Oath of Honor

communicate, protocols for various threat situations, and obviously,

we’ll need to evaluate how she’s going to handle different types of

medical threats and emergencies.”

“And you expect me to be the one getting all this done?”

Tom smiled. “You’re not complaining about a week or so off

regular rotation, are you? Ought to be a slam dunk.”

Evyn slid her eyes back to Wes Masters, who was no longer

looking at the crowd. She was looking directly at Evyn, her expression

assessing, thoughtful, inscrutable.

The fluttering in Evyn’s belly coalesced into a hard, unsettling

pulse of arousal. What the hell? She felt like prey instead of the predator,

a definite role reversal and not a comfortable one. She held Masters’s

gaze and threw back a little heat of her own. Masters smiled, shook her

head ever so slightly, and looked away.

The instant Masters was no longer studying her, Evyn wanted

those green eyes back on her. Her skin burned from just a glance. She

wouldn’t try to imagine what a real touch would do to her—not while

she was in public. That little fantasy would have to wait.

• 34 •

Oath Of hOnOr

chapter fOur

Captain Masters.” The president’s chief of staff, an imposing,

auburn-haired woman in her early fifties dressed in a deep

green Versace suit, appeared next to Wes.

“Ms. Washburn,” Wes replied, extending her hand. Among a room

full of power players, this woman seemed surrounded by an aura of

command befitting a four-star general. Wes resisted the urge to come to

attention. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

“Likewise. I’m glad you were able to join us today.”

“It’s an honor.” Wes had been ordered to attend, but this was a

very special event and she felt privileged to witness it.

“I realize we’re dropping you into the deep end, with very little

notice, but circumstances being what they are, there was no choice. The

president will be traveling extensively very shortly, and we must have

the White House Medical Unit fully staffed and at peak efficiency.”

Lucinda sipped from a glass of sparkling water and regarded Wes

steadily. Taking her measure.

“I’ll do my best to get up to speed as quickly as possible.”

“No doubt. Tom Turner, the special agent in charge of the

president’s security detail, will discuss interfacing with your unit.”

“I’ll look forward to it. I still have a clearance interview, but I was

planning to report for duty as soon as that was completed.”

“Actually,” Lucinda said, “I can expedite that. The sooner you

officially assume your post, the sooner we can assure a smooth and

rapid transition. You drove out?”

“Yes,” Wes said, unclear on the urgency of the transition,

but recognizing an order when she heard it. “I flew in and rented a

vehicle.”

• 35 •

RADCLYfFE

“Excellent. We’ll have one of the staffers drive it back. You’ll fly

back with us on Marine One.”

“Today?” Wes wasn’t completely successful in keeping the surprise

from her voice. She hadn’t packed for an extended trip, although she had

brought along her regulation uniform for the flight back to Maryland

the next morning.

Lucinda smiled. “This afternoon, this evening, whenever Eagle

decides to return to base. Problem?”

“Not at all,” Wes said quickly. She’d just need to find a hotel in

DC. The details she’d handle in the morning.

“Until then, enjoy yourself.” With a nod, Lucinda turned to a man

who had been patiently waiting nearby for a word with her. She greeted

him by name and moved away, leaving Wes alone again.

Wes searched the opposite side of the room where she’d last

seen Agent Daniels. She was gone, Wes noted, with a twinge of

disappointment she couldn’t explain any more than she could explain

the brief and disconcerting glance they’d shared a few moments before.

She’d been observing the guests, searching for clues to allegiances and

hierarchy, studying the people the way she would study a map for an

upcoming campaign. These were the players on the new stage of her

life, and she needed to know where she fit.

When she’d first noticed the Secret Service agent, Daniels had

been talking to another agent, her body language somewhere between

annoyed and aggravated. Wes couldn’t hear their conversation, but

from what she could glean from Daniels’s expression and the tension

in her body, Daniels was unhappy about something. As she’d been

watching her, Daniels had focused on her as if she could feel Wes’s

attention. Daniels was obviously aware that Wes had been studying her,

and shot her a cocky look that held a hint of invitation, taking Wes off

guard. Wes had seen the look a time or two, but never quite in this

context. Forgetting to hide her reaction, she’d smiled at the audacity

and declined the obvious invitation to come and find out more, if she

dared.She wasn’t a coward, but neither was she fool enough to rush in

where angels feared to tread. Agent Daniels was a beautiful puzzle she

planned to leave safely unsolved.