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Ten feet.
“You’ll want to say yes, Jen,” Evyn said, watching Jennifer’s hand
ease toward the now open bag. “Make this easy.”
Jennifer’s other hand came out of her pocket. The Sig looked
huge.“Gun!” Evyn shouted and launched herself across the last eight
feet. The sharp crack split the air, heat flashed over her, and the rage in
Jennifer’s eyes swallowed her.
v
• 261 •
RADCLY fFE
Evyn went down and Wes jumped to her feet. The COM lines
flooded with shouts.
Shots fired.
Agent down.
Medics. We need medics.
Wes grabbed the hazmat container, shoved the rear door of the
van open, and shouldered through. Block was beside her, running. Her
breath tore from her chest—shards of pain shredded her throat. Half a
block seemed like an eternity. A clot of agents hovered over the prone
figures. Jennifer’s shoulder bag lay on the sidewalk, its contents strewn
around it. The box Jennifer had received from her contact lay half in
and half out of the bag.
“Get away from the bag,” Wes shouted. “Everyone—back away
from the bag.”
Roberts materialized from the huddle of bodies and jogged toward
her. “Subject is contained. We’ve got an agent down.”
Evyn. Evyn was hurt. Wes clamped down on her panic. “The
specimen could be compromised. This area is a hot zone—get everyone
out, cordon off the street.”
“Already gave the order.”
“How is she?”
“Gunshot—close range. She’s shocky.”
“Evacuate her—tell them to put her in isolation. Everyone else
goes into lockdown until I know what we’re dealing with.”
“I have to interrogate the subject,” Roberts said.
“Then you’ll have to do it in an isolation cell.” Wes kept her
focus on the bag and what it contained. Her duty, her obligation, was
to neutralize that biological agent, a substance every bit as lethal as a
dirty bomb and capable of killing far more. They didn’t know what they
were dealing with, and every member of the team had potentially been
exposed. Her heart demanded she find Evyn, protect her, aid her above
all others, but her duty drove her toward the open bag. Kneeling, she
flipped the lid on the biohazard chest filled with dry ice and pulled on
a pair of gloves. She extracted the suspect package from Jennifer’s bag
and dropped it into the chest. The package appeared to be intact. After
stripping off her gloves and depositing them in a red biohazard bag, she
donned another pair of protective gloves, pushed the spilled contents
back inside the bag, zipped it, and dropped that into the biohazard bag
• 262 •
Oath Of hOnOr
as well. Using yet another pair of gloves, she sealed the red bag and
carried it and the hazmat chest to the SUV idling half up on the curb
next to her. She climbed into the back, and as the agent inside pulled the
doors closed, she looked back at the group on the sidewalk.
Jennifer Pattee was facedown with her hands cuffed behind her
back. Hernandez, the medic assigned to Stark’s team, and Stark knelt
over Evyn. Wes couldn’t see Evyn’s face. She stared at the plain white
chest with the iridescent green biohazard sign stamped on the front
resting at her feet. The SUV sped up, leaving the scene on the sidewalk
farther and farther behind. Leaving Evyn behind. Wes concentrated
on the job that needed to be done, ignoring the pain that made every
heartbeat as agonizing as a bullet tearing her flesh. She’d had to
abandon her wounded in the field again, and this time, she’d left her
heart behind.
• 263 •
RADCLY fFE
chapter thirty-three
They made it the eight miles to the army research lab in Silver
Spring in under twenty minutes. When Wes climbed out of
the SUV with the white ice chest in her hand, three uniformed soldiers
converged on her.
“Captain Masters?” the female major asked.
“That’s right.”
“Come with us, please.”
The silent escorts led her directly through the building to an
elevator and down one floor. A fortyish African American woman with
short black hair and luminous mahogany eyes in a disposable cover
gown and gloves met Wes as she stepped out of the elevator. The
hallway in front of the air lock to the Level 4 lab was empty, save for
the slowly panning security cameras mounted at intervals along the
stark white corridor.
“I’m Dr. Felice Glover,” the woman said. “What’s the status of
the specimen?”
