06. Honor Under Siege - Неизвестный

“Yes. I’ve got some calls to make. I should let my gallery manager know how long I’ll be away.”

“Tell her three weeks for now.” Cam rested her hand lightly on Blair’s shoulder. The contact felt good. She had missed her the previous night, missed the way holding her through the night rejuvenated her.

Diane nodded. “All right, but I can’t be away any longer than that.

Sooner or later, I have to go back to my life.”

“I understand.”

“Will I be able to call or give them a number where they can reach me?” Diane asked.

“Everyone will have temporary cells by tonight. Once we reach Whitley Point you can call them.”

“Thank you.” Diane squared her shoulders. “You two go ahead. I’m fine.”

Blair slid her arm around Cam’s waist. “Come on, darling. Better fill me in on what’s going on.”

“Let me get this straight.” Blair leaned against the dresser in the bedroom watching Cam pack this time. “I’m being spirited away to Whitley Point surrounded by armed guards, while you drive for twelve hours out in the open where anyone could follow you.”

“We’re not going to be followed.”

“Then why can’t I come with you?”

Cam passed Blair the extra suitcase. “You need to take anything?”

Blair dropped it on the bed. “Yes. I’ll pack in a minute. Why can’t I go with you?”

“If anyone is watching us they’ll have a hard time following two separate groups. It buys us time.”

“Bull. You don’t want me with you in case someone comes after you again. In case someone…” Blair stalked across the room and pulled the shirt Cam was folding from her grasp. “Someone tried to kill you last night. And you think they might try again, don’t you?”

“Blair—”

“Don’t lie to me.”

Cam cradled Blair’s face between her hands and kissed her softly. “I won’t. You know that.”

“That’s what you think, isn’t it?”

“It’s a consideration, especially in light of my past relationship with Valerie. Matheson might suspect that she would come to me and that I might be able to bring her in. If someone wants to prevent that, getting me out of the way is the logical step.”

Blair forced herself to keep her expression neutral, even though the calm way that Cam discussed why someone would want to kill her chilled her to the core. If she wanted Cam to tell her the truth, she had to be able to handle the truth. No matter how much it terrified her. “Did you tell Valerie where we’re going?”

“No, but she has a number to call me.” She lowered her hands to Blair’s shoulders and rubbed them softly. “I’ll be okay. I’ve got good people with me and I know what I’m doing.”

“Do you think Valerie will call?”

Cam sighed. “I don’t know. When it comes right down to it, her training may win out. And she’s been indoctrinated not to trust anyone.”

“I don’t like us being separated.”

“Neither do I, but it’s only for a few hours. I’ll be there tonight, and we’ll wake up together tomorrow.”

Blair closed her eyes and wrapped her arms around Cam’s waist. “You didn’t sleep all night. You’re hurt and tired. You’re not at your best, Cam, and you need to be.”

“Savard and Davis will be with me. They’ll do the driving. I’ll sleep.”

Blair rubbed her cheek against Cam’s shoulder. “I don’t want other women taking care of you.”

Cam laughed. “I think I’ll be safe with them.”

“What about the thing Saturday night I’m supposed to do for Lucinda?”

“I don’t like it,” Cam said, “but we all agree we can’t keep you completely out of the public eye. Lucinda is arranging for a suite of rooms at the Copley for us and the rest of the team for the weekend. I’ll be your escort, and Savard will accompany Diane.”

“Oh, Stark’s going to love that.”

Cam grinned. “It’s all in the line of duty.”

Blair leaned back, a glint in her eyes. “Is it, now? Then you’d better pack something besides work clothes. Like a tux.”

“That’s what rental places are for.”

“And you better make sure you sleep in the car,” Blair murmured, running her fingers along Cam’s collarbone and down over her chest. “I missed you last night.”

“Me too.”

“What about your hip and shoulder?”

“I’m stiff and sore, but functional.” Cam kissed Blair, taking her time, because it would be hours before they saw each other again and despite her words of confidence to Blair, she knew that anything could happen in the interim. “Besides, massage therapy will be good for them.”

“Then I’ll put you on my schedule for the morning.”

“I’ll be there.”

Blair held her tightly, unable to imagine any other possibility.

Chapter Thirteen

“Paula,” Blair said with quiet intensity, just the slightest bit of edge in her voice.

“Yes?” Stark said solemnly.

“If you had a round robin, why didn’t you bid more?”

