Page 24 of The Saint
Liam thanked the bartender for his drink and turned to Camden. “What the hell are you doing in here? Didn’t think this place was your scene.”
He shrugged in agreement. “I didn’t think this place was anyone’s scene unless the ladies wanted a celebration or a party.” He was astounded by how their team had morphed from a gathering of single men to family guys. He didn’t begrudge anyone their happiness but did find it perplexing.
“Yet here you are,” Liam pointed out.
He nodded. “What’s up, man?”
“I don’t know. Boss Man wanted me to feel something out, and here I find you hiding.”
He shot Liam a glance. “I’m not hiding.”
“If you say so.” Liam took a long drink and set the glass down. “You feel like going back to the US for bit?”
Camden’s eyebrow arched. His heart kickstarted. “What for?”
“To have a sit-down with Beth Tourne.”
“From the CIA?”
“Do you know another Beth Tourne?”
“I don’t knowanyBeth Tournes. There’s probably a better person to meet with one of their people.” If not Liam, then Chance, Hagan, or Sawyer would be a more responsible Titan representative. They were dependable, trusted. They were the ones assigned to complicated jobs that required more gravitas than he had ever been interested in giving to a project.
Liam narrowed his gaze and scrutinized Camden. “Huh.”
“What?”
“What the hell is going on with you?”
“Nothing.”
“Then since when are you not raring to go on assignment?” Liam pressed.
Camden raised his shoulders with feigned indifference. He couldn’t shake his fascination with Amelia Stone, and that was enough that he wanted to avoid Beth Tourne.
Liam sipped his soda. “I’m not one to question Boss Man. He usually has a plan and a dozen backup plans.”
That, Camden knew all too well, which made him even more uncomfortable, especially since he wanted to learn more about Amelia with each passing moment. “Jared could find someone who’s on the same continent as her.”
“Obviously, Cam, but he said you.”
Camden pursed his lips. A hundred thoughts ran through his head. He drummed his fingers against the sweating soda glass. “Any update as to why the CIA had to farm out its call center?”
Liam shook his head. “Ask Beth.” He gave him a hard look. “Any reason in particular you don’t want to take a cushy job?”
He batted the drink between his palms and wished it were a football instead. At least that would help him think. “You know the girl? Amelia Stone? She was thrown into all this without any information. No one’s debriefed her. She sees the bullshit cover story, yet no one is telling her a damn thing.”
“Maybe they wantyouto do their dirty work.”
“Maybe.”Would that be such a bad thing? Yeah, it would.He didn’t realize it until right then, but he’d put Amelia Stone on one hell of a pedestal. “It’d be a no-brainer if you wanted me to haul ass into a building with some terrorist trying to blow my brains out. But the CIA? I don’t know if I have the stomach for their particular blend of bullshit.”
“Do you thinkAmeliahas what it takes to stomach it?”
Camden half laughed. “I think that woman can handle anything thrown at her.” He lifted his shoulders again. “Whether she should have to or not? I don’t know. That’s a different story.”
Titan’s private jet touched down at Dulles Airport outside Washington, DC. Camden scrubbed a hand over his face and into his dark tousled hair. The time change wouldn’t bother him. Neither would the solitude of a solo gig. But he wasn’t sure about an assignment that was more talk than action. His work preference could be summarized as: get in, get the job done, get out. Talking to spooks wasn’t the least bit interesting.
The jet came to a stop at a private terminal. He glanced out the oval window. A standard black Suburban with government plates was waiting for him to deplane. His mind skipped through his upcoming day. The Suburban would take him to meet Beth. Parker had briefed Camden on her but hadn’t had much to say. Beth was new to the CIA. She had a redacted personal history that had led her to a job in which she could reinvent her life and live it up as a party girl. Beth was doing her damnedest to be photographed at exclusive parties on the arms of DC’s diplomatic and political crowd. Camden wondered if any those parties had been handled by Events and Occasions. All in all, Beth and Camden wouldn’t have much in common.
