Radclyffe - Oath of Honor
Evyn they shouldn’t mix business with pleasure. Considered rationally,
the argument was weak. “Seems like a big risk for small gain.”
“Agreed. The more likely scenario is that Len noticed something,
or suspected something. Assuming he wasn’t our leak and his contacts
decided to eliminate him.”
“Do you suspect him?”
“I suspect everyone,” Cam said flatly. “Except you. But Len—not
really. I’ve been running extended checks on every member of PPD, the
WHMO, and the WHMU. Nothing turns up for Len other than a quiet
affair with one of the nurses.”
Wes straightened. “Who?”
“Jennifer Pattee.”
“Really.”
“What?”
Wes laughed wryly. So much for gaydar. “Never mind.”
“Do you trust your instincts, Wes?”
“Professionally, yes.” Wes thought of Evyn—she trusted her
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instincts about Evyn too. Evyn was totally worthy of trust and
confidence, in all ways.
“So tell me what you think about Lieutenant Pattee.”
Wes hesitated, then decided her personal embarrassment was
unimportant. “I had the feeling the lieutenant was more interested in
female partners. I could be totally wrong in that—or maybe she’s bi.”
“Has she expressed a personal interest in you?”
“I thought so. As I said—”
“I’m just gathering information, Wes. As a newcomer, you’re
more likely to make an unbiased observation. Anything that seems off
to you might be important.”
“I understand.”
Cam sat forward. “A puncture site is pretty easy to miss in an
autopsy, isn’t it?”
“Yes—very. And we won’t have the tox screens back for another
week or so. Without some evidence of drug administration, we don’t
have any reason to exhume his body. I’d hate to put his family through
that.”“I don’t want to do that either if it isn’t necessary. I’ll see about
expediting the tox results,” Cam said.
“Excellent.”
“Could the injection go unnoticed by the recipient—say if he was
distracted?”
“Possibly. Airjet injection is nearly painless.”
“Peter Chang was working out with Len the day he died. He would
also have been Len’s most likely successor if Lucinda hadn’t insisted
on going outside for a new chief.”
“I didn’t know that.” Wes tried to see Peter Chang as a traitor.
She couldn’t, but she didn’t see anyone in the WHMU as capable of
betrayal. “This is ugly.”
Cam’s mouth hardened. “We just have to see it doesn’t get
uglier.”
v
“You can pull over here,” Evyn told the cabbie, pointing to a spot
up the street from Louise’s. She paid the fare and got out, jumping over
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a mound of slush at the curb. The snow had stopped but the streets were
still a mess. The wind was wet on her neck—the miserable weather
fit her mood. Her life had gone from orderly and uncomplicated to
confusing and crazy-making overnight. Literally. Hell, she’d gone to
bed with Wes Masters. Worse, she wanted to again. Right now. Her
body hummed like a live wire looking to ground out on the nearest
surface. If she so much as brushed a hand over herself, she’d probably
come. That was a first. She’d always had great control—being sexually
in charge was like being captain of the team. Calling the game, knowing
just when to pull the trigger for the perfect score.
Not so with Wes—all Wes had to do was look at her and she
was ready to explode. The whole airplane ride had been torture—the
sweetest torture she’d ever experienced. Wes had slept on her shoulder,
something Gary had done a million times. Andrea too—a smoking-hot
blonde who usually worked a different shift. Andrea had also slept in
Evyn’s bed a few times, when they’d been coming off a detail in the
ass-end of nowhere and killing time until they could get home. She
didn’t get hot and sweaty and ache to come in her jeans when Andrea
nestled her cheek against her shoulder. She didn’t long to slide her arm
around Andrea and run her fingers through her hair either. Hell, she
didn’t want that with Louise, which was maybe why she was standing
in the foyer of Louise’s building right now.
She pressed Louise’s buzzer. Louise opened the door and gave
Evyn a curious look. “Hi. Come on in.”
Feeling just a little bit foolish, Evyn followed her inside. “Sorry
to drop by like this.”
“That’s okay. I was just about to open a bottle of wine. Are you
hungry?”
