Chapter Twenty-Three 4 page

“No,” Paula said quickly. “I mean, I never gave you a chance to say you didn’t want me to do it.”

Renée’s eyes darkened. “Is that how I make you feel? That I don’t want you to be Blair’s security chief?”

“No,” Paula said, frustrated. “But it means I’ll be traveling more, and working more, and probably…I don’t know, distracted. And that affects us.” She cupped Renée’s jaw and traced her thumb over Renée’s cheek. “I don’t want anything to come between us.”

“You’re a secret service agent, Paula,” Renée said matter-of-factly. “Just like I’m an FBI agent. At least, I was.”

“Hey. You still are.”

“Yeah, maybe. First my shoulder, now my leg. If I don’t rehab a hundred percent they’re going to pull me out of the field.” Renée looked away. “We’re not talking about me. We’re talking about you.” She glanced back to Paula, her eyes intent. “I understand what your job requires. I’m okay with it. I’m proud of you. I’m just…things are tough right now, but it’s not you.” She leaned down and kissed Paula hard. “Sweetie, it’s not you.”

Paula drew Renée into her arms again and returned her kiss. “I hate for you to be unhappy.”

“I just need to figure out what I’m going to do if they transfer me to a desk job somewhere.” Renée closed her eyes. “I don’t think I can take that.”

Paula tightened her hold, frightened more by the despondency in Renée’s voice than the thought that her lover might be transferred across the country. “It’ll be okay. Your leg will be fine and you’ll be back to duty before you know it.”

“I’m not going to accept a post somewhere if it means I’m never going to be able to see you.” Renée caressed Paula’s chest, then circled lower, unconsciously tracing the line of muscles down to the base of her belly. “Not after everything that’s happened.”

Paula tried to focus on being supportive, but Renée’s persistent caresses were starting to sap her concentration. Casually, she covered Renée’s questing hand and drew it away from the trigger zone that was dangerously close to igniting. “I know. I feel the same.”

“We haven’t made love since I got shot,” Renée observed softly, extracting her hand from Paula’s grip. She cupped Paula very lightly between the legs. “Miss it?”

“Oh, geez,” Paula choked, her legs starting to quiver. “Yeah.”

Renée squeezed gently. “Have you been taking many solo flights?”

“Not many.” Paula flushed as she felt a flood of wetness between her thighs. “Oh.”

“Mmm. You did miss me, didn’t you?” Renée gripped a little harder and jiggled her hand.

“Stop.” Paula slammed her hand down over Renée’s, effectively preventing her from moving her fingers. “Honest. Don’t. I’ll get really excited, and we can’t until your leg’s better.”

Renée laughed. “My leg might keep me from working, sweetie, but it doesn’t keep me from taking care of the important business.” She lowered her head and licked Paula’s nipple into rapid attention. When Paula shivered and moaned softly, she worried the small, hard knot tenderly with her teeth. “So I think you should hold very still.” She sucked until Paula moaned again. “While I make you come.”

“Renée,” Paula said hoarsely. “We should wait.”

Renée shifted and guided Paula’s face to her breast. “No. Waiting is the last thing we should do.” She hissed in a breath as Paula’s mouth closed over her nipple. Delicately, she traced the hard prominence of Paula’s clitoris with her fingertip. When Paula jerked and started to pull back, she gripped her between thumb and forefinger and squeezed. “We’re here together right now, Paula. Feel me now, sweetie. Feel me.”

Unable to resist the persistent caresses, Paula closed her eyes as Renée fondled her in just the right spot with just the right pressure to make her come. Spinning toward orgasm, she whispered the one thing of which she was totally certain in a suddenly uncertain world. “I love you.”

Chapter Six

“Diane was quiet tonight,” Cam said as she sat on the side of the bed and pulled off her shoes. She unbuckled her belt, lifted her hips, and shed her trousers. Across the room, Blair undressed, tossing her blue jeans and T-shirt into the laundry basket in the bedroom closet. The circles that had surfaced beneath her eyes earlier in the day had deepened, giving her a haunted look.

“Things are still pretty awful in Manhattan,” Blair said. “She closed the gallery for a while.”

“It’s going to take some time before people and businesses recover.” Cam gave a mirthless laugh as she removed her shirt. “I guess recover is an optimistic word.”

“Adjust to a new reality is more like it.” Naked, Blair brushed her fingertips over Cam’s chest as she slid past her and into bed. “I guess we’re just catching up to the rest of the world.”