“Contained at this point,” Wes said, handing over the chest. “I
don’t know if we have a viable virus. I doubt it’s been kept at optimal
conditions since it went missing from the original lab. If the vial is
compromised, widespread contamination isn’t likely, but we’re taking
precautions.”
The scientist nodded briskly. “We’ll know soon enough about
exposure risks. We’ll scan the container for any leaks and I’ll call you
and Director Roberts.”
“Thank you,” Wes said, feeling caught up in the surreal. They
• 264 •
Oath Of hOnOr
were casually discussing a potentially lethal contagion while Evyn was
somewhere, injured, possibly seriously. “I need to go. I’m sorry.”
“I think the risk is slight, but keep the team in the vehicle until I
report. It’s as good as an isolation room.”
“Roger that.”
Wes hurried away, wondering if she’d ever find out what she’d just
delivered. Her job was done—some might consider she had no further
need to know. She jabbed the elevator button, rocked impatiently on her
heels during the one floor trip, and strode rapidly outside. The instant
she stepped out of the building, she called Cameron Roberts.
“Roberts.”
“How is she?”
“We’re at George Washington. The docs are looking at her now.
They’re saying guarded condition.”
Which meant anything from walking wounded to potentially
serious. “Can I talk to her?”
“They threw us all out, but she’s awake—I know that much.”
Relief rushed through her so powerfully Wes staggered. She braced
one hand against the rough brick of the building and lowered her head,
drawing a deep breath until the churning turmoil settled a little. “If they
let you in to see her, tell her…Tell her I’m on my way.”
“I’ll do that.”
“The specimen is secure.”
“I had no doubt of that,” Roberts said. “I’ll be with her until you
get here.”
“Thank you.” Wes jogged to the SUV and said to the agent driving,
“George Washington University Hospital, as quick as you can.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Wes settled in the back and closed her eyes. Her part of the mission
was done, and all that mattered was Evyn.
v
The glass door to the cubicle slid back and the curtain twitched
aside. The doctor, a harried guy in rumpled scrubs and a two-days’
growth of beard, walked in. He looked even more tired out of the space
suit.
• 265 •
RADCLY fFE
“I guess I’m not buggy, huh?” Evyn said.
“Your boss says only universal infection precautions are necessary,
and we use those with everyone.”
“Good.” Evyn relaxed, the tight spring of anxiety coiled in her
belly loosening. Wes must be okay if they’d determined the team wasn’t
at risk from the virus. “So—I’m out of here?”
“Not quite. The bullet just grazed the soft tissue at the top of
your shoulder.” He taped a rectangular bandage on the top of Evyn’s
shoulder. “You’ll get some swelling in your arm and a fair amount of
pain. An overnight stay and a pain pump—”
“No,” Evyn said. “I’m not staying.”
“I’d recommend it.”
“But you’re not requiring it?”
He sighed and shook his head. “Leave the bandage on for twenty-
four hours. The nurses will give you a prescription for antibiotics and
pain pills when you’re discharged.”
“Thanks,” Evyn said, stretching for her shirt draped on the nearby
chair. She winced at the burn in her shoulder and stopped. She didn’t
like being naked, but she didn’t want to give the guy any reason to
restrict her activities. “When can I go back to work?”
“You’ll need to have a wound check in forty-eight hours—you can
come back here, or—”
“That’s okay. I’ll see my own doctor.” She almost smiled at the
thought of just how true that statement was, but the pleasure faded
quickly. Wes had been the one closest to the virus. Maybe she’d been
exposed, but the rest of them were in the clear. She had to get out of
here and find out what was going on. She needed to see Wes. “So—
we’re done? Thanks for everything.”
He looked up from the chart. “I’d rather you see a surgeon. General
medical doctors don’t really have the experience to evaluate this kind
of wound.”
“She’s not—”
The curtains parted and Wes walked in. She wasn’t in uniform,
but then she never needed to be to look like she was in command. Her
eyes were stormy and fierce, fixed on Evyn. “I’m sorry it took me so
long to get here.”
“I’m okay,” Evyn said immediately. “It was nothing. A scratch.”
• 266 •
Oath Of hOnOr
“A little more than that,” the emergency physician said, studying
Wes. “You are?”
