Radclyffe - Price of Honor

Cam looked up at the ceiling, frowning.

“What?” Blair asked.

“Nothing,” Cam said. “I just wanted to make sure I couldn’t hear anything above us. Probably the electronics misreading the sensors. It’ll probably start up again in a second.”

“Brock’s downstairs,” Felicia said. “Everything’s clear there. Just hold on.” She opened the control box, inserted a key, and punched G . After a second the elevator started up again, and a minute later they settled and the doors opened.

“Just wait a moment,” Cam murmured, sliding her hand inside her topcoat.

Brock appeared in front of the door. “Everything all right?”

“Yes,” Felicia said. “Just a little glitch with the electronics.”

“This way, then.” He gestured for Blair and Cam to follow him, and three more agents converged on their small party, heading for their SUV. A K9 agent with a gorgeous dog wearing a vest with the USSS K9 emblem on it walked along beside the line of SUVs, accompanied by a brunette Blair recognized. One of the reporters, but she couldn’t recall her name.

When the reporter saw them coming, she stopped and smiled warmly as Blair passed. “Congratulations, Ms. Powell, Director Roberts. I missed the wedding, but I heard it was wonderful.”

Blair paused. She was used to reporters calling questions to her about the marriage, but she couldn’t think of one who’d congratulated her. “Thank you.” She nodded toward the agent with the dog. “Interviewing for a new job?”

“Not just yet,” the brunette said. “Research. An article on the K9 division.”

“Terrific idea. They’re amazing—the dogs and the people.”

“I know. I’m Vivian Elliott. Washington Gazette .”

“Nice to meet you, Vivian. You’ll have to let me know when it’s coming out. I’d love to read it.”

“Actually, would you mind talking with me a few minutes about it?” Viv asked quickly. “Ten minutes, whenever you’ve got a chance. Your view of the division would be a great addition.”

“Of course. We’ll have plenty of time between now and the end of the line.”

“Great,” Viv said. “Who should I contact to schedule?”

Blair laughed. “That would be me. Give me your number and I’ll text you.”

Blair handed over her phone, and Viv punched in her number, then handed it back.

“Thank you so much,” Viv said, stepping back. “Looking forward to it.”

Mac opened the rear door of the SUV, and Blair waved. “I’ll be in touch. Thanks again.”

The SUV pulled out and Cam said quietly, “How are you doing?”

“How much longer is this trip?” Blair asked.

“You were great. It will be over soon.”

Blair counted the days in her head. Less than a week to go, and only a dozen appearances. She’d survive. She took Cam’s hand. “I’m so glad you’re here.”

Cam slipped an arm around her shoulders. “Where else would I be?”

Chapter Twenty

Outside Colorado Springs

“Well?” Jane asked as Hooker slid into the front seat, bringing a gust of cold air and blowing snow with him. She’d spent the last ten minutes sitting outside a gas station with pumps that didn’t look like they’d been updated in thirty years while Hooker used one of those pay phones clamped to a metal pole, the kind she hadn’t seen anywhere since she was a kid, at the side of a squat building with no lights showing. She couldn’t argue with him not using a cell phone, especially when she didn’t know anything about his contacts. For all she knew, Hooker’s friends could be under surveillance by local law enforcement or even the feds. But she didn’t have a choice. She had to use what she had, and right now, that was Hooker.

“We’re all set,” Hooker said, stomping snow off his boots onto the rubber mat in the wheel well. “Fourteen hundred hours.”

“Where?”

“A warehouse just outside the city limits. I’ve got directions.”

“Who owns it?”

“Nobody. It’s abandoned, but my friends have liberated it and given it a new life.”

Jane snorted and punched the FedEx address into her nav con.

Hooker frowned at the screen. “Expecting something?”

She didn’t bother to answer and they rode in silence through the snow. By the time she navigated across town, it was after noon. She pulled into the small lot in front of the FedEx office, turned off the ignition, and left him sitting in the front seat. She showed ID, collected her packages, stowed them carefully in the cargo area, and pulled out again in under five minutes.

“So?” Hooker asked. “You gonna tell me what’s in there?”

Jane laughed. “No.”

“I can see it’s from Amazon. What’d you order? New clothes?”

She said nothing.

“You know, if you let me in on your plans, I could be more useful.”

“I already told you. I don’t need a partner.”

“Sure you do. Didn’t your father teach you the importance of backup on a risky op?”

Fury rose through her, swift and hot as a knife plunged into her belly. “Don’t pretend you know anything about my father.”

“Lucky guess, then, but I’m right, aren’t I? This is all about your sister, right? You think you can spring her?”

“You don’t know anything about me. And you’re never going to.”

“Look,” Hooker said reasonably. “We’re out here in the ass-end of nowhere in the middle of winter. Not exactly a great time for an operation. Targets are scarce. Except that right about now, the presidential train is headed our way. It doesn’t take a college education to do the math.”

Jane pulled into the drive-thru at McDonald’s and slowed at the kiosk. She ordered enough for two meals for each of them in case dinner wasn’t on the horizon.

Hooker kept talking as if she’d actually answered him. “Getting to him isn’t impossible, but almost. You need inside help and a lot of planning. Flying by the seat of your pants can get you ki—”

Jane rolled down her window to hand over the money and collect their food. Hooker actually shut up for one minute. She pulled into a space across from the drive-thru, put the vehicle in park, and kept the heater running. Damn, she was tired of being cold. She reached into the bag and pulled out a hamburger and fries. “You can eat or not eat. Your choice. Once the deal is done this afternoon, we part ways.”

“You’ll need backup.” Hooker stuck a hand into the bag and pulled out a red cardboard box of fries. “I already know enough to guess what you’re doing, so why not take advantage?”

“Because I don’t trust you.”

Hooker munched a french fry. “Why not? Because I’m a merc?”

“That, and because you’re working for Russo.”

“ Did work for him.” He pulled out a cheeseburger and unwrapped it. “I’m not gonna have a job after this. Russo sent me after the money, and since you’re busy spending it and I’m getting a cut, that’s not gonna happen.”

“That’s my point,” Jane said. “You have no loyalty.”

“Not strictly true.” Hooker lifted a shoulder. “I’m loyal until the job is done. And to prove it”—he took a bite of his cheeseburger, took his time chewing, and swallowed—“I’ll let you in on something you don’t know.”

Jane sighed and put her wrappers into the bag. “I’m all ears.”

“Russo tipped off one of the deputies in the sheriff’s department about your meet with the Renegades. Only he screwed with the details a bit. The Renegades thought you were gonna try to take them out. That’s what started the whole firefight that ended up getting your old man killed.”

The fury burning in Jane’s chest exploded behind her eyes. Her vision went red until she blinked it clear. “Russo. He double-crossed us.”