46
Taz’s phone rang. “What?”
“Hold please.” A female operator dropped her into hold-music hell before she could finish saying, “You’re the one who called me…”Bitch!
Worse, it was her former general’s favorite piece of music, "Bésame Mucho". His wife’s favorite love song—until some druggies needing their next fix had burned her down for her ATM cash. General Martinez had listened to it as if he hadenjoyeddriving the dagger of memory into his own chest. Maybe he had. His wife’s death had eventually killed him and everyone near him—except herself.
Was she doing the same goddamn thing to herself, embracing the pain? Someone please tell her she wasn’t being that stupid.
Her palm was already sweaty on the slippery phone case because of the call with Miranda, or the attempted one. Holly had said she’d take care of it. If anyone could, it would be her. But Taz’s hands still shook with the adrenaline.
When she’d asked who had answered Miranda’s phone, Holly had said some Navy puke of an officer who was about to die a bloody death. Fine by her.
“Is this Colonel Taz Cortez?”
Taz straightened up so fast she almost broke her knee against the front of Jon’s desk. Everyone in the room jolted at the loud clang. She barely managed to suppress a curse of pain.
“Yes sir.”
“How are you doing, Colonel?” Why was the President asking her that? Oh!
“We’ve confirmed who killed the two pilots and Senator Ramson, sir.”
Jon startled and twisted to look at Rose. Taz couldn’t believe that he was dumb enough to think he had a chance with a woman who had that much class. Apparently he was. So not gonna happen.
“And you’ve let her know?”
“She’s been with us, Jeremy and me, since our first arrival at the incident. We have a hypothesis that the attack specifically targeted him, rather than some form of domestic terrorism. We’ve asked the FBI and Homeland Security to continue pursuing that angle.”
“Well done, and good news,” he cleared his throat, “in a horrible way. I wanted to talk to you about Jeremy.”
“Yes sir.” She tried to think of what they might have done wrong.
“As both Miranda and Drake are overseas and headed into a crucial meeting…”
News to her.
“…Drake has suggested that you could be of service to me. I was hoping that one or both of you could come here to the White House. I may need information or technical advice very rapidly as the meeting develops. It starts in an hour. Are you in the area?”
“At the Pentagon, sir.” Taz looked around the room. She needed to get Rose out of here before Jon Swift drooled all over her. “May I ask Ms. Ramson to join us?”
Rose glanced up at her with curiosity.
“I’ve found her insights into personnel and motivations to be highly useful.” Taz told both her and the President.
“Yes, please do. Then I can also offer my condolences in person.”
“We’ll be there shortly, sir.”
“You’ll be cleared through the West Entrance. We’ll be setting up in the Situation Room.”
“Yes sir. Thank you, sir.”
Taz hung up and tried to take a calming breath, but Jon interrupted even that.
“Who were you talking to?”
“Above your clearance level,MajorSwift.” God it felt good to mess withsomeone’shead. “Contact me the moment you hear anything on the perpetrator. The very second. And yes, that’s a direct order.” Then without giving him time to respond, she waved Rose and Jeremy out of the room.
Half out the door herself, she turned back.
“And if I don’t answer my phone, call the White House Situation Room.”