Radclyffe - Oath of Honor
He did seem uneasy, though, but that might just be because he didn’t
know her, and she had taken the job that presumably he had wanted.
Or maybe she was reading too much into the situation because Evyn
thought Chang deserved the job and not her. Evyn.
She hadn’t thought about her while she was working, but every
time she stopped, snippets of their conversations would start up again
in her mind. Along with that split second of gut-wrenching horror when
she’d thought Evyn was mortally wounded. Evyn was so certain of
what should be done and why. In order to do Evyn’s job, that kind
of mindset was probably necessary. She understood. She even agreed,
while another part of her mind questioned.
All Wes could hope was that her orders never conflicted with
her training, but ultimately, she would follow orders, regardless of the
consequences to others. Even Evyn. She shied away from the idea of
leaving Evyn wounded, without the care that might potentially save
her life. She thought of Evyn’s body fresh from the shower—sleek
and smooth and strong. Beautiful. She was trained to read a person’s
body with her hands—to feel the presence of injury and disease in the
disruption of the pattern of skin and muscle and bone. She experienced
the world through her senses, and Evyn filled her senses. The whisper
of Evyn’s skin beneath her fingers that day in the ambulance left her
wanting more. Seeing Evyn naked after her shower, she’d ached to trace
the tantalizing curve along the edge of Evyn’s shoulder blade down the
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slope of her back to the hollow above her hips. She’d imagined heat
and supple—
“Captain?”
Wes jerked and looked across the room. Jennifer stood in the
doorway, a half smile on her face. Her hair was down, a luxurious
sweep of soft midnight waves. Today she wore forest-green pants and a
V-neck sweater in a lighter shade of green. Low brown boots completed
the outfit. Her figure was small but full, perfectly proportioned.
“Something I can help you with, Lieutenant?”
“A few of us are going out to eat at the end of shift. Would you
like to come?”
Wes quickly considered the advisability of fraternizing with her
new team. If she didn’t go out with them, she might appear standoffish.
If she did, she wouldn’t know the players or the power structure. She
didn’t usually fraternize with colleagues, and socializing with team
members before she’d taken firm command wasn’t a good idea. And
there was the glint of interest in Jennifer’s eyes, no small matter. Wes
had thought she’d noticed it the first time they’d met, and now she
was sure of it. Jennifer’s invitation might be a little bit more than unit
camaraderie.
“Thanks, I’d like to, but I can’t tonight,” Wes said. “I’ve got a
million things to review, and I’m still finding my way around this
place.”
“I understand,” Jennifer said, disappointment clear in her voice.
“Some other time, then?”
Wes smiled. “Yes. Definitely.”
“Good. I’ll let you get back to work.” Jennifer backed up. “If you
need help with the files—”
“I’ve got it for now. Thanks.”
“See you then.”
Jennifer turned and left, leaving Wes alone with charts and
protocols, the stuff of her life she knew well—and thoughts of Evyn
Daniels, something new and entirely different.
v
The round white clock hanging behind the red Formica-topped
counter sported a dented chrome rim resembling a hubcap and a faded
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Harley symbol in the center. The black hands shaped like handlebars
read six forty. Hooker’s contact was ten minutes late.
He looked around the roadside diner, studying the faces. At six
thirty on a weeknight, the place was nearly empty. The locals, mostly
farmers, ate early, and the truckers wouldn’t start arriving until midnight.
The militia go-between who’d arranged the meet hadn’t given him any
info other than the location—he’d said the contact was spooked about
dealing with an “outsider.”
Who the hell knew what a bio-disposal technician looked like?
Two guys in oil-stained work pants and denim shirts with the sleeves
cut off midway up tattooed biceps sat at the counter slurping coffee and
uttering occasional monosyllables while working through enormous
steaks and mounds of potatoes. A young woman, barely in her twenties
if that, slouched in a booth with a glass of tea and a red-and-white
cardboard boat of fries slathered in cheese. She ate slowly, making each
fry last three bites, as if the food might be her last for a while. Probably
a runaway—her face was worn with fatigue, but her eyes were too
focused for her to be a junkie. Two men in white open-collared shirts
and dress pants occupied another booth—probably businessmen on the
road. No one paid any attention to him. He finished his coffee, slid two
bills on the counter, and walked outside.
The Georgia heat slapped him in the face, momentarily taking
his breath away. The change from the biting cold in Chicago was
disorienting. Like the diner, the gravel lot was mostly empty. A few
cars clustered around the far corner of the restaurant, where someone
sold ice cream from an open window. Several people, mostly women,
stood in line with children in tow. No one paid any attention to him.
He’d come all this way for nothing.
As he walked to his car, he glanced into the small grassy lot on
the far side of the building. A brunette in a floral sundress and strappy
sandals sat under a tree at a picnic bench, an ice-cream cone in her hand.
She smiled at him, holding his gaze for just a second longer than was
typical for a lone woman who wasn’t a working girl. Hooker walked
over.“Good day for ice cream,” he said.
“They make the best vanilla bean around here. You should try it.”
“Maybe I will. I haven’t had an ice-cream cone in a long time.”
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She was early thirties, eyes as black as her hair, small and pretty. Built
too. No wedding ring. In fact, no distinguishing anything—no jewelry,
no flash. Attractive, but not someone who would draw attention.
“Probably too cold up north for ice cream,” she remarked, catching
a line of vanilla dripping down the side of the cone.
The quick flick of her tongue caught him by surprise and his cock
got hard. He shifted slightly to hide the fullness in his trousers. “You
got that right. I guess this doesn’t feel hot to you, though, does it?”
“No—this is the best weather of the year.” She smiled. “Sit down,
unless there’s somewhere you have to be in a hurry.”
“Not really.”
“Just get in?”
“That’s right.”