Diane snorted and, despite the fact that it had been dark for over three hours and it was impossible to see the beach, Wozinski seemed to find something fascinating happening out the window. Stark hastily squinted at her cheat sheet, obviously at a loss.

“A king and queen in every suit. I would’ve taken the bid if I’d known you had that much meld,” Blair said.

“I didn’t see it,” Stark said bleakly. “I was so excited about the pinochle—”

“Never mind. It doesn’t matter.” Blair abruptly pushed back her chair, strode across the kitchen, and slammed out the door.

The room was silent for a moment and then Diane rose. “It’s freezing out there. She doesn’t have a jacket.”

Wozinski glanced at Stark. “Should I go with her, Chief? I can take her jacket.”

Stark shook her head. “Hara is out back and Tanner stationed a team in a vehicle on the street. She’s covered.”

“I’ll take her jacket,” Diane said, patting Wozinski’s shoulder as she passed behind his chair. “But thank you.”

“Yes ma’am.” Wozinski flushed. “Pleasure.”

It took less than thirty seconds for Diane to reach the back deck after grabbing Blair’s jacket, but she saw only a single figure standing at the railing, facing toward the ocean—shorter than either herself or Blair by several inches and more slender than Stark. Hara. Not Blair. For an instant, her heart twisted with an overriding sense of dread, as if Blair too had walked out the door and simply vanished. Just like the morning she had awakened in the guesthouse in a still room beneath a silent dawn and realized that Valerie had disappeared while she’d slept. “Where’s Blair?”

Hara did not turn, and even in the darkness, Diane knew that she was watching Blair. The cloud cover was so dense even the light from the full moon barely penetrated the inky sky.

“Sitting on top of a dune, fifteen yards down the path and ten feet off to the right.”

“It feels like thirty degrees out here, and you just let her go?” Diane snapped.

“Thirty-eight degrees.”

“Never mind,” Diane muttered, hurrying down the stairs to the path. A minute later she knelt beside Blair. “Put your jacket on.”

“Thanks,” Blair said, shrugging into it. “You don’t need to stay.”

With a sigh, Diane shifted around to sit facing the same direction as Blair and leaned against her. When Blair wrapped an arm around her, she snuggled closer and lightly rested her head on Blair’s shoulder. “Couldn’t you brood inside where we can have a fire?”

“It’s a lot harder to do if you’re comfortable.” Blair pressed her cheek to Diane’s hair. “Do you have any idea how much I hate waiting here, safe and sound and protected by armed guards, while Cam is out there somewhere with people who want to kill her?”

“I think I know,” Diane whispered.

“Oh, honey, I’m sorry,” Blair said. “Of course you do.”

“Renée called Paula with an update,” Diane pointed out gently. “She said everything was fine and that Cam was resting.”

“I know.” Blair sighed. “But that was three hours ago and they’re not due here for another four at least. Anything can happen.” She reached beside her and dug her fingers into the cold sand. “I just want to be able to protect her the way she protects me.”

“I bet you already do.”

Blair laughed harshly. “Hardly. Since everyone thinks I’m so important, I seem to be the one destined to wait, just like tonight.”

“You are important—”

“I’m no more important than Cam or you or Stark or any of the others.”

Diane wrapped both arms around Blair’s waist and hugged her. “You, Blair Powell, may not be more important than the rest of us, although I happen to think you’re pretty special and I’m sure Cam does too, but it’s not about Blair Powell.”

“No, it’s about the first daughter.”

“Yes. And I imagine that makes it all the harder.”

“There’s a reason you’re my best friend, you know,” Blair said softly.

“Besides the fact that I’m smart, beautiful, and well-connected in the art world?”

“Those are definite pluses, but you might be the only person other than Tanner who’s ever understood that having a famous father mostly just sucks.”

“Yes, I never did think living in a mansion was all that cool when it came with a bunch of state troopers hanging out on the front porch.” Diane tried not to shiver from the cold. She sensed Blair’s mood beginning to lighten and wanted to keep her talking. “Tanner could relate, because she had to put up with a lot of the same thing. Not the bodyguards and everything, but having a lot expected of her because of who her father was.”

“Mmm,” Blair said, patting the sand she’d squeezed into a hard ball back into the ground. “Tanner understands. But she’s not a girl, like you are. It’s not the same.”

“You mean you wouldn’t snuggle with Tanner in the dark?” Diane teased.

“Snuggling is not what I had in mind with Tanner. Definitely not when we were teenagers.” Blair thought back to how wild and drop-dead sexy Tanner had been then. “And I don’t think I would, even now. After all, I’ve had a lot more practice resisting you.”