“No, I don’t want to put you out—”
“Don’t be silly. It’s no bother.” Louise walked through the
apartment to the kitchen, and Evyn followed, wondering why she had
come and realizing what she was about to say was completely unlike
her. Louise looked great in dance leggings and a tank top. She was
barefoot, and her hair was loose. She was everything Evyn liked in a
woman—smart, accomplished, great sense of humor, super body, and
generous in bed. To make it even better, she was undemanding and
independent.
So what was she doing here?
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“Listen, before you pour that wine, I should probably tell you I
stopped by to break our date.”
Louise turned, the wine bottle in one hand and a corkscrew in the
other. She leaned back against the counter and gave Evyn an appraising
look. “Okay. Usually people just call.”
“And I guess the excuse that I was just in the neighborhood really
doesn’t fly,” Evyn said ruefully. She rested her shoulder on the doorjamb
and ran a hand through her hair. “So, I’m feeling a little dumb here. You
want me to go?”
Louise laughed. “No. I want you to stay and have a glass of wine
and something to eat. How does stir-fry sound?”
Evyn’s stomach rumbled and she blushed. “Well, it sounds great,
but—”
“Evyn,” Louise said, crossing the small space between them and
kissing her on the cheek. “I think you’re great. We have a wonderful
time together. But we never promised anything, and I don’t have any
expectations.”
“It’s just that—” Evyn was more confused now than she had been
a few minutes before. Louise must be even more bewildered. Time to
stop dancing around the issue. “I’m thinking we might not be intimate
again.”
“Ah.” Louise studied her. “It’s not something I said or did, is it?”
“No, you’re great,” Evyn said quickly. “I’m being a total ass,
aren’t I? I’m not explaining anything really very well. I’m not even
sure why I’m here.”
“Don’t apologize.” Louise smiled a little sadly. “That you would
come here to tell me this, face-to-face, is one of the reasons I’m sorry
we have to stop at friendship.”
“Ah hell—”
“But there’s no law against two people who like each other being
friends, is there?” Louise brushed her fingers over Evyn’s shoulder. “I
like you, aside from the great sex.”
Evyn blushed. “It’s official. I am an ass.”
“Quite possibly.” Louise laughed and poured a glass of red wine.
“Have some of this while I cook and tell me what’s going on.”
Evyn sipped wine and started to relax. “I don’t know what’s
going on. Nothing, really. That’s what makes this whole thing sort of
ridiculous.”
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“Uh-huh,” Louise said, taking food from the refrigerator and pans
from underneath the sleek counter. “But you’re here, so why don’t you
start with what got you here.”
“I just got back from a detail. It was a little crazy. One of my team
members got into trouble.” Just saying that much made her faintly sick.
The recurring image of Wes sinking deeper into the water came back
sharp and clear. Adrenaline surged through her blood and a coppery
taste filled her mouth.
Louise glanced over her shoulder and paused in her food prep.
“You sound like it was really bad. I’m sorry.”
Evyn sucked in a breath. “She’s fine now. It was just tense there
for a couple of minutes. That sort of thing happens. It’s part of the
job.”“I guess it probably is. I got the sense you never really wanted to
talk about it, so I never pressed. If you want to tell me more—”
“Sorry. I guess I’ve never really shared much of anything.”
“And I never asked you to. So we’re okay on that score. Go
ahead—you just got back from a tough assignment. And?”
“And there’s this woman…”
Louise smiled. “Isn’t there always? Sometimes they really turn
your head around, don’t they?”
Evyn laughed. “You’d think I was new at this.”
Louise regarded her thoughtfully. “Maybe you are?”
“I think you might be right.” Where Wes was concerned, she sure
felt like a first-timer. All hormones and insanity and hungry for more of
everything. She’d kept praying Wes would lean back into the cab and
kiss her good night. Yeah, right. Nuts. “Anyhow, that’s kind of what
this is about. This woman I’m not really involved with—not that way,
I mean.”
“I think I almost understand. You need to think about some
things.”
“Yeah—I’m sorry.”