Cam removed the rest of her clothes, turned off the light, and got into bed. She turned on her side and circled Blair with one arm, easing close to her in the dark. “You should go back to Whitley Point for a while. Take Diane.”

“Turn the light on.”

Wordlessly, Cam complied.

“Go back to Whitley Point and stay out of the way?” Blair asked edgily.

“I don’t believe I said that.” Cam traced a fingertip along the rigid arc of Blair’s jaw. “I was thinking that twenty-four hours ago you almost looked relaxed.” She smoothed her thumb over the crest of Blair’s cheekbone. “Now you’re looking a little weary.”

Blair snatched Cam’s hand away from her face and bit her thumb hard enough to make Cam wince. “Don’t try to distract me with your slick moves.”

“Ow.”

“Let me guess what you’re going to be doing while I’m painting pretty pictures on a remote island. And Diane is doing…cross-stitch.”

Cam smothered a grin. Blair had been pale moments before. Now she was flushed and her eyes were bright. Anger looked good on her, but then, it always had.

“You’ll be playing super sleuth in Washington or New York or God knows where, chasing down maniacs who would be happy to kill you, and themselves, and anyone in the vicinity.” Blair pushed at Cam’s shoulder. “I already know you’re going to take my father’s offer. Just what else do you have planned?”

“I’m not sure. I’ve been out of the Intel loop since the raid. I’ve got to assemble a team and do some catching up.” Cam risked diving in for a quick kiss. “And it’s possible I’ll need to travel.”

Blair sat up and wrapped her arms around her knees. “Where? And don’t you dare say anywhere in the Middle East.” She focused on Cam, her face set. “I mean it. If someone has to go there, fine. That’s why we have the CIA and all the other spies.” She fisted her hands so tightly Cam thought her fingers must be getting numb. “I’ve never asked you not to do something, Cameron. But I’m asking this.”

“That’s not where I meant,” Cam said, prying Blair’s clenched hands open and clasping her fingers. “I was thinking Paris.”

“Paris?” Blair echoed. “Why?”

“Because Foster made more than a few trips there in the ten months before the assault on you. Maybe there’s a connection.” Cam shrugged, frustrated. “I don’t know. That’s the problem—none of us know, because none of us expected anything like what happened.”

“Do you think Valerie’s in Paris?”

“Valerie?” Cam circled Blair’s shoulders and tugged her down onto the bed. She stroked Blair’s hair even though she could feel Blair resist her caress. This wasn’t anger. This was fear. Fear and something else she couldn’t quite get a sense of. “I suppose it’s possible. She knows as much as I know about what happened in the attack at the Aerie and who might be behind it. That’s part of the problem. She’s knows as much as I do, or more, and she’s one step ahead of us.”

“You’re taking this assignment with OHS to find Valerie, aren’t you?” Blair asked.

“No,” Cam said. “I’m taking this assignment because Stark doesn’t need me, and neither do you, not professionally. And there’s no way I’m going back to providing security for presidential hopefuls or visiting diplomats, and I’m sure as hell not going to chase bad money, even if it is funding drug cartels. There are bigger threats than drugs to worry about now.”

“And of course, you want to go after the biggest and baddest.” Blair rolled on top of Cam and braced herself on her elbows. She very gently touched Cam’s face. “I’m surprised you’re not in the military. You’re such a patriot.”

Cam smiled and kissed the tips of Blair’s fingers. “I thought about it when I was younger, but I don’t take orders all that well.” At Blair’s snort of derision, she shook her head. “No, I don’t. Not really. I understand the chain of command and I respect it. But I need the freedom to call my own shots in my day-to-day work.”

“You avoided my question about Valerie. You do want to find her, don’t you?” Blair was aware of treading carefully. She did want to know what Cam planned to do. As much as Cam could tell her. Cam was her lover, and she needed to know what mattered to her, what drove her—what danger she would put herself in and why. But she didn’t want anything that Cam might tell her to be an unwitting betrayal of their trust.

“I want to find her,” Cam agreed, “and I need to find her. She’s either in danger or a potential danger to others. Either way, she’s not safe out there alone.”

“I’m not going to use Diane to help you.” Blair didn’t know why she was surprised that the words came so easily. There had never been any doubt about what she would do. Or wouldn’t do.

Blair started to sit up, but Cam held her close. “I never thought that you would. You know I wouldn’t ask you to, right?”

