Radclyffe - Oath of Honor
She reread the transcribed message. Even without the audio to
accent the innuendo, Jennifer sounded like she was coming on to Wes.
The idea of Jennifer so much as touching Wes made her want to kick
down the town house door. She wasn’t jealous—she was furious.
Jennifer was a terrorist, and she’d do anything to achieve her goals—
sleep with Len O’Shaughnessy, seduce Wes, maybe even get rid of
someone she perceived as an obstacle to her mission. Right now, that
obstacle looked a lot like Wes.
“Can you tell where they are?” Evyn asked, her voice sounding
loud above the low steady hum of electronics.
Block said, “Huh?” and lifted the headphones from one ear.
Evyn gritted her teeth. “Can you tell where they are in the
building?”
“The GPS on the transmitter is pretty specific. With the blueprints
we have as reference, I can place them pretty close.” He dropped
the headphones back in place. “Looks like they’re still in the living
room.”
The living room. Good. The front door led directly into the living
room, so if Wes got into trouble at least Evyn could be inside in under
a minute. A lot could happen in a minute.
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Her phone rang, and she grabbed it off the narrow counter bolted
to the sidewall of the van. “Daniels.”
“It definitely sounds like a meet,” Cam said. “From what we
can get of the caller’s voice off the enhanced audio, definitely male.
Doesn’t fit the scenario unless Jones handed off the stolen specimen to
an intermediary.”
“That would be a reasonable plan,” Evyn said. “That way, Jones
protects her identity and there’s no link between her and the person
releasing the virus.”
“Except in this case, there is. Which may be exactly why they’re
using an intermediary. Could be they’ve been seen together before or
fear that some other connection might come to light.”
“I’ll buy that. So who’s the intermediary?”
“No fix on that yet,” Cam said. “And we don’t know how many
other intermediaries might be involved. Whoever’s funding this is
probably many degrees removed.”
“Invisible,” Evyn muttered.
“Unfortunately, yes. For now, our job is intercepting the virus.”
“What about Wes—Captain Masters. If Pattee gets suspicious—”
“Doubtful she’d attempt anything tonight—if Pattee was involved
in O’Shaughnessy’s death, she had to have planned it in advance.
The captain ought to be safe tonight, but stick with her until she gets
home.”
“Looks like they’re staying in for the rest of the evening.”
“Good—that makes it less likely Pattee will pick up on our
surveillance. Let me know if anything changes.”
“Roger that.” Evyn couldn’t find anything very good about the
idea of Wes being alone with Jennifer Pattee for the rest of the evening.
Wes had proved she could handle herself in tight situations, only Evyn
wished she didn’t have to prove it in this one. She totally trusted Wes—
she just didn’t trust Jennifer Pattee.
“Got a car approaching…slowing…” Block sat forward and
adjusted the video monitor. “He’s parking right across the street from
Pattee’s town house.”
“Food delivery?”
“Looks that way.”
“Can you shoot a still remotely?”
Block fiddled with some buttons. “Ought to be able to.”
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“Good. Get me a shot of him and let’s run it.” Evyn tossed her
cell back on the counter and silently sent a message to Wes, urging
her to leave as soon as she could. She’d done her job—more than her
job—and now it was time to let Evyn and the others shoulder the risk.
Somehow, she knew if Wes received her plea, she’d ignore it. Wes
didn’t run, ever.
v
Wes caught the Metro as she’d been instructed and got off at the
stop closest to her apartment. She let herself in and turned on the lamp
just inside the door. She was transported back to the last time she’d
walked in late at night. Evyn had been with her then—moving into her,
kissing her, taking her. Wes shuddered, her skin slick with nerves and
heat. She pulled off her coat and tossed it over the back of the sofa. Her
blazer followed, and she dropped that on the breakfast bar on her way
to get a beer from the fridge. She didn’t bother to turn on any more
lights. She just waited.
Ten minutes later a knock came on the door and she opened it
quickly.
Evyn strode in. “Are you okay?”
