story.'
'That explains why AJ didn't call me, too. She warned me in the only way she could without betraying her father. I doubt that she ever thought we would figure it out and uncover his involvement.'
'Christ, if Justice and the Bureau and Wallace have been colluding to covertly investigate political figures on the Hill, including the president, it's going to be a scandal of major proportions.'
'And if it comes out that AJ was the leak, she's going to lose her job.' Blair tightened her grip on Cam's hand. 'I don't want that to happen, Cam. She was trying to help me. I can imagine how hard it must've been for her to send me information when it endangered her father's career. I can't turn around and destroy her's.'
'It might be better if we just did nothing,' Cam said resignedly. 'I can weather a Justice inquiry.'
'Not if the cards are stacked against you,' Blair protested. 'You know and I know and everyone involved knows that your actions were perfectly appropriate during the entire Loverboy operation. But if Doyle has enough pull to get you investigated, who knows what the outcome might be? We can't chance that.'
'But if it means we can avoid creating a public scandal that might extend even further than we imagine, I'll chance it.' Cam ran the hand that was not clasping Blair's over her face. 'I have a responsibility to the Agency, to the system, and I don't want to put it on public trial for my own personal benefit. I'm willing to risk the inquiry.'
'Well, I'm not,' Blair said softly, lifting her free hand to run it through Cam's hair. 'Not when it's you. Besides, it's not just a Justice inquiry. God knows what they're going to do with the information about you and the escort service, or how they might try to link me to it.'
'If I can get hard facts, I'll go to Carlisle before Justice convenes tomorrow,' Cam said, thinking aloud. 'It's possible with that kind of ammunition he can stop the inquiry before it becomes a matter of record. I'm not sure yet what we can do about the rest of it.'
'I might have some ideas,' Blair said.
'I don't suppose there's any chance that I can talk you into staying out of this, is there?'
Blair smiled softly and kissed her. When she drew back, she said, 'Not a chance in hell.'
Chapter Thirty-Five
Blair's bed faced the floor-to-ceiling windows, and from the top floor, all Cam could see was the moon and the shadows of buildings across the square. Blair was curled around her, her head on Cam's shoulder, one arm and leg thrown over Cam's body. Resting her cheek against the silken softness of Blair's hair, Cam breathed her scent and softly stroked the curve of her hip and listened to her even breathing as she slept.
They'd made love quickly, not because of time, but because of need. Their kisses had been ferocious, their hands greedy, their bodies aflame. When they'd climaxed, it has been as much with hunger as release.
Lying there with her, realizing it was one of the very few times they had ever spent even part of the night together, Cam struggled with the anguish of knowing that it might be a long time before she would hold her again. Despite the hope that her colleagues and friends would find some concrete evidence that she could use as a bargaining chip with Carlisle, she despaired that she would be able to change what had already been set in motion. Thinking about Doyle and his deeply harbored animosity over a relationship that was long dead and his jealousy over a woman who had left him long before she died as well, Cam struggled to keep the regrets and remorse over Janet's death buried. She knew Blair was right-that it wasn't her fault or even her responsibility-but she couldn't stop remembering the disappointment that had flickered in Janet's eyes just before the life left them. Now she might lose another woman, a woman whom she knew she couldnt live without, and she felt the dams crack.
Blair stirred and whispered, 'What's wrong?'
'I'm sorry, Ididn't mean to wake you,' Cam managed, wondering why her throat felt so tight.
Blair ran her fingers over Cam's face and drew a sharp breath. Her hand came away wet with tears. Stunned, heart aching, she pushed herself up in bed and gathered Cam into her arms. 'It's all right,' she murmured, holding her tightly, rocking her without even thinking about it. 'Tell me?'
When Cam tried to answer, her voice broke on a sob. For so many months before Blair had come into her life, she had kept the pain at bay by immersing herself in work and unemotional sex. Now, when she had finally found happiness, the peace was threatened by forces she did not know how to fight. She was breaking, and she didn't know how to stop it. Desperate, she clung to Blair and fought for breath.
For the first time in her life, Blair understood that the essence of love was the solace that one gave in the dark of the night when the terror and uncertainty and ghosts of old heartache were the strongest. Holding her lover in a grip so firm it might have been painful if it hadnt been so essential, she whispered fiercely, 'I love you, baby. I love you.'
Eventually, Cam's head cleared and the fist that had squeezed the air from her lungs and threatened to stop the blood in her veins relinquished its hold, and she pushed away onto her back, gasping. 'God, I'msorry. I have no idea what happened.'
'Are you all right?' Blair murmured, her own breath tight in her chest. Blindly, she found Cam's hand and squeezed.
'Yes. Just a nightmare-the kind you have when you're awake.'
'Ive had them,' Blair said quietly. 'You make them stop.'
'So do you'. Cam turned on her side and brushed her fingers over Blair's face, stroking her neck and shoulders. 'Thank you.'
When they kissed, it was with thanks as well as desire. Cam shifted until her thigh nestled between Blair's legs and groaned faintly as Blair pressed into her. 'I need you, Blair.'
As she leaned down to kiss her again, the phone rang. Cam pulled away, cursing.
'Easy, lover'. Blair patted Cam's cheek and laughed a little unsteadily. 'Ordinarily I'd ignore it, but I think we'd better answer that.'
'I take a rain check then,' Cam whispered and kissed her quickly.
'You bet you will.'
Reluctantly, Cam moved away and Blair reached for the phone.
'Blair Powell...give us 10 minutes.'
Suddenly wide awake, she hung up and pushed back the sheets.
'Time for a shower, Commander. Felicia says she has what we need.'
*****
Lucinda Washburn looked up from the stack of papers and studied Blair unblinkingly. 'How many people know about this?'
Across from her, Blair, dressed in jeans and the light cotton sweater she had traveled in, said, 'Five federal agents.'
'Jesus,' Lucinda muttered. 'That's a security nightmare.'
'No, it isn't,' Blair assured her. 'No one is going to say anything to anyone.'
'You trust them all?'
Blair laughed at the irony, thinking of all they'd been through together. 'With my life.'
'As I understand it,' Lucinda began, rifling through the pages, 'one of the senior senators has been gathering intelligence on private citizens and politicians, including the President of the United States, ostensibly to plan campaign strategy and possibly influence lobbyists, voters, and party officials-using federal agents and resources. Is that what youre telling me?'
'Pretty much'. Blair shrugged. 'I don't really knowwhat his intentions were, but the transmissions we intercepted clearly indicate unofficial surveillance being carried out by some members of the FBI, with that information being routed to Senator Wallace and at least one person at Justice.'
'And who tipped you to this?'
'Anonymous.' She would not reveal AJ's role. She wasn't even certain that her old friend hadn't been an active part of the operation, and if she had been, Blair had no desire to see AJs career torpedoed. 'When the photo of Cam and me leaked to the press, we started digging, and this is what we found.'
'Pretty lucky,' Lucinda observed wryly, her voice making it clear that she knew there was more to it than Blair was revealing. 'As it stands, the use of wire-taps and electronic surveillance in the investigation of private citizens who are not suspected ofanything violates any number of federal laws, not to mention the campaign irregularities if
