Oath of Honor

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.”

• 126 •

Oath Of hOnOr

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