“Thanks, I think.” Diane kissed Blair’s cheek. “We have to go inside, sweetie. I’ve officially frozen my ass off.”

Blair reached for Diane’s hand as they rose. “Thanks for coming out to get me and just for…getting it.”

“Cam’s going to be okay,” Diane said gently. “She’s amazingly good at what she does, and besides, Felicia and Renée are with her.”

“I know.” As they started back toward the house, Blair added, “Cam’s going to figure out a way to help Valerie, too.”

“That’s what I keep telling myself. I have to believe it, because I can’t stand to think of anything else.”

“Sometimes it’s better not to think.” Blair stiffened. “Did you hear a car door slam just then?” She hurried up the stairs, tugging Diane behind her, and rushed past Hara into the kitchen. The room was empty. She raced toward the front of the house, Diane right behind her. “Paula, is someone here? Is Cam…oh my God!”

Blair skidded to a halt, barely stopping herself from throwing her arms around a beaming Mac Phillips. He was unnaturally pale, and whereas he’d always been slim and muscular, now he was simply thin. But his gaunt face was still handsome and his blue eyes bright and mercifully pain-free. She hadn’t seen him for several weeks, and he had still been in the rehab center then, recovering from the gunshot wound that he had sustained while protecting her during the attack on the Aerie. “Oh my God. What are you doing here?”

Mac clasped Blair’s hand, half shaking it, half holding it. “I got a call late this morning from the commander to pack my bags, and I’d barely finished when a Humvee with two of Tanner’s people showed up, and…here I am.”

“Did you know about this?” Blair asked Paula.

“No.” Paula tried to look serious and in-charge, but she couldn’t help grinning at their old team member. “Apparently it was arranged after we left DC.” She carefully clasped Mac’s shoulder. “How are you doing?”

“A hell of a lot better than I was yesterday. I’m officially cleared for light duty starting next week, but I’ve been sitting around all this week doing nothing but going crazy.” He reached down for his suitcase but Wozinski grabbed it first.

“I have that, sir.”

Mac raised an eyebrow. “Jesus, Greg. I’m not your boss.”

Greg’s face was totally serious. “No sir. Anything you need, just let me know, sir.”

Mac looked perplexed, but Blair understood. Mac had almost died trying to save her, and when an agent was willing to make the ultimate sacrifice, other agents considered them heroes. The same thing had happened to Cam when Cam had been shot in the line of duty, and Cam was just as uncomfortable with the adulation as Mac seemed to be. Blair hooked her arm through Mac’s and gave him a little hug. “Does Felicia know you’re coming?”

“I’m not sure,” Mac said, blushing and looking even more handsome. “She told me about her new posting with the commander.” He met Paula’s gaze. “And Renée’s.”

Paula nodded, realizing that they had more in common than ever. She and Mac were all that remained of the original team. They’d been together before the commander took over, and now they were the veterans. And they shared something else, something almost more critical…the women they loved were both part of the commander’s OHS team. Renée and Felicia were involved in something potentially more dangerous than any of them had ever experienced. She squared her shoulders. “She’s really happy about it, and I think it’s exactly where she belongs.”

“Yeah.” Mac nodded. “Felicia too.”

“Come on back to the kitchen,” Blair said. “Are you hungry?”

“I could—” Mac broke off at the sound of footsteps on the front porch, and both he and Paula automatically stepped between Blair and the door, their shoulders touching, shielding her.

“It’s Tanner,” a voice called as a knock sounded.

Paula opened the door just enough to check outside, blocking the view into the room. After a second, she swung the door open and Tanner Whitley strode in with her characteristic saunter, a strikingly beautiful blonde in a naval uniform by her side.

“Mac,” Tanner said. “I trust the trip went all right?” Without waiting for an answer, she kissed Blair soundly on the mouth. “You look terrific.”

“You don’t look too shabby either,” Blair said, thinking that with her windblown dark hair, piercing dark eyes, and muscular build Tanner looked every inch the playgirl she had once been, rather than the head of a huge corporate conglomerate and the owner of Whitley Island. As usual, she was dressed in casual pants, an open collar shirt, and well-worn black boots. Blair smiled at the blonde who held Tanner’s hand. Adrienne was more than a decade older than Tanner, and Blair had only to see Tanner with Adrienne to know that the new peace in Tanner’s eyes was entirely due to Adrienne’s presence in her life. The gold wedding bands they wore only affirmed what was obvious from seeing them together.