Part 19 (1/2)

”You called, yes?”

”I'm not even sure she heard me. We had a bad connection.”

”The two of you? No such thing.” His mother dismissed the subject and went back to her newspaper, crossing her legs and dangling a jeweled slipper from one red-nailed big toe. ”Do you want me to tell you what I see?”

”No!” Stefan sat up, sucked down the rest of the gin and tonic, and stood up. He was already heading for the stairs, unb.u.t.toning his s.h.i.+rt, when he heard his mother's chuckle. She loved doing that to him, he knew. And he fell for it, every single time. She wouldn't have told him anything. He wasn't absolutely sure that she actually knew.

But just the possibility of it was enough to get him moving, as she'd no doubt planned.

Stefan always kept a few things at home in the closet of the room he'd once shared with Angelo-s.h.i.+rts, pants, a couple of battered pairs of shoes that had seen their best days, even for a street-addicted wanderer. He stripped completely, had a two-minute shower-his specialty, which had always made him a favorite in a house of people who seemed to take hours to wash their hands-and slipped into an ancient pair of blue jeans, comfortably threadbare, with a gray T-s.h.i.+rt. He left his feet bare, thinking, I'm not going anywhere. He had no doubt that Katie would categorically refuse to be seen anywhere with him. He couldn't blame her, not really. She had a reputation and a career to protect.

He was leaning on the bathroom counter, staring at his bloodshot eyes in the mirror and wondering what to say to her when the doorbell rang downstairs. A sigh worked its way up from deep inside him. As always, Mom was right.

Stefan took his time coming downstairs, and stopped four steps into his descent because he could see Katie standing in the entry hall. She looked...different. No longer exhausted, no longer beaten, the way she'd seemed at the warehouse.

Most importantly, no longer angry.

She was talking with Dad, and smiling at him-not just the strained, polite smile she'd shown before, but something real.

And then, as if she'd felt his eyes on her, she looked up, and the smile was for him.

”Careful,” Stefan said. ”I might think you still like me.”

”Come here,” Katie said and held out her hand. He padded down the steps, never taking his gaze from hers, and came right into her s.p.a.ce, close enough to feel her warmth. Their fingers tangled together, warm and sweet, and he leaned forward to place a kiss just so, at the sensitive juncture of her ear and her neck.

”I thought you hated me,” he murmured.

”I do,” she murmured back, but there was a catch in her voice, a breathless thrill that roused something dangerous inside him. ”But you called me, remember?”

”Oh, get a room,” Stefan's dad said, but he was smiling, and his eyes were kind. ”I was just telling Katie that you've been resting most of the day, but there was this vision-”

”Dad. I can tell it myself.” Stefan sighed. His dad held up his hands in surrender and went into the kitchen. Mom had already gone there, but then she always knew the right move. Part of her gift.

Which left him, and Katie. Up close, she looked worn and tired, and badly in need of a shower; he thought she was the most lovely thing he'd ever seen, and thought about telling her so.

Instead, he told her about his vision.

”Teal reached out,” he said, settling Katie on the sofa and fetching her the extra gin and tonic his mother had conveniently mixed and left on the counter. ”I think that last time we were in contact, she learned something about how and when to send information. She definitely wasn't overwhelming this time, and she communicated a lot in a very short burst. She isn't on the s.h.i.+p anymore. I don't know how that happened, but-”

”Seaplane,” Katie said. ”But more significantly, somebody with access took down the surveillance long enough for the plane to land, board the girls and take off without being detected. And that means somebody at high levels inside of the FBI, or another government organization with access. That's why I came, Stefan. The game's rigged. The FBI isn't going to find these kids because key people have been bought, or suborned in some way, and there's no way I can prove it in a court of law. Even if I could, it wouldn't help get Teal and Lena back safely. G.o.d, I hate this. Every time we get close, some other evil surprise pops out, and it's worse than the last. Bad enough when they had somebody inside the Academy, but then the cops, and now the FBI...” Katie shook her head and sc.r.a.ped her hair back from her weary face. ”There's got to be a way.”

