Oath of Honor

When Wes had shifted the conversation to safe ground and the subject

of business, she’d instantly missed their brief but unexpectedly intense

connection.

Evyn’s slip when Chang was mentioned made it pretty clear she

didn’t think Wes was the right person for her new job. Ordinarily Wes

didn’t concern herself with what anyone other than her commanding

officers felt about her and her performance, but it bothered her that

Evyn didn’t believe she had earned the post. What Evyn thought

mattered, personally and professionally, so she was going to have to

prove to Evyn she was capable of the job. After all these years, she’d

thought she was past that. She hadn’t needed or wanted to prove herself

to anyone in a long time.

The day had been full of surprises, mostly unwelcome ones. She

hadn’t felt so displaced since she’d left home for the Naval Academy

and had been cut loose from her strongest support system as abruptly as

• 44 •

Oath Of hOnOr

a blade across her throat. At first, she’d missed her mother’s unwavering

belief in her and her sisters’ humor so much she’d thought she might

break. She hadn’t broken. She’d reached inside herself and found their

voices alive and strong in her heart. She’d adapted, she’d adjusted, and

she’d triumphed. Now she was back in unknown waters, with no place

to live, a new command, and, apparently, the need to prove herself to

Evyn Daniels.

v

Evyn’s push was waiting at the House when the motorcade from

Andrews pulled into the south drive. Tom had texted they’d debrief in

the morning. As soon as POTUS was on his way into the residence,

she was done. She headed toward the west gate and the Ellipse where

she’d parked her car. Up ahead, she recognized Masters walking toward

Pennsylvania Avenue. She hesitated, giving her time to get ahead of

her. In the next second, she sped up, refusing to think about why.

“Hey,” Evyn called, catching up to Wes at the corner. “You need

a ride?”

Masters looked at her, clearly surprised, making Evyn feel like a

bigger jerk for even thinking about leaving her to fend for herself in the

middle of the night. But Wes made her so damn uncomfortable—she

didn’t know what she was doing. “I’ve got a car.” Now there was a

fairly brainless statement. “Let me take you.”

“Thanks,” Masters said. “I’m okay. I’ll grab a cab. I’m just going

across town to a hotel.”

“It’s almost twenty-three thirty, Captain. Not a great time of night

to get a cab in this part of town, and definitely no time to be out and

about alone.”

Masters laughed. “It’s Wes, remember? Do you think I need

protection?”

Glad for the cover of dark to hide the flush that heated her cheeks,

Evyn said, “I’m positive you don’t. But I can’t see any reason for you

to freeze your ass off out here.”

“It’s twenty-five degrees,” Wes pointed out. “Not that cold.”

Evyn snorted and watched her breath frost in the air. Obviously,

Wes was from somewhere north of the Mason-Dixon Line. “It’s about

fifty degrees colder than I like it.”

• 45 •

RADCLYfFE

Wes laughed harder, a deep, mellow sound that warmed Evyn’s

stomach in a totally unexpected and not unwelcome way.

“What are you doing up here, if you hate the winter so much?”

Wes asked.

Evyn jammed her hands into the pockets of her coat. The

conversation was verging on the personal, and she was out of her

element in more ways than the weather. She didn’t even talk about this

sort of thing when she was trying to connect with a woman for the

night. And this was twice in one day with Wes. She shrugged. “This is

the detail I wanted, so the weather is part of the job.”

“The president is something of a skier too, isn’t he?”

“POTUS, his daughter—regular snow bunnies. It’s unnatural.”

God, she hated those ski trips, not that she’d ever let on.

“Obviously, you love your job.”

“Yeah,” Evyn said, meaning it, but Wes didn’t need to know that.

Wes didn’t need to know anything at all about her. Time to shut down

the information highway.

“Are you hungry?” Wes asked.

“Uh—yeah, for me, it’s dinnertime.”

“Well, I left my quarters at zero six hundred this morning, and the

only thing I’ve had all day is coffee and little things that look like food

but are really just a tease.”

Evyn grinned. “Hors d’oeuvres. I don’t even think they count as

food.”“How about dinner somewhere, then?”

“I could eat.” Evyn had the sudden sensation she was walking

into a landmine, but Wes was just smiling at her. Friendly. Just a simple

meal between coworkers. Safe enough. “Okay. Sure.”

“Good. You know the area. You pick the place, Agent.”

“It’s Evyn.”

“Okay. Evyn.”

“Come on, I can’t feel my feet.” Evyn led the way to her ’57

T-Bird, keying the alarm as they approached.

“Nice car,” Wes said.

“The last of the classic design. I inherited it from my older

brother.”

Wes shot her a concerned look.

• 46 •

Oath Of hOnOr

“Not that way—Aaron is fine. He just decided the T-Bird wasn’t

dignified enough for a feeb.”

“He’s FBI?”