Radclyffe - Honor Under Siege

“No, Cam said quickly. Her voice stil became hoarse when she talked

for more than a few minutes, and swal owing was an exercise in

masochism. But she didnt want to remind Blair of the injuries shed

sustained during an armed confrontation that shed promised she wouldnt

take part in.

Abruptly, Blair stopped walking and stepped slightly away. “Why

do we constantly have to cover old ground? You know I can always tel

when youre trying to protect me from something.

Cam winced. “Sorry. Youre right. I need more practice at

disclosure.

“Apparently. Blair sighed. “I suppose we both do. Its just that the very

things I

love about you make me crazy,

too.

“Dit o. Cam laughed and then started to cough. It hurt, and she couldnt

hide it. The finger marks on her throat had faded, but the bruising

inside persisted. “Damn. The cold air is get ing to me.

“I told you not to come out here, Blair snapped. “Damn it, Cameron. She

hated

it when Cam hurt. She hated feeling helpless under any circumstances,

but it was worse when it was Cam and she couldnt do anything. She

picked up her pace. “Lets get you inside. Il make some tea or

something.

“Tea? Cam rasped, trying desperately not to laugh

again. Blairs glower could not hide her smile. “Wel

, something.

They climbed through the dunes toward the multi-level glass and wood

house where theyd been staying for the past few weeks, the two Secret

Service agents keeping pace behind them. Blair stif ened at the sight of

a woman hurrying down to meet them.

“Hi, Paula, she greeted her new chief of security. Paula Stark was an

athletic, dark haired, dark-eyed woman close to her own age. She had

proven herself capable of protecting Blair in dire circumstances more

than once, and Blair trusted her. More than that, she cared for her.

That kind of af ection probably wasnt wise; she was not supposed to

form personal at achments to her security agents. But Blair never did

anything simply because it was prudent. She spent more time with the

four members of her first team than she did with anyone else in her life,

and she couldnt help but care about them. Just the same, she

preferred not to see Paula right now. It could only mean one thing. Her

brief respite had come to an end. “Whats up?

“Your father wants to talk to you. Paula nodded to Cam.

“Commander.

“Chief, Cam said. Technical y, she wasnt the commander anymore,

since shed been replaced as Blairs chief of security by

Stark, but she couldnt seem to get any of the agents to stop cal ing her

that. She wanted to ask if there was a problem, but she was trying to

be respectful of Starks new position. Security chiefs were circumspect

by nature and rarely shared any more information than necessary

with anyone, including the protectees and their families. Especial y

with the protectees and their families.

Part of a security agents job was to make the lives of those they guarded

seem as normal as possible under the most abnormal of circumstances.

“Is my father al right? Blair asked as they reached the rear deck of the

house.

“I have no reason to think otherwise, Stark said in her of icial voice.

“Lucinda Washburn put the cal through. She said there was no urgency,

but the president would like to speak to you at your earliest

convenience.

Blair rol ed her eyes. At your earliest convenience was Lucinda-speak

for cal immediately. Lucinda Washburn was President Andrew Powel s

chief of staf , as wel as his lifelong friend and adviser. No one was

closer to him, not even Blair. Lucinda had helped him win the

governorship of Massachuset s, the vice presidency, and final y the

presidency. She was an astute politician and managed far more than

the day-to-day workings of the White House staf . If someone wanted

the ear of the president, they needed to court Lucinda Washburn first.

“Lucinda wants something. Blair glanced at Cam, who smiled rueful y.

Lucinda did not make social cal s. She also was not the presidents

secretary, which meant that she probably had an agenda of her own.

“Give me a few minutes to have a cup of cof ee, Paula, and then Il cal

her back.

“Il be in the command center. Paula kept her voice neutral and her

face expressionless. The makeshift command center was actual y part

of the first floor of the smal er guest house that sat partway between the

main house and the beach. Her scaled-down security team stayed there

when they were of shift. Right now there were only three other agents

with herGreg Wozinski, Patrice Hara, and Felicia Davis. There was

also one other inhabitant, her FBI agent lover Renée Savard, who was

recuperating from a bul et wound. She and Cam had sustained their

injuries during the same action. “Please cal me when youre ready, and

Il scramble a line for you.

Blair halted with her hand on the handle of the back door and regarded

Paula quizzical y. “Is something wrong?

“No

maam.

“Am I supposed to guess why you suddenly sound like an

android?

Paula smiled. “Sorry. I was asleep when the cal came in and I havent

had time to recharge my bat eries. Im running on auxiliary backup

packs.

“Ha ha. Come inside and have some cof ee,

then.

Paula checked in with a quick glance at Cam, who signaled for her to

fol ow them into the house.

“Im going to grab a quick shower, Cam said, heading in the direction

of the staircase leading to the second floor. “Be right down.

Blair led Paula through to the kitchen, while Patrice Hara took up a

position just inside the rear door and Greg Wozinski walked through

to the front of the house. “Hows Renée doing? she asked casual y as

she began to assemble the morning cof ee.

“Restless. Paula set led into a chair at the rectangular oak table in the

center of the room.

“Tel me about it. Blair turned on the automatic cof ee pot, put a ket le of

water on for tea, and sat down next to her. “Renée is just like

Camneither of them is happy unless theyre working. She touched

Paulas wrist lightly. “You should understand that. Youre al the same,

real y.

There had been a time when the slightest touch from Blair would have

made Paula blush. She could not believe that eight months had passed

since the few il -advised hours shed spent in the intimate company of

the first daughter. The lapse was one of a potential y career destroying

magnitude, and although she regret ed her irresponsible behavior, she

did not regret the private moments they had shared. Now, it seemed

like the interlude had taken place in another

lifetime, when she had been another woman. In the few scant months

since then, shed seen Cameron Roberts almost die, Blair narrowly

escape assassination, and the nation that the entire world had

considered unassailable become the victim of terrorism. She didnt

blush.

