Oath of Honor

couldn’t imagine that Cam didn’t know how much her love meant to

her. How precious it was. How she woke up every morning a little bit

in awe of how her life had changed, of how much more there was to

cherish than she had ever imagined. If she had failed to let Cam know

that, she’d failed the most important challenge of her life. “I know you

love me. Your love means every—”

“That’s not what I’m talking about.” Cam lifted Blair’s hand to

her mouth, brushed her lips over the top of Blair’s hand.

Her lips were warm, reminding Blair that she often didn’t know

she was cold until Cam’s touch warmed her deeper than flesh. “Then

what?”

“I won’t do anything to destroy what we have, not even for my

country. I took the job with Homeland Security because I thought I

could make a difference there, that I could contribute something. But

there was another reason—a more personal one.” Cam smiled. “You.

I know how pissed you’d be if I stayed on protection and put myself

between a bullet and a protectee. I really hate it when you’re pissed at

me.” “Are you angry at me because I don’t want you to die for someone

else?”“No.” Cam faced ahead, her expression growing remote, and Blair

knew she was looking back. Maybe as far back as her father’s death,

when she’d watched him die and hadn’t been able to stop it. She wished

she could go back to that time, to hold the twelve-year-old Cam, to

comfort her as she’d never quite been able to comfort the adult woman

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she loved. But as much as she wished for that, she couldn’t go back in

time and erase the pain and abolish the disappointment. She could only

go forward and love, and hope it made a difference.

“I’m a lot more selfish than you,” Blair said. “I don’t mind

admitting I’m glad you’re not doing protection anymore. I don’t want

to lose you. Couldn’t bear to lose you.”

“You know it’s one in a—”

“Yes,” Blair said sharply, “I know it’s one in a million. And you

know, if you’re the one, that million doesn’t matter.”

Cam laughed softly. “We’ve been down this road before, and we

don’t need to re-travel it.”

Blair sighed. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to ruin our time together.”

“Baby,” Cam murmured, releasing Blair’s hand and sliding her

arm around her shoulders, drawing her close. “Nothing can ruin our

time together. Are you worried about your father?”

Blair rested her cheek against Cam’s shoulder. “Yes. It’s hard,

wanting him to be safe and not wanting you to be the one responsible

for it.”“I’m not. That’s Tom’s job, and the rest of your father’s detail.

That’s a big reason why I’m not doing protection anymore. I don’t

want you to have to choose between your father’s safety or your own,

and mine. I get that. But what Luce asked me to do isn’t the same

thing. I won’t be primarily protection.” Cam stopped, put her arms

around Blair’s waist, and kissed her softly. “All I’m going to do is tag

along, keep my eyes and ears open, try to find out who has access to

the information that’s getting out. I’m looking for leaks, holes in the

security network, I’m not doing security. You don’t have to choose

between us, Blair. I would never do that to you.”

“I’m sorry,” Blair said softly. “I know, I do, really.”

“I know you’re worried about your father. Nothing’s going to

happen to him. He’s got the best people in the world around him. He’ll

be fine, so will we.”

Blair threaded her arms around Cam’s neck and kissed her. Her

protective detail was somewhere nearby, pretending not to watch them

while keeping them in sight, pretending they didn’t see their private

moments, while seeing everything in their path. Right now, she was

more grateful for those agents than she’d ever been. Where she’d

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Oath Of hOnOr

once thought they imprisoned her, she now understood they gave her

freedom. “Sometimes, I feel like a selfish shit.”

“Nothing could be further from the truth. You know what I think?”

Cam said.

“What?”

“I think we should go back to DC a little bit earlier than we’d

planned. Weather reports say another big storm is moving up the coast.

We won’t have to worry about flights if we leave tomorrow.”

“You’re sure? I mean, it’s our honeymoon, sort of.”

“We can have a sort of honeymoon in DC. I’m not sleeping at the

White House, though.”

“Oh, really? And I so love being there with the press corps, and

the valets, and the officers in the halls.”

Cam grasped Blair’s hand and resumed walking. “I’m sorry, baby.

There are some things I just can’t give you.”

Laughing, Blair fell into step. “That’s okay, darling. I still adore

you.”

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chapter seventeen

Cord hadn’t been kidding when she’d said there would be

currents. Wes was a strong swimmer, but in a wetsuit and

gear, pulling an inert body through the water against the swirling tides

that wanted to drag her under took all her strength and concentration.

The instructor assigned to play POTUS wasn’t as big as Gary, but he