for putting us up last night.'
'She's my best friend, and I love her.'
'I know, and I'm glad. Briefly Cam wondered if those two things were related or if they were, in fact, separate statements. She had never asked Blair if she and Diane had been lovers, and she never would. It didn't matter because it didn't affect what was between her and Blair now. «She needs friends like you.'
'Apparently what she needs most of all, Commander,' Diane said emphatically, 'is you.'
'It's Cam. And if it makes you worry any less, I love her, too.'
Diane smiled, and this time the smile was sensuous. Her voice dropped a register as she remarked throatily, 'She's very fortunate.'
'No. I am.'
'Are things going to work out with this latest press brouhaha?' Diane asked suddenly.
Cam was used to keeping her reactions to herself, but the question surprised her. 'You know about that?'
'Some. Blair told me about the photograph in the newspaper and the fact that she expects more publicity.'
'I doubt that our relationship will remain a secret much longer.'
'If I may be so bold... are you ready for that?'
'More than ready.'
Diane saluted her with the coffee cup. 'As I said, she's very lucky.'
At that moment Blair shuffled into the kitchen, dressed only in a long T-shirt that came to mid thigh. She glanced from her lover to her best friend. 'Who's lucky? Is that coffee?'
Cam laughed and held out the cup. 'Here you go.'
Blair frowned when she realized that Cam was barefoot in old clothes that Blair kept at Diane's for emergencies-tight threadbare jeans that didn't button at the top and a shirt that was missing buttons in decidedly dangerous places considering Diane's proximity. Crossing quickly to Cam's side, she took the cup and wrapped her free arm around her lover's waist. 'What are you two talking about...or shouldn't I ask?'
Cam kissed her temple lightly and murmured, 'Newspaper photographs.'
Blair grimaced. 'Oh, that. What else.'
'Don't worry, love,' Diane said lightly. 'Once they've had their week of fun with you, they'll move on to something else. In six months, no one will care.'
'In six months, my father is going to be in the middle of his reelection campaign.Someone is going to care.'
'He can handle it,' Cam said with certainty.
'I hope so,' Blair said, almost to herself.
Chapter Thirty-Two
Five hours later, Cam, in a two piece charcoal suit and monochrome linen shirt, accompanied by Stark, Savard, Mac, and Felicia, knocked on Blair's door.
'Hi,' Blair said when she stepped aside to admit them. For an instant, seeing Cam in her professional mode, she remembered how her lover had looked that morning, disheveled and still sleep-tossed, and she wanted to kiss her. Just because.
Hi,' Cam murmured as she passed, the fingers of her right hand brushing the length of Blair's bare forearm.
'There's coffee in the kitchen if anyone wants some,' Blair called. 'Just help yourself.
A few minutes later, everyone had settled in a loose circle around the low wide coffee table in the sitting area just to the right of the door. Cam sat on the couch next to Blair with Mac on her left. Felicia was next to him in one of the sling back chairs while Stark and Savard occupied a small loveseat on the other side of the table.
'I ran preliminaries on our team this morning,' Cam said. 'As we all expected, it was fairly nonproductive. I did turn up one interesting fact, however.'
Beside her, she felt Mac stiffen and saw Stark's eyes widen with surprise, or alarm. Savard watched her intently. The only person in the room who seemed completely relaxed was Felicia Davis.
'It seems that Fielding was assigned as the FBI liaison in DC three years ago. The Bureau field agent he worked with was Special Agent Patrick Doyle.
'Jesus,' Stark exclaimed. 'He never said anything about knowing Doyle.'
'Yes, but that doesn't mean anything,' Mac hastened to add. 'It's not like they were old friends or anything. Considering what an asshole Doyle turned out to be, he probably wanted to downplay any relationship they might have had.'
Reluctantly, Stark pointed out, 'Fielding was with us in San Francisco. And hed just gone off duty the night that Ms. PowBlair and the commander were photographed on the beach. He could have tipped someone to their location.'
'Yes,' Mac agreed grudgingly, 'but there are plenty of other explanations for that photograph. The Bureau has agents there, and theyd most likely take pictures of anyone with no questions asked if a DC SAC ordered them to.'
'At this point,' Cam interjected before Mac and Stark ended up at odds, 'I consider this only a coincidental association. It could be only a paper link-Fielding might never even have interfaced with Doyle in person. But it bears follow-up. Right now, we can't discount any potential connections.' She had known her agents wouldn't like one of their own being looked at, and she didn't blame them. She would have been unhappy if they'd reacted otherwise. But it had to be done. 'Savard? Can you run with it?'
'Yes, ma'am.'
'Good. How about you two-any progress withmy background check?' Cam asked, looking steadily at Stark and Savard.
Savard cleared her throat. 'So far, Commander, you're in the clear. We looked at...ah...family members and the list of intimate contacts you provided.'
To her credit, Savard neither blushed nor looked away. Then she added, 'Other than your association with the escort service in DC, we don't see anything that could potentially be an avenue for blackmail or future coercion.'
'For now, we'll accept that as a dead end,' Cam responded evenly. 'If something turns up that does lead back to me, we'll look further.'
'Yes, ma'am.'
Turning to her communications director, Cam asked, 'Mac?'
He grimaced, his frustration evident. 'Id hoped to have more. I finally backtracked the photograph in the Post of you and Blair through the AP's source files and came up with the name of a freelance reporter. Eric Mitchell out a Chicago.'
'Name mean anything to anyone?' Cam asked of the room in general. Everyone shook their heads in the negative. She nodded. 'Go ahead Mac.'
He ran a hand through his blond hair and blew out of breath. 'I wish I could. I talked to him an hour ago, and he's uncrackable. I don't think he'd give up a source if President Powell flew out there and confronted him in the news room. The only thing hewould tell me is that it came to him via an anonymous email.'
'I'm looking at that, Commander,' Davis said quietly. «Newspapers arent particularly difficult to hack.
Cam raised an eyebrow but made no comment. 'You think there's any value in bracing him in person, Mac?'
Mac shook his head. 'Believe me, Commander, I would fly out there this afternoon if I thought it would do any good. He's not going to give us anything.'
'All right,' Cam said with a sigh. 'Anything inhis background?'
'Nothing much, but I haven't looked too hard yet. I just came up with his name right before this meeting.'
'Dig. There's got to be a reason that the source contacted him specifically. Find it.'
'Roger that.'