”Maybe there is,” Stefan said. ”That's why I called. I think from the level of control Teal had this last time that I can stay with her and still relay information to you, too. It's a real breakthrough.”

Katie blinked, clearly surprised. ”But-you're sure? I don't want you to risk-”

”I think Teal realized she was hurting me. She backed off the power, and we've got a clear lock now. It's like a door, I can open it when I need to. If you want me to.” He searched her face, fascinated by the colors sparking in her eyes, the sweetness hiding in the corners of her smile. ”Do you? Want me?”

”Yes,” she said. ”I want.”

He'd drawn closer to her, somehow, although it hadn't been a conscious decision, and now their lips were touching, a ghost kiss, teasing and torturous. ”Want,” he repeated. ”You mean, you want me for my information.”

”Yes,” Katie murmured, so quietly it was more of a tremor of her lips than a word. ”Maybe not...exclusively for the information.”

He let himself off the leash, just a bit, and the kiss deepened and sweetened. Her lips felt ripe and damp under his, and he couldn't believe that he'd ever thought about letting her walk away from him.

”Teal's plane,” he said, and kissed his way down the side of her neck, paying special attention to every place that made her s.h.i.+ver. ”It's still in the air.”

”Meaning?” Her hands were in his hair now, combing through curls, and it felt so unbelievably good. She slid her palm around the back of his neck, that special, gentle caress he remembered from the car, when he'd been so lost and alone.

”Meaning that we have some time before she can tell us anything more. She's looking at cloud cover.”

”Ah,” Katie breathed. ”Cloud cover. Ah!” That last was more of a gasp, and he grinned against the soft skin of her neck and continued to explore. ”Wait. Wait. Stefan-your parents-”

Oh, ouch. Cold water. He pulled back, remembering where he was...on Dad's favorite couch, with Mom's patented G and Ts frosting on the coffee table in front of them. Parents fifteen feet away, in the kitchen. Or maybe spying even closer.

”Upstairs,” he said.

Katie clung to some last shred of professional dignity. ”Just until you get more intel about the plane,” she said. ”Then I have to go.”

”I won't stop you,” he said.

”Good,” she said, and gripped his hand tightly, pulling him to his feet. ”Then let's see what's upstairs. If there's a shower, I'm yours.”

Stefan brushed his lips by her ear. ”You're mine anyway, Katie.”

She smiled. ”We'll see.”

Katie was drifting off to sleep, cradling warm and clean and tingling against the smooth warm skin of Stefan's bare chest. He stroked his fingers up and down her spine, and if she hadn't believed he was a magician before, that light, constant caress convinced her. Only magic could possibly feel that good.

She was so closely tuned to him that when his fingers stuttered, hesitated and then resumed their rhythm, she opened her eyes and said, ”Teal?”

Stefan nodded. ”Her plane's landing.” Silence. She sat up slowly, watching him, and got out of bed to put on her bra and panties. Stefan had ransacked the family's storage to find some clothes left by-he said-a female cousin; Katie generously overflowed the bra, but the blue jeans were almost a perfect fit. One of Stefan's silk s.h.i.+rts completed her change. She b.u.t.toned it quickly, watching him as he lay quietly, staring up at the ceiling. There was a difference now in the visions, no question about it; he was still drifting, but it was a controlled drift, not a tornado pulling him apart.

He blinked, put his arm behind his head, and focused on her. ”You're already dressed. Disappointing.”

”Where are they?”

”What are you going to do, Katie? Go off on your own? Alone?”

”That's what I have to do,” she said. ”Not as an FBI agent. As a private citizen. You tell me what you know, and I'll take it from there.”

He looked thoughtful, and then he said, ”No.”

She stopped in the act of tucking in his s.h.i.+rt. ”What?”

”I said no,” he repeated and sat up. He began to dress while he talked. ”You're not going alone, Katie, and that's not even up for discussion. You'll need me along, and apart from that, you're going to need to access FBI files for me, so I need you, too.”