Silently, Blair nodded.

“But just hear me out, okay?”

“You might not ask me to, but you might want me to.” Blair rested her head on Cam’s chest. “I don’t want to…disappoint you.”

“Disappoint—” Cam tilted Blair’s chin and met her eyes. They were cloudy and troubled. She hated that her lover had been caught in the tangled web of divided loyalties. “Baby, it’s my job. Not yours. Lucinda was wrong to ask you to get involved.”

“What about national security?”

“We’ll have no national security—or any other kind—if we resort to spying on our friends.” Cam shook her head. “I trust you’ll tell me if Diane gets into any trouble.”

“I will.”

“And you have to stay out of it.” Cam held Blair’s jaw more firmly, delving into the blue eyes that glimmered with anticipated resistance. “Okay?”

“Okay.” Blair hesitated. “Can you tell me why you think Valerie might be in danger? Diane really loves her, Cam.”

“Ah, Jesus,” Cam breathed. “What a mess.”

“Love tends to get that way,” Blair murmured, kissing Cam’s throat. “You mess me up.”

Stroking the back of Blair’s neck, Cam sorted her thoughts. “Until a few hours before the raid, the only people who knew Matheson’s identity were Valerie, Stark, Savard, and Davis. If Matheson disappeared from the compound—or never showed up there to begin with because someone tipped him off—there are only a limited number of explanations. I know it wasn’t any of my people and not likely to be anyone on the assault team. So, either Valerie warned him or someone Valerie told warned him.”

“Valerie must report to someone inside the Company, Cam,” Blair said.

“Of course. Whoever ordered her to infiltrate our team to begin with.”

Blair closed her eyes. “Then that means they’ll know that you’re looking for her. Jesus, this is a nightmare. And you’re going to be right in the middle of it.”

“If Valerie wasn’t responsible for the leak, once she got wind of Matheson disappearing, she’d know she was the weak link. She’d have to disappear because she’d know whoever tipped Matheson would be coming after her.”

“So you’re telling me that Valerie isn’t safe, and I should help you find her.”

“That’s one way of looking at it,” Cam said. “Right now, I’m not sure. And because I’m not sure, I don’t want you to do anything.”

“Except hide out with Tanner and Diane at Whitley Point.”

“That would be my wish.” Cam kissed the tip of Blair’s chin. “Any chance?”

“I don’t know, maybe,” Blair said. “Not because I want to hide, but because I don’t want to stay here. And I can’t go back to Manhattan, because I don’t have any place to go back to.”

“This is sounding good,” Cam said.

“But—”

“Uh-oh.”

Blair smiled. “I’m not going without you.”

Cam frowned. “I’m going to be pretty busy, Blair. I’ve got to put a team together, for one thing. Then who knows what I’ll find once I start digging into this whole Valerie situation.”

“Are you telling me you’re going to direct the investigation from some office in DC somewhere? Where anyone could access your files or monitor your activities?” Blair made a face. “Even I know that’s not very smart. If you even suspect that there’s someone high enough up to get Matheson’s name from Valerie’s intelligence reports and warn him, then nothing is secure.” She grinned. “Unless you’re going to work out of Lucinda’s office.”

Cam groaned. “You make it sound so appealing. But we’re talking about a big operation here, baby.”

“You found Matheson working from Whitley Point. That was a big operation, too.”

“Yeah, and someone ferried Valerie off right under our noses.”

“Good point, except Valerie helped them from the inside.” Blair saw the anger and betrayal flicker across Cam’s face, knowing nothing she might say could lessen it. Only the truth could do that. “You’ve got to admit, it’s going to be more secure there than almost any place around here.”

“I’ll think about it. At least for a base of operations. Hell,” Cam mused, “we used to do all of our advance surveillance and intelligence right out of the Aerie. That was a damn big operation, too.”

“I’ll talk to Tanner tomorrow about speeding up the property purchase. I’m sure she can make it happen. Besides,” Blair said softly, “I love it there, and we need a place to live.”

Cam brushed her fingers through Blair’s hair, then drew her head down and kissed her. She murmured against her lips, “We do, don’t we.”

“Is it all right with you?”

“Are you going to be okay having a base of operations where we live?”

Blair laughed shortly. “Cameron, I’ve always had some kind of base where I live. Look at the Aerie. I’m used to it.”

“If you’re sure. Right now, I’d feel a hell of a lot better if you were back there.”