“Did you get everything?” Wes asked.
“They’re working on the audio now, but you did good. How do
you feel?”
Wes pointed to the beer she’d opened and left untouched on the
breakfast counter. “Like I can’t wait to get back to the clinic. How the
hell do you do this on a regular basis?”
Evyn laughed softly. “I don’t. I’m protection, remember?”
“Yes, but you’ve been in the field too.”
“I never did much undercover.” Evyn slid her hand around Wes’s
waist and tapped the transmitter. “Come on, let’s get this thing off you.
We need to debrief—get your impressions. We can only get so much
from the audio.”
“Why did Roberts want me to come back here instead of reporting
directly to her at the White House?” Wes unbuttoned her shirt and
pulled her tank up. “Do you really think someone might’ve followed
me from Jennifer’s?”
“No sense taking a chance. This way, to anyone watching, you
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finished your date and went home. Anyone following would assume
you were in for the night.”
“Hell of a date,” Wes muttered.
Evyn carefully loosened the adhesive and removed the transmitter.
“What’s your impression?”
Wes sat on one of the bar stools facing out into the living room
and propped her elbows on the counter behind her. “She sent a lot of
mixed signals. She might have been trying to seduce me, but she was
also trolling for information.”
“What kind of information?”
“Mostly about Len. She’s a medical person. Sudden death is
something we’re familiar with. But she pushed a little bit where he was
concerned—maybe trying to see if we suspected foul play.”
“That makes sense if she was party to his death.”
“But why would she have wanted to get rid of him? Someone
would take his place—if not someone from the outside like me, one of
the other docs from the inside.”
“My working theory,” Evyn said, securing the transmitter in her
jacket pocket, “is that Len started to suspect her. Maybe he overheard
something. We’ll probably never know, but for some reason, they
wanted him out of the way.”
“Then I’m no threat.”
“Not unless she thinks you suspect something too,” Evyn said
quietly. “When you’ve killed once, it gets easier—at least for some
people.”
Evyn’s eyes were cloudy, troubled. Wes took her hand and pulled
her closer. “What’s wrong?”
“Sitting in that van listening to you with her—knowing you were
too far away for me to get you…” Evyn cupped Wes’s face and kissed
her. “Made me crazy.”
Wes’s pulse soared. Her whole life had been geared toward taking
care of others—she’d learned to be self-sufficient, learned to stand
alone. She’d never been so critically important to anyone before. Evyn
made her feel like she mattered—right now, in this moment—more
than anything else in Evyn’s world. She looped her arms around Evyn’s
waist and pulled her in tight between her thighs. “I’m sorry if it was
hard for you.”
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Oath Of hOnOr
Evyn rested her forehead against Wes’s. “I knew you could handle
yourself—don’t get me wrong.”
“I think we both know we can do our jobs, no matter what.”
“I do. I believe that. But part of me, the part I shoved away a long
time ago so I could focus on getting where I wanted to get, that part was
just a little bit scared.”
“I suppose every time you’re away, in potential danger, I’ll be a
little bit scared too.” Wes kissed her. “But I’ll be damn proud too.”
“Wes,” Evyn murmured, sliding her mouth over Wes’s, kissing
her throat. “I should tell you—”
“Yes?” Wes arched her neck, gave more of herself to Evyn’s
mouth. “What?”
Evyn groaned, her hands trembling on Wes’s shoulders. “I’m
falling in love with you.”
Wes slipped her fingers into Evyn’s hair, drawing her mouth tighter
to her skin, wanting the heat of Evyn’s mouth searing her flesh. “I’m so
glad. Because I’m in love with you.”
Evyn shuddered. “I’m not making love to you again until we’re
in a bed.”
“I don’t have plants or a cat,” Wes whispered, “but I’ve got clean
sheets.”
• 251 •
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chapter thirty-One
Cam turned the bathroom light off before she opened the door
and walked quietly back into the bedroom. The room was
filled with a soft gray haze marking the transition between moonlight
and sunrise, that in-between time when night was all but gone and the
day not yet born—when reality dispelled the last lingering dreams.
