Radclyffe - Oath of Honor

Wes groaned and Evyn grinned.

Emory lifted a shoulder. “Just my scientific observation.”

*

Russo walked out onto the back deck of his mountain cabin. His last two public appearances and the benefit dinners that followed had been great successes. His supporters had been enthusiastic, and even his wife had managed to do her part. Now he planned to celebrate properly with Nora, who should arrive any moment. Despite the frigid air, he felt totally comfortable. The sky was clear, the stars bright points of light, the moon a huge flawless globe. Snow cascaded down the mountainside and layered the bending boughs of the pines with powdery lace. He was surrounded by natural beauty, and the brisk air stung his lungs with every breath, reminding him of the surety of life.

Nora’s latest report showed his popularity growing and his strength with the electorate approaching the point where no challenger would pose a threat. Still, a substantial number in his own party found him too radical, too polarizing, and there were large segments of the Northeast and West where Andrew Powell commanded a huge following. He needed to shake up the moderates in his own party and create doubt in the hearts of the centrist liberals who might be persuaded to change allegiances if the threat to their personal safety was great enough. The time to prepare the groundwork for that shift in power was now. Certain of his course, he called Hooker.

“Hooker,” the man answered.

“It’s time to initiate our plans with the optimal timetable,” Russo said.

“That doesn’t give us a lot of time,” Hooker said.

“Yes, I’m aware of that, but given the ideal location, you should have ample time to activate all the parties.”

“I’ll need to confirm with my contact.”

“Then do so,” Russo said calmly. “Unless I hear from you, I’ll assume we are proceeding as planned.”

“My fee just went up,” Hooker said. “It’s going to take a whole lot of coordinating to pull this off so soon.”

“I have utmost faith in you. And if all goes as expected, you’ll receive a twenty percent bonus.”

“That’s very generous,” Hooker said.

“I hope we’ll be doing business for some time.”

“I’ll let you know when I’ve confirmed with my contact.”

“Wonderful. And happy holidays.”

“Yeah,” Hooker said, “ho-fucking-ho.”

Russo rang off without commenting. The new year was going to be a very good year.

*

“Are you coming to bed?” Blair kissed the top of Cam’s head and rubbed her shoulders. “It’s getting late and it’s been a long day.”

Cam leaned her head back against Blair’s stomach and closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth spreading down her back from Blair’s hands. “Have I ever mentioned I love the way you touch me?”

Smiling, Blair kissed the top of her head again. “A time or two. What are you doing?”

Cam rubbed her eyes. “Reviewing reports from this morning’s security update. Looking for anything out of the ordinary.”

“Why? If you think we’re dealing with someone on the inside?”

“The leak may be internal, but if…” She hesitated. They were talking about Blair’s father.

“It’s a little late to try to shield me, don’t you think?” Blair’s question lacked the usual heat that accompanied any accusation of Cam being overprotective. “Lucinda briefed me and you know she doesn’t sugarcoat anything. If someone is going to try to kill my father, you don’t think it will be someone close to him? Someone we know?”

“I don’t know a thing for sure,” Cam said, wishing with everything in her Blair didn’t have to be a part of this. Bad enough Blair needed to worry about her father, but Blair was going to be right in the middle of any potential attack. She was almost as much at risk as Andrew, and there was no way Blair could be convinced not to go on the trail with him.

“You’re going to be there too,” Blair said with her uncanny ability to read Cam’s mind.

“How do you do that?”

“Practice.” Blair spun Cam’s chair around, straddled her lap, and kissed her with heat. They’d spent the day apart. While Cam had met with Lucinda and then gone straight into a briefing with Tom and the other agents on PPD, Blair had spent a rare afternoon with her father. They hadn’t talked about security concerns. They’d talked about his reelection campaign, the major platform issues, and the role Blair would play. For a few hours she’d been able to forget the danger and the fear. The only other person who’d ever made her feel so safe was Cam.

“I missed you today,” Blair said. “We’re still supposed to be on our honeymoon.”

Cam smiled and ran her hands up and down Blair’s back. “And I am obviously falling down on my marital duties already.”

Blair snuggled tighter into Cam’s lap, settling her ass firmly in Cam’s crotch. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that. But if you’re almost done, and you’ve still got half an hour left in you, you could see to your duties.”

Cam rested her cheek against Blair’s breast. “Give me ten minutes, and I’m yours.”

Blair ran her fingers through Cam’s hair. “All right. Have you found anything?”

“Nothing substantial, really. I’m just trolling—a truckload of munitions went missing from Fort Dix. We’ve got Army CID on that. A sleeper cell we’ve been watching in San Francisco looks like it may be waking up—I’ve got a Homeland Security team moving on that. An inventory irregularity turned up at a Level 4 government-funded research lab outside of Atlanta. A team from the CDC is on their way there.”

“So you think someone on the inside is part of a larger group, and the attack is being orchestrated from the outside?”

“We have to be prepared for that.” Cam tilted Blair’s chin up and met her eyes. “We have to be prepared for anything.”

Blair smoothed the frown lines between Cam’s brows. “We will be. You’re not alone in this—no matter what, you’re never alone.”

Cam wrapped her arms around Blair’s waist and rose. Blair automatically locked her legs behind Cam’s back. Cam kissed her. “I know. Let’s go to bed.”

*

Wes kissed Emory’s cheek as they stood outside the Black Fox. “It was great to see you. Merry Christmas.”

Emory hugged her. “You too.” She hugged Wes close to whisper in her ear. “And don’t be afraid to take a chance, Wes. Sometimes, you have to.”

“I’ll call you soon.” Wes released Emory, shook Dana’s hand, and waved as they headed off toward the car. She and Evyn walked toward Dupont Circle, where Evyn had parked.

“What was that all about back in the bar?” Evyn said.

“Just the usual third degree from friends—you know, where we met, that sort of thing.”

“And are we fucking?”

“Not in just those words, no,” Wes said dryly. “But the intention was there.”

Evyn laughed. “What did you say?”

“That it was complicated.”

“I guess it is.” Evyn slipped her arm around Wes’s waist as they walked. Maybe it was the holiday lights on every porch and storefront or the excitement on the faces of everyone they passed that made her heart so light and filled with possibility, but she was tired of ignoring her need to really connect with Wes. “How come it seemed simple that night?”

“Because we weren’t thinking past the moment?”

Evyn blew out a breath. “We weren’t really thinking at all. That’s not like me.”

“Me either.”

“So,” Evyn said, “what are you thinking right now?”

Wes slowed and pointed down the block. “That my place is right over there.”

“Really? Great location,” Evyn said, testing the air. Wes had been calling all the shots up until now—another thing that was decidedly unlike her. She hadn’t minded when they’d been holed up in that hotel room in Kitty Hawk and she hadn’t had a clue what the hell was going on, but they weren’t in Kitty Hawk any longer. And Wes was no one-night stand. She needed to get in the game right now.