“I know. Me too—but it’s okay. Really.” Louise pointed a wooden
spatula at the vegetables piled on the cutting board. “So—will you
stay?”“Yeah. I’m starved. And thanks.”
Louise put the utensils down, motioned Evyn closer, and kissed
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Evyn’s cheek. “You’re welcome. I like friends with benefits, but friends
without benefits is okay too.”
“That’s good to know. Thanks.” Evyn wasn’t sure what she’d just
done or why, but it felt right. It felt almost as good as the night she’d
spent with Wes, which felt more than right. And she had no idea what
to do about that.
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chapter twenty-five
You need plants,” Doris Masters said, standing with her hands
on her hips in the center of the small galley kitchen, surveying
the adjacent living area. She pointed to the bay windows overlooking
Nineteenth Street. “That window seat gets enough sunlight. A planter
or two right there—”
“Mom,” Wes said, “I kill plants.” Behind her, Denny snickered
and mumbled something about understatement.
Giving the impersonal apartment a 360-degree glance, Doris said,
“A cat would be good.”
“You have to feed cats,” Wes said.
Her mother pointed a finger at her. “That’s why your plants die.”
“Better plants than a cat,” Wes muttered. Her mother smiled, but
Wes could tell by the glint in her ocean-green eyes she wasn’t finished.
Looking a decade younger than her age, with the same green eyes and
brown hair shot through with burnished gold, she could have been
Wes’s older sister—and was sometimes mistaken for one of the sibs
when they were all out together. Wes hadn’t known Denny and her
mother were coming, but when they had shown up a few minutes after
the delivery truck brought her belongings from Maryland, she’d been
glad for more than the help. Their bright, sure love helped chase away
the shadows that plagued her. She’d slept poorly since the night she’d
spent with Evyn. The hotel bed was big and empty and cold, and every
morning she awoke lonely. She went through the days, splitting her
time between exercises with PPD and clinic duties, with an empty ache
inside. Evyn was friendly but reserved, and Wes didn’t think it was an
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accident they hadn’t been alone together since their return from Kitty
Hawk. Evyn was avoiding her.
“Wesley,” her mother said, “this isn’t a temporary billet. You’re
going to live here for the next few years, and it shouldn’t look like a
hotel room.”
Denny finally cut in and saved her. “Mama, give her a break. She
didn’t invite us down here to help, after all, and—”
“Mother’s prerogative.” Doris perched on the wooden arm of the
tan canvas sofa. “We’ll miss you at Christmas.”
Wes sat next to her mother and took her hand. “I know, I’m sorry.
I’d be there if I could.”
“We’ll miss you,” her mother repeated, “and we’re so very proud
of you. Your other sisters wanted to be sure you knew that.”
“I know. I love you. All of you.”
Denny flopped down beside her and bumped her knee against
Wes’s. “So—on the personal front—”
Wes groaned. “Come on, Denny. Don’t start.”
Doris stroked the back of Wes’s head and feathered the locks along
the back of her neck, as if she were still ten. “There’s more to life than
work, Wesley.”
“And there’s lots of life ahead, Mom. I’m fine. Just really busy
right now.”
“Yeah,” Denny said softly, “but are you happy?”
Wes hadn’t expected the question and hesitated before she
answered. Getting the third degree from her family about her personal
life wasn’t unusual, but after she shrugged off their good-natured
queries with some standard answer, the conversation usually moved on.
This time, the questions felt different, or maybe she was the one who
was different. She didn’t have a pat response, and the old explanations
rang false, even to her. “I don’t know. I’ve never given it much thought.
My work makes me happy—”
“Satisfaction isn’t happiness,” Doris said.
“No, maybe not,” Wes said, “but it’s always been enough.”
“Things change, you know,” Denny said. “Don’t miss the chance
for more than satisfaction if it comes along.”
“Okay, enough. Message received.” Wes squeezed Denny’s hand,
kissed her mother’s cheek, and stood. “You’ve got a two-hour drive and
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I’ve got a ton of things to do.” At her mother’s frown she added quickly,