“I’m going to talk to Lucinda tomorrow about our plans,” Blair said.

Cam rolled her over and settled one thigh between her legs. “You’re not going to make me go with you, are you?”

“I can’t believe you’re afraid of Lucinda.” Blair curled her leg around the back of Cam’s thigh and nestled her center against Cam’s crotch. “It’ll cost you.”

“Anything.” Cam slowly rotated her hips between Blair’s legs. “Just name it.”

“Let’s see how many times you can make me come,” Blair whispered, “while I think about it.”

Cam laughed. “Tough duty.”

“Hello?” Diane said distractedly, expecting a wrong number.

“Hi. Did I wake you?”

Diane sat up abruptly, the sheet falling away unheeded. The sliver of moon and the glow from the surrounding city cast the room in dim, gray light. She hadn’t been sleeping, even though it was the middle of the night. “No. I was thinking about you.”

An indrawn breath and a beat of silence followed. Diane almost said her name, but knew instinctively not to. She waited, the seconds interminable.

“Are you home?”

“Actually I’m…” Diane thought of all the conversations she’d had over the years with Blair and how they’d always been careful, even when there was probably no need to be. Now, with Valerie, there surely was. “I’m visiting friends.”

“Ah. Anyone I know?”

“Yes.” Diane’s heart pounded and she strained to hear every nuance in Valerie’s voice. “How’s your trip going?”

“I shouldn’t have called, but I missed you.”

Diane caught her breath. “Can I join you? I’m in a bit of a hiatus myself right now.”

“That’s not a good idea.”

“Why not? I miss you, too. Terribly.”

“I’m not very good company right now.”

Diane heard the warning beneath the words but refused to be deterred. “Shouldn’t I be the one to decide that?”

“Trust me, it might not be all that…pleasant.”

“To be with you?” Diane said lightly while mentally translating, It’s not safe.

“Yes.”

“Then that’s all the more reason to let me come and prove you wrong.” Diane raised her knees and pressed her forehead to them. She closed her eyes, trying to shut out every other sensation except the sound of Valerie’s voice.

A sigh came through the line. “And that’s why I’ve stayed away.”

“I’m sure our friends could help cheer you up.”

“I’m not so sure of that.”

Diane hesitated. Blair was the one person in her life whom she trusted completely. But there was no reason that Valerie should. But what about Cam? Didn’t Valerie trust her? Cam would help Valerie, if she were in trouble. Wouldn’t she?

Would she? Cam’s allegiance was never in doubt. Blair first. Country second. And friendship? Diane had no doubt that Cam would risk her life for Stark or Savard or any of the others. Didn’t Valerie, Cam’s ex-lover and colleague, fall into the same category?

But then, she didn’t really understand anything that had happened. She didn’t understand why Valerie had left, why she’d stayed away, and why she was obviously afraid to talk to her now. She wouldn’t understand until Valerie explained it, and she desperately needed to know. “I want to see you.”

“Diane—”

“No one will know. Please.”

Another endless pause, not even the sound of breathing on the line.

Diane forced herself not to say anything more than she already had. She had never begged a woman for anything in her life, not even Blair when they had been younger and she’d been desperately in love with her. Blair had never known the depth of her feelings, perhaps because she had already learned to shield her emotions behind casual nonchalance. It hadn’t taken many disappointments before she had also learned not to make herself vulnerable by asking for things she couldn’t have. Valerie had effortlessly changed all that. And now, if she didn’t sense that begging would somehow endanger Valerie, she would gladly beg. Anything to break this unwilling isolation.

“How long will you be there?” Valerie finally asked.

“How long should I be?” Diane countered.

“A few days would be good.”

“I’ll try.” Diane opened her eyes. The moon had gone behind a cloud and the room was black. “Don’t be afraid.”

Valerie laughed thinly. “Of you?”

“For me,” Diane whispered.

“I don’t think I can promise that.”

Diane smiled. “And I feel the same. I’ll be waiting.”

“Goodbye,” Valerie whispered.

Diane sat in the silent darkness for a few more minutes, fixing the sound of Valerie’s voice in her mind. Then she pulled up the last number on her call log and called it.

I’m sorry. The number you’re trying to reach is no longer in service.