She found the clothes she’d left out the night before and pulled on
underwear, pants, and a shirt. She slid her ID into her back pocket and
clipped her badge to her belt on her right hip next to her holster. Sheets
rustled behind her and she turned as Blair sat up in bed. “Been awake
long?”“A few minutes,” Blair said. “I like watching you dress almost as
much as I like watching you undress.”
Laughing, Cam sat on the side of the bed and stroked Blair’s leg
through the sheets. Blair was wearing another one of her old T-shirts—
this one with JJRTC stenciled across the chest. A few holes peppered
the front—spots she’d snagged running through the woods on one of
her training exercises. She leaned down and kissed Blair. “It’s pretty
early yet. Are you going to stay up?”
“I’ve gotten spoiled these last few weeks, having you around.
Knowing you weren’t going to be out in the field.”
“I need to be there for this.” Cam settled on the bed, swung around
until her back was against the headboard, and settled Blair against her
side. She kissed her temple. In her new job with Homeland Security,
she was riding a desk most of the time. She was a hands-on supervisor,
though, and sometimes she needed to be in the field. “Your father’s
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safety is our number one priority, but this kind of incident has the
potential to terrify the nation. We’ll stop it—I promise. But media
containment is almost as vital.”
Blair nodded. “I know. Which is why you’re leading the team
yourself and limiting the number of people who know the details.”
“Yes.” She’d put agents from the Washington field office on
Jennifer Pattee the night before after Daniels and Block left to
follow Captain Masters home. The other agents only knew they were
maintaining surveillance on a person of interest and didn’t need to
know more. The intercept this morning had to be carried out by a
small, select team in the know, and she needed to be there to assure the
details of the plan weren’t made public. Knowledge of a threat could
be almost as dangerous as the event itself.
“I’m not even going to ask how dangerous you think this might
be,” Blair said, running her fingers over the buttons on Cam’s shirt.
“I already know. And I understand why you have to do this. Just be
careful.”
“I will be. I’ll call you as soon as I can, but it might be a while.”
Blair rubbed her cheek on Cam’s shoulder. “Don’t worry about
me. Just do your job and remember, part of your job is coming back to
me.” “I won’t forget.” Cam kissed her. “It’s the best assignment I’ve
ever had.”
v
Wes judged the time to be nearing 0430. They’d need to leave soon
so Evyn could meet up with the intercept team and she could join the
surveillance team and provide medical containment if necessary. She’d
be in a van somewhere, safely observing. Evyn would be in the hot zone.
The virus, if released, would be as lethal as a bullet, although not quite
as rapid. The diner was a public place—and the agents’ body armor
would be no protection at all. She had nothing other than supportive
measures to counteract its destructive potential—no vaccine, no drugs.
Exposure could be a death sentence.
Evyn slept with her head on Wes’s shoulder. She fit into the curve
of Wes’s body as if she’d always been there. Wes stroked the slope of
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Evyn’s shoulder. Her skin was soft, warm. Her breasts were firm and
full, nestling against hers in a sensuous embrace. The brush of Evyn’s
nipple over her breast teased her clit, and she tensed with a sharp thrum
of arousal. She tightened her grip on Evyn’s shoulder and held her
closer.Evyn murmured and shifted above her, easing her leg between
Wes’s thighs. Her pelvis rocked into Wes’s and the tight knot of need
between Wes’s thighs grew. She’d come hard the night before—the first
time when Evyn had taken her with her mouth, then more slowly as
Evyn had stroked her, and now she was ready again. Cupping Evyn’s
ass in her palm, she guided Evyn’s leg to the place she needed her.
“I like waking up with you,” Evyn whispered, her lips against
Wes’s throat. She kissed her way up and tugged lightly on her earlobe.
The tiny points of pain sent pleasure streaking down Wes’s spine.
She raised her hips so her clitoris rubbed against Evyn’s thigh. “I like
sleeping with you. I like waking up with you. I like everything about
