Oath of Honor

“Why don’t you come over to my place for a drink after work, and

we can leave from there.”

“All right. That sounds perfect.”

Jennifer smiled that suggestive smile again. “It does, doesn’t it?

See you later.”

“Yes. Definitely.”

Jennifer left and Wes sagged back in her chair. When she was sure

Jennifer wasn’t returning, she called Cameron Roberts and reported the

conversation.

• 236 •

Oath Of hOnOr

“Report to the briefing room before your shift ends,” Cam said.

“We’ll wire you up.”

“There’s something else,” Wes said.

“Go ahead.”

Wes slid Len O’Shaughnessy’s toxicology report out from under

the file folder. Nothing had jumped out at her until she’d looked at the

tissue analysis. “Colonel O’Shaughnessy had unusually high levels of

potassium in his cardiac muscle. Enough to cause cardiac arrest.”

“Enough for us to investigate his death as a homicide?”

“Postmortem levels might vary depending on when they were

drawn—and he was given a lot of drugs during the resuscitation. This

isn’t hard evidence, I’m afraid.”

“Your opinion, then,” Cam said.

“If someone had wanted him out of the way,” Wes said, “I’d say

they succeeded.”

• 237 •

RADCLYfFE

chapter twenty-nine

Blair set her book aside when the door opened and Cam walked

into the apartment. Cam looked tired, and she never looked

tired. She always seemed to have endless energy and incredible stamina.

The only signs of fatigue were a crease between her dark brows and a

tightness around the corners of her mouth. Blair saw the stress, even

though to anyone else Cam would appear as calm and centered as

always. “Did you catch any sleep?”

“I grabbed a couple of hours in the ready room. I’m okay.” Cam

leaned over the sofa and kissed her. “Morning.”

“What’s going on?” Blair grasped Cam’s hand and pulled her

down beside her. Draping her legs over the arm of the sofa, she shifted

until her head rested in Cam’s lap. Blair tugged Cam’s shirt from her

trousers and kissed her bare abdomen. “Have you eaten?”

“Coffee and half a chocolate doughnut.”

“That’s not food.” Blair settled back, and Cam stroked her arm

beneath the edge of the threadbare USSS T-shirt of Cam’s she wore to

bed. The light touch was gentle and reassuring and exciting all at the

same time. She never realized how much she missed Cam until she

walked back in the door. The scent of her, just looking up and seeing

her nearby, filled her with comfort and a peace she’d never known

she wanted. “You’re not supposed to deal with everything alone any

longer.”

Cam sifted Blair’s hair through her fingers, soothed by the silky

softness. “I’m not. I promise.”

“But?”

“I can’t help wanting to protect you.”

• 238 •

Oath Of hOnOr

“I know that. I love you for that. But it’s a two-way street,

right?”

“Yes, it is.” Cam sighed. “I think we may be honing in on our

leak.”“Who is it?” Blair kept a tight rein on the anger blazing in the very

core of her. Disbelief and outrage stoked the flames. She wanted to

strike back—and not being able to focus her rage only fueled her fury.

Cam gave her a capsule summary of what she’d reported to

Lucinda. “If I’m right, there may be an attempted assault soon.”

Fear licked around the edges of Blair’s consciousness, but she

pushed it away. “How? When?”

“I don’t know. Guesses are all I have.”

“Your guesses have always been good.” Blair sat up and faced

Cam, her knee sliding over Cam’s thigh. She kissed her. “I know you’re

doing everything that can be done. It’s not all on you.”

Cam nodded. “I know. I’m just...things are starting to move and

I’m preoccupied. Sorry.”

“You’re also not giving me much in the way of details.”

Cam smiled softly. “Noticed that, did you?”

“Really, Cam.” Blair shook her head. “Who told you to keep me

out of the loop? Lucinda?”

A spark of humor lit Cam’s dark eyes. “I’m not at liberty to say.”

“Uh-huh. Okay. And exactly why aren’t you following Lucinda’s

orders?”

The humor disappeared but the darkness remained in Cam’s gaze.

“Because I want you to be safe, and you can’t be safe if you don’t

know what’s going on. I think Lucinda’s wrong in thinking you’ll be

safer if you’re away from the action. We don’t know what’s coming, or

where it’s coming from, and the only way to be prepared is to hone our

defenses while we work out an offensive plan.”

“Meaning?”

“If your father’s the target, and I believe he is, you should limit

your time with him.”

“That’s not going to happen. If my father’s the target, then I want

to be with him. That means more agents, more surveillance, more

protection for him.”

“That’s exactly what Lucinda wanted to avoid—both of you in the

line of fire.” Cam stroked Blair’s jaw. “She loves you, you know.”

• 239 •

RADCLYfFE

“I know. So why are you telling me anything at all?”

Cam circled the back of Blair’s neck, feathering her fingertips

through her hair. “I’m telling you because I don’t think anywhere is

safer than any other place, right now. And since you won’t abandon