Chapter Seven

Tuesday

Blair paused halfway across the living room and groaned in appreciation as she smelled coffee. She turned toward the seating area in front of the windows and caught a glimpse of the first streaks of a hazy orange sunrise outside the windows. Diane sat curled up in one corner of the sofa in burgundy satin pj’s, her blond hair loose and partially shielding her face, a mug clasped in both hands.

“Hi,” Blair said. “Mind company?”

“No, of course not.”

Blair continued into the adjoining galley kitchen, poured coffee, and returned. She settled onto the sofa and mirrored Diane’s pose, legs drawn beneath her, partially turned so she could face her friend. “Early morning or late night?”

Diane smiled ruefully. “Both. Funny, I never used to mind sleeping alone.”

“It’s one thing to sleep alone because you prefer to,” Blair said half to herself. “But once you’ve gotten used to someone and then they’re not there, it’s a bitch.”

“I’d forgotten it’s not all that easy for you and Cam most of the time, either. Sorry.”

Blair stroked Diane’s shoulder. “I just meant I understand.”

“I know you do.” Diane was certain that Blair understood all of it—the reluctance to trust, the self-made barriers to protect against heartbreak and disappointment, and the terrible joy of letting someone inside at last. Blair had lived it, just as she had. And because Blair knew—knew her, knew what she hoped and feared, knew what it was to fight for what she wanted—Diane felt some of the desolation lift from her heart. “Valerie called.”

“Is she all right?” Blair held her breath and strained to hear the sound of the shower running in the master bathroom. She didn’t want Cam walking in on this conversation and hearing something she would feel duty bound to act on.

“I don’t know,” Diane said, her voice shaking slightly. “It was a tense conversation. She didn’t say that she wasn’t all right, but obviously something’s wrong.” She searched Blair’s eyes. “Do you know what’s going on?”

“Oh God,” Blair murmured. “I don’t, honey. Honest, not really. And I…” she glanced over her shoulder toward the hallway on the far side of the room.

“Cam’s involved somehow, isn’t she? And I’m putting you in the middle. I should go.”

“No,” Blair said sharply, grasping Diane’s arm to prevent her rising. “You should not go. No one knows anything, including Cam, other than Valerie snuck off in the middle of the night and doesn’t want anyone to know where she is.”

“You make it sound like she’s a criminal.”

Blair shook her head. “No one is saying that.” She wasn’t exactly certain that was true. She imagined that if Valerie hadn’t warned Matheson herself of the impending capture, then whoever had told him would point to her disappearance as evidence of her guilt. “But the way she left is suspicious, and the fact that she’s hiding doesn’t help clear things up at all.” Her grip softened and she clasped Diane’s fingers. “You know Cam, Di. She doesn’t jump to conclusions, and she never settles for easy answers. Valerie needs to talk to her.”

“I’m scared,” Diane whispered. “I’m scared that every phone call will be the last one. That I’ll never see her again and I’ll never know why.”

Blair leaned closer. “I know you want to protect her. So would I. But she needs help. Can you try to get her to talk to Cam?”

Diane’s eyes were moist, the blue misted to gray with sadness. “How can I if I don’t know how to reach her?”

“Something tells me she’ll find you.” Blair heard the sound of the bedroom door closing and footsteps approaching, then Cam passed behind them on her way to the kitchen. “Morning, darling.”

“Hi,” Cam replied.

Diane called a greeting then lowered her voice. “I have to think about it. For now, can we keep it between us?”

“Yes,” Blair said, knowing that Diane wouldn’t be pushed into making a decision any more than she would. “I’m going to talk to Lucinda this morning. After that, let’s just get out of here for a while. Walk around, shop, do something mindless.”

Some of the tension eased from Diane’s face. “I think that’s a great idea. After all, we have a wedding to plan.”

“We certainly do.” Blair glanced across the room to where Cam stood in the doorway of the kitchen. She’d dressed for work for the first time in almost two weeks, and the pale blue shirt, dark raw silk slacks, and black Italian loafers gave her a cool, sleek look. She wasn’t wearing her shoulder holster, but she would be, along with a blazer, when she went out. The image of confidence and strength Cam projected was more than just appearance, and it surprised Blair how right it felt to see her lover preparing to do what she did so well. “We can’t stop living, can we?”

“No,” Diane said with a shadow of a smile. “We can’t.”

Blair stepped from the shower, wrapped a towel around her chest, and used another to dry her hair. She finger-combed the thick waves and finished drying her body. She paused at a knock on the bathroom door.

“Yes?”

“Want a fresh cup of coffee?”

