Cam cupped the back of Blairs neck and kissed her gently. “I love
you.
Blair kissed her back, far less gently. “I love you
too.
“If thats a come on, I might be too tired to deliver tonight,
Cam said.
“It is, but I think Im too tired to accept delivery. Blair gave her
a gentle push. “Go do what you have to do. Theres always a
shower to look forward to in a few hours.
* * * * *
“Wheres Diane? Blair asked when she looked in on Adrienne
and
Felicia in the living
room.
“She wanted to be alone, Adrienne said. “Do you think shes
all right?
“She will be, Blair said. “Its the first time shes ever been shot
at.
“If she needs a little escape from all of this, she can stay
with Tanner and me, Adrienne said. “The atmosphere around
here might be a little intense for her the next few days.
“Tanner never mentioned you had such a knack for
understatement.
“Speaking of my spouse, Adrienne said, rising, “I should find
her and get her home before she decides to stand guard herself.
She glanced at Blair. “Shes more than wil ing, if you need her
Blair shook her head. “No. And youve both done enough.
Were fine.
“Weve got plenty of people to secure this location, Felicia
added, setting her coffee aside and standing as wel . “Im going to
check in with the commander.
“And I want to see Emory, Blair
said.
She bade the others goodnight and walked down the hall to
the bedroom the agents used when they were off-shift. As
she knocked on the partially open door, it swung open
before she could catch it, affording her a glimpse of Emory
Constantine leaning over a semi-nude young woman stretched out
on the bed. Steph Fletcher, one of Tanners security guards.
“Sorry. Blair started to close the
door.
“Thats al right, Emory cal ed. “Were
done.
Blair stepped inside as Emory drew a sheet up to the shoulders of the
wiry, short haired redhead. “Im going to leave my cel number right
here on the bedside table. Emory crossed to a smal desk and
scribbled something on a piece of paper that she then placed next to the
redheads holstered weapon. “Six hours of bed rest, minimum. If your
chest pain gets worse, you develop a cough, or you feel lightheaded, cal
me immediately. Otherwise, Il see you first thing in the morning.
“Look, thanks. Steph was already pushing herself up, clearly intent on
returning to duty. “I real y appreciate everything, but
“You know, Steph, Blair said conversational y. “I bet Tanner would
put you right on the inactive list if she thought you werent a hundred
percent. Not that anyone would tel her
Steph groaned and flopped back down. “Okay. Okay, I got it. Roger on
the six hours bed rest.
“Thank you. Emory fol owed Blair into the hal . “Is there someone who
can give me a ride to a hotel?
“We have plenty of room right here, Blair said as they returned to the
living room. “You can stay here until Cam is sure that its safe for you to
go home.
"I don! know precisely what went on in that hallway, but I heard smre of the
conversation rumng the agents on the way here. That nnnthat mm might have
been trying to kil11re. I certainly cant endanger you or
“No one is going to let you leave, Emory, and no one wants you to. Blair
found a half-empty bot le of wine, refil ed her glass, and poured
another for Emory. “Id be very grateful if youd look at Cam later. Shes
been through a lot this past week and She realized her hand was
trembling and put the glass down abruptly.
“Of course Il look at her, Emory
said.
“Thank you. Is there anyone you need to cal ? The White House wil
take care of devising some story for the press, but if theres someone
whos going to be worried about where you are tonight
“No, there isnt. Emory reached for her wine. “Since my divorce
last year, Ive been living in the family home with my mother.
She travels a lot, as do I, so it works out very well for both of us.
Right now shes in Milan.
Blair curled up on the sofa and regarded Emory
thoughtful y. “Well then, consider yourself our guest.
“All right. Of course. Emory gestured to her evening dress.
“Do you have clothes I can borrow? One of the security guards
gave me his jacket in the car, but I gave that back to him when
we got here.
“Between Diane and me, Im sure we can outfit you.
“In that case, I grateful y accept. I can e-mail my chief
technician with instructions for the lab in the morning. This
will give me a chance to check on Steph again, too.
“Is she badly
hurt?
Emory shook her head. “I dont think so, but blunt trauma to
the chest can be tricky. Id feel better if I could x-ray her and
get a
cardiogram, but thats out of the
question.
“If you think its necessary, Tanner is very good at making
arrangements for that sort of thing without a lot of fuss.
“You mean no records?
“Pretty much.
