“Wonderful. And happy holidays.”

“Yeah,” Hooker said, “ho-fucking-ho.”

Russo rang off without commenting. The new year was going to be a very good year.

*

“Are you coming to bed?” Blair kissed the top of Cam’s head and rubbed her shoulders. “It’s getting late and it’s been a long day.”

Cam leaned her head back against Blair’s stomach and closed her eyes, enjoying the warmth spreading down her back from Blair’s hands. “Have I ever mentioned I love the way you touch me?”

Smiling, Blair kissed the top of her head again. “A time or two. What are you doing?”

Cam rubbed her eyes. “Reviewing reports from this morning’s security update. Looking for anything out of the ordinary.”

“Why? If you think we’re dealing with someone on the inside?”

“The leak may be internal, but if…” She hesitated. They were talking about Blair’s father.

“It’s a little late to try to shield me, don’t you think?” Blair’s question lacked the usual heat that accompanied any accusation of Cam being overprotective. “Lucinda briefed me and you know she doesn’t sugarcoat anything. If someone is going to try to kill my father, you don’t think it will be someone close to him? Someone we know?”

“I don’t know a thing for sure,” Cam said, wishing with everything in her Blair didn’t have to be a part of this. Bad enough Blair needed to worry about her father, but Blair was going to be right in the middle of any potential attack. She was almost as much at risk as Andrew, and there was no way Blair could be convinced not to go on the trail with him.

“You’re going to be there too,” Blair said with her uncanny ability to read Cam’s mind.

“How do you do that?”

“Practice.” Blair spun Cam’s chair around, straddled her lap, and kissed her with heat. They’d spent the day apart. While Cam had met with Lucinda and then gone straight into a briefing with Tom and the other agents on PPD, Blair had spent a rare afternoon with her father. They hadn’t talked about security concerns. They’d talked about his reelection campaign, the major platform issues, and the role Blair would play. For a few hours she’d been able to forget the danger and the fear. The only other person who’d ever made her feel so safe was Cam.

“I missed you today,” Blair said. “We’re still supposed to be on our honeymoon.”

Cam smiled and ran her hands up and down Blair’s back. “And I am obviously falling down on my marital duties already.”

Blair snuggled tighter into Cam’s lap, settling her ass firmly in Cam’s crotch. “Oh, I wouldn’t say that. But if you’re almost done, and you’ve still got half an hour left in you, you could see to your duties.”

Cam rested her cheek against Blair’s breast. “Give me ten minutes, and I’m yours.”

Blair ran her fingers through Cam’s hair. “All right. Have you found anything?”

“Nothing substantial, really. I’m just trolling—a truckload of munitions went missing from Fort Dix. We’ve got Army CID on that. A sleeper cell we’ve been watching in San Francisco looks like it may be waking up—I’ve got a Homeland Security team moving on that. An inventory irregularity turned up at a Level 4 government-funded research lab outside of Atlanta. A team from the CDC is on their way there.”

“So you think someone on the inside is part of a larger group, and the attack is being orchestrated from the outside?”

“We have to be prepared for that.” Cam tilted Blair’s chin up and met her eyes. “We have to be prepared for anything.”

Blair smoothed the frown lines between Cam’s brows. “We will be. You’re not alone in this—no matter what, you’re never alone.”

Cam wrapped her arms around Blair’s waist and rose. Blair automatically locked her legs behind Cam’s back. Cam kissed her. “I know. Let’s go to bed.”

*

Wes kissed Emory’s cheek as they stood outside the Black Fox. “It was great to see you. Merry Christmas.”

Emory hugged her. “You too.” She hugged Wes close to whisper in her ear. “And don’t be afraid to take a chance, Wes. Sometimes, you have to.”

“I’ll call you soon.” Wes released Emory, shook Dana’s hand, and waved as they headed off toward the car. She and Evyn walked toward Dupont Circle, where Evyn had parked.

“What was that all about back in the bar?” Evyn said.

“Just the usual third degree from friends—you know, where we met, that sort of thing.”

“And are we fucking?”

“Not in just those words, no,” Wes said dryly. “But the intention was there.”

Evyn laughed. “What did you say?”

“That it was complicated.”

“I guess it is.” Evyn slipped her arm around Wes’s waist as they walked. Maybe it was the holiday lights on every porch and storefront or the excitement on the faces of everyone they passed that made her heart so light and filled with possibility, but she was tired of ignoring her need to really connect with Wes. “How come it seemed simple that night?”

“Because we weren’t thinking past the moment?”

Evyn blew out a breath. “We weren’t really thinking at all. That’s not like me.”

“Me either.”

“So,” Evyn said, “what are you thinking right now?”

Wes slowed and pointed down the block. “That my place is right over there.”