Smiling, Blair pulled open the door that connected to their bedroom. “Special delivery?”

“At your service.” Cam slipped inside and set the cup down on the vanity. “Stark’s here.”

Blair frowned. “What time is it?”

“0700.”

“God, she’s eager.”

“She’s just doing her job,” Cam said, smiling.

“Yeah, yeah.” Blair tossed the towel aside and wrapped her arms around Cam’s neck. “So what are you going to do while I’m with Lucinda?”

Cam brushed both hands down Blair’s back and cupped her buttocks. “Probably be thinking about this.”

Blair grinned and nipped at Cam’s lower lip. “Smooth.”

“You’re getting my shirt wet,” Cam murmured, nuzzling Blair’s throat.

“Just your shirt?” Blair whispered in Cam’s ear and bumped her pelvis into Cam’s crotch.

Cam groaned. “Cut it out.”

Blair laughed, kissed her hard, and then let her go. Cam’s shirtfront showed the wet impressions of Blair’s breasts. “Uh-oh. You need a new shirt.”

“At the least.”

“So what are you doing this morning, Commander?” Blair followed Cam into the bedroom and sorted through the clothing she kept at Cam’s for occasions when she stayed over..

“I’m hoping to meet with your father’s security adviser about this new Office of Homeland Security,” Cam said as she changed her shirt.

“And your new job,” Blair said casually. Even though she’d known from the second her father offered the position that Cam would take it, the reality made her stomach tighten. She paused in the middle of buttoning her blouse. “I understand now why you wanted to be in charge of my security detail, even when I didn’t want you to be.”

“What do you mean?” Cam tucked in her shirt, but her eyes never left Blair’s face.

Blair slipped into her slacks and regarded her shoe choices. “I like having you where I can see you. Even though it doesn’t mean you’ll be safe, it feels less scary.”

“Hey,” Cam said, gently resting her hands on Blair’s shoulders. “It’s not that kind of job, okay?”

“Yeah, yeah.” Blair sighed. “I hate being this shaky about things.”

“We’re all off balance.” Cam kissed her forehead. “Give yourself a break.”

“I’ll try.” Blair smiled. “I’d better go take care of Stark.”

Cam rolled her eyes. “Be gentle.”

Laughing, Blair skimmed her fingertips up the inside of Cam’s thigh. “Always.”

With a muttered curse, Cam followed Blair down the hallway.

In the living room, Paula pivoted away from the window where she’d been waiting. “Good morning.” She nodded to Cam before getting down to business. “I wanted to review your plans for the day, Ms. Powell.”

“After breakfast, I’m going to call Lucinda and see when she can fit me in,” Blair said. “This afternoon, Diane and I are going shopping.”

Blair was aware of both Cam and Paula stiffening. She wasn’t surprised. Neither of them would want her out and about. “I’m not staying locked up inside.”

“You didn’t mention a shopping trip.” Cam followed Blair into the kitchen.

“I just did,” Blair said, peering into the refrigerator. “There’s nothing in here to eat.”

“You know what I mean.”

Blair closed the door. “I figured there was no point in dealing with your objections and then Stark’s. This way, I get it all taken care of at once.”

Cam grinned but her eyes were serious. “The things I love about you make me crazy.”

“Funny how that works.” Blair kissed her. “Let’s gather the troops and go out to breakfast. Then let’s go to the White House.”

“Thanks for seeing me, Luce,” Blair said. While she’d been waiting, she’d counted two senators, three deputy directors, the White House press secretary, and a handful of lobbyists pass in and out of Lucinda’s office. “Things look hectic.”

“It’s never a problem to meet with you.” Lucinda relaxed into a chair in the seating area as if she had all the time in the world.

Blair was instantly on guard. “I wanted to clear up a few things about yesterday and inform you of some new plans.”

“All right. Would you like something to drink? Pastry?”

“No,” Blair said carefully, trying to read what was behind Lucinda’s calm façade. She’d never been able to, and she still couldn’t. “We just had breakfast. Thanks.”

“Oh, that’s right. Cam’s here too, isn’t she. Meeting with Averill.”

Blair didn’t see that the statement required an answer. Lucinda knew everything that was happening in the White House. In the country for that matter. Hell, most likely in the entire world. So she obviously knew that Cam was meeting with the presidential security adviser. “I suppose you know all the details there.”

Lucinda nodded, without actually acknowledging anything.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 619