Price Of Honor

Chapter Thirty

Blair paced in front of the window fronting the cabin’s wide front porch. Someone had started a fire in the stone hearth on the far wall, and the room smelled of sweet pinewood smoke. The place would have been rustic-homey under any other circumstance. Two agents holding assault weapons stood on either side of the walkway leading up to the cabin. Paula was still in the command center in the adjoining room, monitoring what little communication was coming from the train. Her father and Lucinda were in a makeshift office at the far end of the hall.

Communication techs from the local Secret Service office had arrived and set up a secure room to keep her father in contact with DC. No one knew what was going on out here, and no one ever would. As far as anyone knew, her father had simply chosen to leave the train for a little private R&R. Now he was probably carrying on business as usual.

Business as usual. That’s what Cam was doing now too. Putting her life on the line again. Risking herself for others. Blair gave herself a mental shake. She’d never really believed that a change in Cam’s job description would change Cam or what she felt compelled to do in the line of duty. Added to that, Lucinda would never let Cam get very far away from the president’s security needs, and Cam would never want to be very far away. All that meant their life would never be without risk. She could never wake up in the morning and not feel a few seconds of fear that something would happen to threaten everything that mattered to her.

She turned away from the window, annoyed with herself. None of this was news. Cam, her father, Paula, Lucinda, every agent back on the train or here at the cabin did what they needed to do day in and day out because that’s what they had signed on for. She might not have had a choice about her life when she was only her father’s child, drawn into the tangle of politics and pressure that came with being the first daughter. But she’d married Cam with her eyes wide open and her heart as well. Lucinda was right. Cam was the best there was. And she trusted Cam to take care of herself and the love they shared.

The sound of vehicles approaching drew her back to the window. Her heart lifted as the convoy of SUVs came up the snowy drive and parked in a ring in front of the cabin. Doors opened, a flood of armed agents emerged, and she raced to the cabin door.

Cam reached her when she was halfway across the porch. Blair didn’t care who was watching. She threw her arms around Cam’s neck and kissed her hard. Cam’s arms circled her waist, holding her tight.

“It’s over?” Blair asked.

Cam brushed her cheek with a bare hand. “Yes. Are you all right?”

“Couldn’t be better,” Blair said softly. “You?”

Cam nodded. “Never better.”

“The train?”

“Everyone is fine.” Cam let her go. “I’ll have to see your father now.”

“I know. Can I come?”

“Of course.”

“I love you, you know.”

Cam grinned. “I’m counting on it. Every minute of every day.”

*

“She withdrew the drones?” Andrew Powell said.

“Yes,” Cam said, “forty-five minutes after our last communication they lifted off and flew to the coordinates you’d provided. The bomb containment unit is on it now.”

“She couldn’t sacrifice her brother,” Blair said.

“No,” Cam said. “She couldn’t.”

“What about her?” the president asked.

“We’ve got teams out on foot, in the air, and on the roads.”

Andrew gave Cam a penetrating stare. “What are the chances of finding her?”

“Fifty-fifty.” Cam sighed. “She has a head start, she’s undoubtedly a trained survivalist, and she likely had an exit plan already in place. It’s rough territory out there and the storm’s not helping.”

Blair said, “What’s the chance she’ll try again?”

“Tom and I agree,” Cam said, “the chance of another up-close attack on the president is small. At this point, she represents the same threat level as any other UNSUB, and we’re well prepared for that.”

“So you’re not going to cancel the rest of the tour?” Blair asked.

“We can’t,” Lucinda said. “There’s far too much advance press and investment in the scheduled appearances. We’d never be able to give a plausible explanation for cutting things short.”

“The train is already en route to the next stop,” Cam said. “The press secretary gave a statement to the press corps about the president’s unscheduled departure from the train. We’re using the old national security excuse for not briefing them any further. We’ll all meet up again in Trinidad and carry on.”

“Vivian knows about Gary Williams,” Blair pointed out. “And she knows what happened out there.”

“This time the national security card is a legitimate one,” Lucinda said. “I’ve already talked to her by phone. She understands the situation.”

Blair nodded. Vivian was someone she could trust.

The president asked, “Did Gary Williams give you anything?”

Cam shook her head. “He didn’t put up a struggle when we went to pick him up, but that was the extent of his cooperation. I don’t think he’ll talk.”

“Like his sister Jennifer.” Blair sighed. “I wish this trip was over.”

“I might as well add to the misery,” Lucinda said. “Franklin Russo has decided to capitalize on all the press around the president’s trip. He’s staging an appearance opposite the president’s in Flagstaff. So, of course, you and Cam will have to be there onstage to power up our finale.”

“Political maneuvering,” Blair said. “It never ends.”

Lucinda smiled. “That’s the name of the game, after all.”

“When do we head out for the train?” Cam asked.

“Later this afternoon.” Lucinda glanced at the president. “I think everyone has earned a few hours’ rest.”

Blair stood. “I’d rather a few days, but I’ll take it.”

Out in the hall, Cam grasped Blair’s hand. “Hey. Care to join me for a shower and a nap?”

Blair leaned against her. “I can’t think of anything else I’d rather do.”

In the room they’d been assigned, Blair closed the blinds and pulled back the covers on the bed. They showered quickly and crawled naked under the sheets. She curled up next to Cam and put her head on her shoulder. “How are you doing?”

Cam sighed. “I’m tired. But I’m okay.”

“Do you really think she’s going to quit?”

“She’s tried twice now and failed. She’s a good strategist—she has to know she’s beaten.”

“How did you know she wouldn’t destroy the train with him on it?”

“Because everything she’s done has been motivated by love for her family,” Cam said. “She’s been raised from the time she was a child to place loyalty to cause and family before herself. Her father’s dead, her sister’s incarcerated. Her brother is all she has left, and I couldn’t see her trading him for her sister.”

“Now you have her brother and she has nothing,” Blair said. “Won’t that make her even more dangerous?”

“I don’t know. Maybe seeing her whole family fail will be enough to make her reconsider what she’s really doing.” Cam kissed Blair’s temple. “I hope so.”

“You sound a little sorry for her,” Blair said.

“I’m not, not really.” Cam stroked Blair’s hair, staring at the tiny shafts of sunlight dancing across the ceiling. “She made her choices. She might have been molded, maybe even warped, as a child, but she knows the difference between right and wrong. She knows what they were doing was treason and an act of terrorism. But part of me wonders what choices she would’ve made if she hadn’t been raised the way she was.”

“What will you do if you have a chance to capture her?”

“Bring her in and leave her to the justice system.” Cam kissed Blair. “Because that’s how this country is supposed to work.”

“I love you.”

“I love you too. More than anything.”

“I wouldn’t change a single thing about you or our life,” Blair murmured, feeling sleep dragging her down. She could sleep safely, because Cam was here and Cam was hers.

“Neither would I,” Cam said softly. “Go to sleep now, baby. I’m here.”