“Really? Great location,” Evyn said, testing the air. Wes had been calling all the shots up until now—another thing that was decidedly unlike her. She hadn’t minded when they’d been holed up in that hotel room in Kitty Hawk and she hadn’t had a clue what the hell was going on, but they weren’t in Kitty Hawk any longer. And Wes was no one-night stand. She needed to get in the game right now.

“Yeah, close to the Metro and all that.”

“So, what’s the chance I could get a cup of coffee before I drive home?” Evyn asked.

“Sure,” Wes said slowly before leading the way up the block toward her apartment. She shouldn’t be doing what she was doing, but the tension in her chest eased with every step they took away from Evyn’s car. She didn’t want Evyn to leave. She didn’t want the night to end. She didn’t want to wake up another morning alone and questioning.

“You know we don’t have to figure this all out at once,” Evyn said, taking her hand.

Evyn’s fingers were soft, warm, and Wes laced hers through Evyn’s. “I know. I’m trying to shut my mind off, but it’s tough.”

“Then don’t try. Some things you can’t control.”

“That’s what’s so scary.”

“It’s just coffee, Wes.”

“Right. You’re right.” Wes squeezed Evyn’s hand. Except what if she wanted more than just coffee?

Chapter Twenty-seven

Silently, Wes led Evyn to her apartment, unlocked the door, and held it wide for her to enter. She turned on a table lamp just inside the door while Evyn waited only a foot away. In the dim lamplight, Evyn’s features were soft, almost blurred. Color smudged her cheeks, probably from the cold. Wes had a hard time looking away from her mouth, remembering the softness, the taste. “I’ll take your coat.”

“Thanks.” Evyn passed her jacket to Wes and turned slightly to take in the living room and kitchen. “Looks like a pretty good place.”

“My mother says it needs plants. Or a cat.” Wes held Evyn’s jacket in one hand, oddly unable to move.

“Mothers always think we need plants.”

“Yours too?” Wes didn’t know what to do with herself. She’d never brought a woman back to her quarters before. She searched her mind for the right thing to say, the right thing to do, and realized she had no idea. Evyn wasn’t just any friend, and thinking Evyn might be or could be was ridiculous. She had friends. She loved Emory. She didn’t want Emory to kiss her—didn’t ache to see her the moment they parted. Didn’t lose her concentration thinking about the way Emory tasted, the small sounds she made when they kissed. “I’ll make that coffee.”

Evyn moved closer and brushed a stray lock of hair from Wes’s forehead. Her fingertips were warm but Wes shivered. “Why don’t you take your coat off first.”

Wes swallowed. Nodding, she shrugged out of her topcoat, grateful for something to do, and hung it up with Evyn’s in the closet next to the door. When she turned back, Evyn was standing right in front of her.

“Coffee keeps me awake if I drink it after twenty-two hundred,” Evyn said.

“It’s almost zero hundred.”

“I know. Honestly, the coffee was an excuse. I wasn’t ready to say good night. Sorry.”

Wes watched Evyn’s lips move, straining to hear the words while her body flooded with the memory of soft kisses and a knowing mouth and unbearable pleasure. She pressed her fingertips to Evyn’s lips, amazed when she realized she’d moved. Touched her. She hadn’t meant to. “No need to be sorry.”

Evyn grew silent, her eyes darkening, searching Wes’s.

“I keep thinking about being with you,” Wes said hoarsely. “About touching you. About the way you touch me. Remembering…everything…has been driving me crazy.”

Evyn covered Wes’s hand and kissed her fingertips. Drawing Wes’s palm to the side of her face, she held it there, pressed Wes’s fingers along the arch of her jaw.

Evyn’s skin was soft, hot. Wes throbbed inside. She held her breath, held very, very still. Waiting. Searching for an answer she feared she wouldn’t recognize.

“I know,” Evyn whispered, leaning toward her. Inches away now. “I feel the same. I want you all the time.”

Wes backed up a step. Her shoulders met the closet door and she leaned against it. Her thighs went soft and she locked her knees, forcing her body to stay upright. They should talk, but her mind was seriously disconnected. She clasped the back of Evyn’s neck, fearing she might move away.

“I’m not going anywhere.” Evyn smiled, a knowing, ever-so-slightly triumphant smile.

Wes kept her eyes open as Evyn slowly leaned closer, memorizing the swirling shades of blue and purple in Evyn’s eyes, the flicker of her ebony pupils, the golden sparks of color that danced around her irises, like flames around the fire. She grasped Evyn’s waist with both hands, pressing her thumbs into the muscles above Evyn’s hips. Evyn groaned softly and excitement welled in Wes’s depths. She tugged Evyn to her, but Evyn pressed her palms on either side of her shoulders, keeping their bodies an inch apart.