“I do understand. But the doctor said she needed another few days

before she could start walking, and the inactivity is wearing on her.

Blair knew the problem was more than just inactivity. Renée, along with

many of the New York based FBI and Secret Service field agents,

had been in the World Trade Center at the time the towers had

been hit. Shed seen the devastation and horror firsthand. “Its going to

take some time, Paula. Shel heal.

Paulas eyes revealed what she couldnt say. Wouldnt say, out of respect

for her lovers privacy. “I know.

“She has the one thing she needs most of al , Blair said

gently. “You.

“Oh, man, Paula said softly. “I hope thats enough. She wished she

could feel certain, but she feared that something in Renées soul had

been irreparably broken and neither time nor love would heal it.

Blair stood. “Trust me, it is. She set a mug of tea at an empty place for

Cam. “I

think right now the people we care about might be al that

matter.

“Iuhhow are you doing? Paula asked as Blair poured their cof

ees.

Everyone knew how private Blair was, and it wasnt real y her place

to ask personal questions. But since September 11, the world as they

knew it was gone and some of the old rules no longer seemed to apply.

Paula understood the necessity for viewing the subjects she protected as

critical y valuable individuals, while at the same time avoiding any

kind of personal involvement, even friendship. But theyd al been

through so much together that the usual professional detachment

seemed impossible, especial y when Blair had been the

object of a nearly successful assassination at empt in her own heavily-

fortified home. What was once considered inconceivable now fel within

the realm of the probable. It could happen again, and Paula had to see

that it didnt.

“Sometimes I stil cant believe that any of it real y happened, Blair said

quietly.

“I know. Paula took a deep breath. She was stil trying to understand her

new role as Blair s security chief and what the boundaries were. Most

of the time when she wasnt certain, she fol owed her heart. That

probably wasnt the way the commander did things, but she would never

be the commander. “We werent prepared for what happened in the

Aerie, but we wil be now. They failed, which just shows you how

good your security was, even against the unexpected. Now it wil be

even bet er because we know the game has changed.

The

game

has

changed.

Blair suppressed a shudder. Yes, the rules of engagement had

definitely changed, and she was an unwil ing player in a game

where the stakes were higher than shed ever imagined. She glanced

toward the door as Cam walked in. Her black hair was wet and slicked

back, making the sharp planes of her face stand out even more. Even

in a loose black T-shirt and blue jeans, her body looked taut and

fighting ready. Blair could tel from the set of her jaw that shed heard

the last part of the conversation; she had that intense, hard

expression she always got when the subject of Blairs vulnerability came

up.

“Im not worried. Blair said, “We have the winning

team.

Cam leaned down and brushed a kiss over her cheek, then regarded

the tea with a raised eyebrow. “Is that for me?

“Yes, Blair said with exaggerated seriousness. “And theres honey

on the counter. Put some in. It wil help your throat.

“I think cof ee wil do

fine.

“Cameron.

Blairs

eyes

glit ered

dangerously.

“But tea is probably bet er, Cam amended as she retrieved the jar of

honey. Paula watched the exchange with apparent interest, then looked

quickly away as

Cam gave her a pointed stare. She rose without finishing her cof ee. “Il

be in the

command

center.

“Wait, Paula. Blair kept her gaze on Cam, thinking how much she loved

going to sleep with her every night and waking up with her in the

morning and having her around during the day. Just being with her. Not

being guarded by her, not being worried over. Just being in her

company. But this week had been an anomaly, and they both knew it.

Softly, she said, “Ready?

Cam

nodded.

“Paula, Blair said. “I think we bet er make that

cal .

Chapter Two

I just sent a transport plane to Lexington for you. In her usual

rapid-fire fashion, Lucinda Washburn continued, “It should be there in

two hours. Come on over to the of ice when you get in.

“Hi, Luce, Blair said sarcastical y. “Hows your day

going?

“About the way theyve al been going for the last

month.

Blair was surprised by the weariness in Lucindas voice. She couldnt

remember ever seeing her tired. In fact, she wasnt certain shed ever

known Lucinda to actual y sleep. “Is everything al right?

“As al right as can be expected. A smal , impatient sigh filtered down

the phone line. “Come home. Wel talk.

Home. The White House would never feel like home to Blair, because it

wasnt, even though her father and Lucinda were there. True, she had

no other family home. Her father had sold the house she had grown up

in when her mother died. Blair was twelve at the time, and after

that she had lived in the governors mansion or whatever other

house came with her fathers political position. Lucinda had always

been like family. Shed been a close friend of both Blairs parents before

Blairs mother died, and shed been a constant figure in Blairs life ever

since. Not a mother figure, but strong and capable and comforting, for al

her demands. But Blairs home was her loft in Manhat an, and that

had been nearly destroyed in an at ack that had come at the same time as

the devastation at the World Trade Center. She didnt have a home now,

and the memories of terror and death chil ed her. She glanced at Cam,

who watched her pensively. Cam. Cam was home.

Blair pushed the images of loss away. “It wil take us a while to

arrange transportation to the airport.

“I can get State Troopers to escort

you.

“God, no, Blair said with barely suppressed horror. “Ive got al the

protection I

need. Just tel the pilot he may have to

wait.

“Al right then. Il see you this

afternoon.

Blair ended the cal and handed the phone back to Paula. “Were

leaving.

“Il let the teams know, Paula

said.

“Il cal Tanner and arrange for drivers. Cam hesitated, casting a