“Captain Wesley Masters—chief of the White House Medical
Unit.” Wes glanced at Evyn. “And her partner.”
“Oh, well then.” He tucked the chart under his arm and pushed his
pen into the ink-stained pocket of his wrinkled lab coat. “I guess you
can do the follow-up.”
“I think I can handle that. Thanks for taking care of her.” Wes
cupped Evyn’s face, brushed a thumb over her cheek. The ER physician
disappeared through the curtains and Wes leaned forward and kissed
Evyn softly. “Now, how are you really doing?”
“I’m good. Even better now.” Evyn circled Wes’s wrist and
pressed Wes’s palm to her face to reassure Wes, and herself. “I’d feel
even better with my shirt on.”
Laughing, Wes plucked the shirt from the chair, and the laughter
died. Blood stained the shoulder and collar. Her hands trembled. Today,
Evyn had been lucky. The next time, she might not be.
“You know it always looks worse than it is,” Evyn said softly.
“Right.” Wes held up the shirt. “This will have to do until we get
you home and into something clean.”
“I’m not going home,” Evyn said. “I want to get back to base for
a sitrep. Roberts left a while ago to interrogate the suspects. Tom needs
to be briefed, and—”
“Evyn,” Wes murmured, “you’ve been shot, you’ve been given
pain medication, and you need to rest. You’re on sick leave as of
now.”“What? You can’t—” Evyn stared, her brow furrowing. “Hell, you
can.”Wes said nothing, waiting for the anger and the resentment.
They’d had so little time to find their personal balance and now they
might never be able to. She had to pull rank—she had a duty to Evyn,
to the president, to Evyn’s team—she had to take care of her, no matter
the cost.
“You better like cats.”
“What?” Wes asked.
“Cats. I come with a cat. And if I’m going home, so are you. As
least until Roberts wants you back to debrief.”
• 267 •
RADCLY fFE
“You want me to drive you home?” Wes couldn’t quite grasp what
Evyn was saying. “You’re not pissed?”
“Sure I am. I don’t get why you don’t appreciate how superhuman
I am. After all, I’m a United States Secret Service Agent.”
Wes smothered a smile. Evyn’s pupils were pinpoints. The
medication was kicking in. “You are. And a stellar one.”
“So—you’re coming home with me, then?”
“I am.” Wes held up Evyn’s shirt. “This first.”
Evyn slid her good arm into the sleeve, and Wes helped her thread
the other sleeve over her injured left arm.
“We alone?”
“Yes.”
“I take it everything’s all right with the package? The doc ditched
his suits.”
Wes nodded. “I called when I got the preliminary from the lab on
my way in. The vial is intact.”
“You weren’t compromised out in the field?”
“No. I’ll take culture specimens from everyone to be complete,
but I think we’re all in the clear thanks to your quick work out there.”
Evyn started to shrug, then grimaced. Her shoulder burned. “Not
quite quick enough. I wasn’t expecting the gun, but I guess I should’ve
been. She’s military, after all. And on a mission.”
“I would’ve preferred if you hadn’t used your body to stop the
bullet.” Wes carefully buttoned Evyn’s shirt. She knew the risks of
Evyn’s job, accepted them, knew the overwhelming odds were she
would be safe, but there was always the threat that she would be hurt.
Wes gripped the material harder, hiding the tremor in her hands. She
kissed Evyn again. “You did well, all the same.”
“Huh. Maybe.”
Evyn pushed off the treatment table and swayed on her feet. “I
was watching the hand on the bag—I was afraid she’d pull the virus out
and toss the vial into the street as a diversion. It gave her just enough
time to get the gun out. Dumb rookie move.”
“Instinct. That’s what training is all about, right?” Wes slid her
arm around Evyn’s waist. Evyn might not need the support, but she
needed to touch her. Needed to be sure she was alive and well and hers.
“I love you.”
• 268 •
Oath Of hOnOr
Evyn rested her head on Wes’s shoulder, holding on to her with
her good arm. “I love you too. Sorry if I gave you a scare.”
“You did what you had to do. I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you out
there.”“You were where you needed to be, doing what needed to be
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