to wait.”

“All right then. I’ll see you this afternoon.”

Blair ended the call and handed the phone back to Paula. “We’re leaving.”

“I’ll let the teams know,” Paula said.

“I’ll call Tanner and arrange for drivers.” Cam hesitated, casting a questioning look in Stark’s direction. “If that’s all right with you.”

“It’s fine. Thanks,” Stark answered on her way out the back door.

Cam set her tea aside and slid her arms around Blair’s waist. “What’s up?”

“I don’t know.” Blair kissed the tip of Cam’s chin. “But Lucinda wants to talk.”

“Uh-oh.”

Blair sighed. “I know.” She rocked her hips lightly against Cam’s. “Have you heard anything from Stewart?”

Cam shook her head. Assistant Director Stewart Carlisle was her immediate superior in the Department of the Treasury, but since she’d most recently been on special assignment reporting directly to the president, she hadn’t been under Stewart’s command for some time. “I don’t actually know who I’m reporting to anymore.” She glanced through the back door to the guest house visible partway down the slope to the beach. Blair’s security team was there. The nerve center of all that went into protecting Blair was there. And she wasn’t. “Especially since I’m not on your security team anymore.”

Blair leaned back, hooking her thumbs in the loops of Cam’s jeans. “It bothers you, doesn’t it. That Stark is in charge now.”

“Stark’s a good agent.”

Blair laughed. “Cameron. Don’t even try.”

Cam forced herself to unclench her jaw. “Yes, it bothers me. I didn’t want to be switched from investigation to protection when they first assigned me to your team last year. But you know what?” She kissed Blair lightly. “I’m good at it. And I’m motivated. I like…” She shrugged. “…looking after you.”

“Oh, darling,” Blair murmured. “You do look after me. In all the ways that mean the most to me. You love me, and that’s what I really need. I don’t need you throwing yourself in front of me if some crazy person decides they don’t like the color of my dress.”

“I know that’s not what you need.” Cam ran a hand through her hair. “But it’s kind of what I need.”

“I know.” Blair hugged her tightly. It was rare that she could touch Cam without being aroused, for which she was pleased and grateful. She hoped that never changed. She couldn’t imagine not wanting her. Just at the moment, though, she wanted to comfort her because it was so unusual for Cam to be unsure about anything. And she could sense Cam’s unease and uncertainty. “We all need time to get adjusted to the changes, Cam. But I’m always going to need you.”

Cam smiled and rested her forehead against Blair’s. “And I’m always going to need you.”

Paula hurried down the twisting path to the guesthouse. Under other circumstances she would have taken a second to appreciate the unseasonably warm early October morning, but her mind was totally consumed with the myriad details of her job. She felt the full weight of her new responsibilities intensely, but beneath the low-level hum of nerves, she was also aware of the surge of excitement that always accompanied any operation when Egret, as Blair was officially called, was on the move.

“Listen up,” she said as she pushed through the front door into the living room. “Egret is flying.” She shed the windbreaker she’d grabbed earlier on her way down to the beach and rolled up the sleeves of her white button-down collar shirt. She headed straight for the dining room where they’d set up their computers and communication equipment. “I’m going to call DC to arrange ground transport.”