“Here on business?”
He nodded.
“What is it that you do?”
“I buy and sell things,” he said.
“I imagine you find all sorts of interesting things.”
“You never know what you might come across.”
“You’re right. Sometimes things turn up you never expect.” She
bit into the cone and a fleck lingered on her lip.
He had the urge to suck it off. He spread his legs a little wider to
give himself a little relief. Something about this woman had him juiced
up, and that was unusual. He had no trouble enjoying himself with a
woman when he wanted, but when he was on the job, he rarely got
distracted. “I’m always on the lookout for unusual items.”
“I might have something you’re interested in. If you’re looking for
one-of-a-kind items.”
“Really? Rare items are at the top of my list.”
“Those things tend to be expensive, though.”
“I never mind paying what something’s worth.”
“And then there’s transportation, the authentication, all of those
things figure in, don’t they?” She crossed her legs, her sandal dangling
from her toes. “What would you pay for something no one else could
find, delivered in perfect condition? Something rare, unusual.”
“Fully functional, one-of-a-kind?” Hooker leaned his arms back
on the table and crossed his ankles, taking in the vehicles parked in
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the lot. None were close enough for audible scanning, and he didn’t
think their conversation could be picked up from the building. If she
was wearing a wire, it was well hidden. Her clothes were tight enough
that hiding the receiver would be difficult. Nothing he’d said could be
incriminating, but he still needed to be careful. “I’m used to paying for
the right product. Half a million isn’t out of range.”
She took another bite of her ice-cream cone. “Two.”
“The item would have to be extraordinarily rare, in perfect
condition, and, in order to avoid the competition trying to duplicate it,
completely untraceable.”
“Guaranteed.”
“Then I think we can do business.”
She smiled, her gaze slowly moving over his chest and down his
body. He couldn’t hide his erection and didn’t bother.
“Now that I’ve had dessert,” she said, “I’m ready for dinner. How
about you?”
“My evening is free.”
“Not anymore.”
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chapter sixteen
The phone rang at 0530 and Wes grabbed it before the second
ring. “Hello?”
“We’ll pick you up in half an hour,” Evyn said. “Pack a go bag and
wear field clothes.”
“What would that be when I’m not wearing a uniform?”
Evyn laughed. “How about jeans and a shirt? And a light jacket.
Oh—and pack for overnight.”
“Doable. Anything else I should know?”
“Now, Doc,” Evyn said, a teasing note in her voice. “Haven’t you
figured out the routine yet?”
“I’m ever hopeful.”
“Good attitude. See you in thirty.”
Evyn rang off and Wes hung up the phone. She’d been up for an
hour, reading through some of the WHMU protocols she’d downloaded
to a thumb drive and brought back to the hotel with her. She’d worked
all evening and finally turned in at 0200—and couldn’t sleep. She didn’t
usually have trouble sleeping, but she’d lain awake in the dark feeling
a little like a fish out of water. The entire fabric of her professional
life—which was her life—had shifted precipitously. She was still a
doctor, still a naval officer, but she had been transported out of the
highly structured world of military hierarchy into what felt like a new
society where the rules weren’t clear and no one was filling her in.
To dispel the undercurrent of anxiety, she fell back on what she knew
best—discipline, order, and medicine.
As she’d mentally run down the things she wanted to do to fine-
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tune the medical unit, her thoughts kept wandering off to Evyn. Snippets
of their first encounter, their first meal, their first fight, their first touch
kept jumping into her mind. Flashes of Evyn’s faintly teasing smile, the
challenge in her deep blue eyes, her certainty about her job—everything
about her stirred her. Spending time with Evyn had been easy, natural.
Exciting. And considering their positions and the specter of a security
breach hanging over every member of the team, including Evyn, very
ill-advised. No matter she couldn’t imagine Evyn violating her oath,
she needed to keep perspective, and the only way she could do that was
by maintaining professional distance.
Finally, to distract herself from thoughts of Evyn and a disquieting
buzz in her belly, she’d texted her youngest sister Denny, a night nursing
supervisor at Methodist Hospital, who was usually able to chat when
her patients were all asleep.
Hey, you busy?
Got a minute. Why are you awake so late?
New post. Can’t shut off my head.
Not like you. Something wrong?
Nah. Not really. How’s everyone?
We’re good. Miss you. You’re going to make it home for
Christmas?
not looking good miss you too
will mail leftovers
can’t wait
Gotta go. Call—call me. Don’t stress. Love you.
Her sister had provided enough diversion that she’d been able to
fall asleep. But as she rode the elevator down to the lobby, her thoughts
returned to Evyn. She looked forward to seeing her. Spending time
with Evyn was exhilarating—in one moment Evyn was a highly trained
professional, demanding and a little arrogant, in the next personable,
funny, a little flirtatious. Wes never knew what to expect, and she
always knew what to expect. She planned everything and lived by her
plans. She’d just discovered uncertainty was damned exciting.
Right now, though, she’d settle for boring routine over a new test
of her fitness for her post, but what she’d like and what she got were
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often different. She pushed through the revolving door and stepped out
onto the sidewalk at precisely 0600. Ten seconds later, a black SUV
pulled up and the rear door swung open. Wes walked over and saw
Evyn in the back beside Gary. “Morning.”
“Morning,” Evyn said.
“Hi, Doc,” Gary echoed.
Wes settled down across from Evyn and the vehicle pulled away.
Evyn pointed to the newspaper in her lap. “Want a section?”
Wes smiled and slid an e-reader from her pocket. “I took your
advice and picked this up yesterday at one of the bookstores.”
“Smart.”
“What? Taking your advice or getting the reader?”
Evyn laughed. “Both.”
Gary’s gaze flicked back and forth between them, a glint of
curiosity in his warm brown eyes. Wes opened the reader and selected
