Chapter Twelve

CHAPTER TWELVE

“I hear you,” Colt said calmly. “And I understand your frustration.

Their drinks arrived, and the conversation turned to more mundane topics until the food arrived and the waitress left them alone for a bit. Faith ate slowly, flipping her phone over and opening the map of the area again. She studied it as she ate, trying to home in on where they should try next.

“I think we should keep heading south for a few more miles, but then, maybe we could explore some of these neighborhoods,” she said, feeling her way as she studied the map and scrolled around to look at the different areas adjacent to the interstate.

“Sure,” Colt agreed readily. “Wherever you think is best.”

She sighed heavily and put her phone back down on the table. “The feeling is growing fainter and fainter by the minute. I really don’t think it’s going to be today, but I can’t help but keep looking. If we get close enough, I might be able to identify the site and give us a head start for when the stuff really does hit the fan.”

“Stuff?” he repeated, grinning as he ate his giant burger.

“You know what I mean,” she mumbled, going back to her own plate.

“Yeah, I do,” he agreed and let the comment pass. “I think it’s a good idea to try to find the site as early as possible, but try not to put too much pressure on yourself. That sort of thing can stifle your native abilities. Maybe we find it this afternoon. Maybe we don’t. Either way, it’ll be okay.” He paused until she looked over to meet his gaze. “Okay?” His eyes were filled with compassion for her and her struggle to identify the place where the confrontation she sensed was going to happen.

He was right. She was putting too much pressure on herself. Maybe that’s why she couldn’t find it. She breathed deeply and shook her head.

“Okay,” she replied. “You’re right.” He grinned at her, and she tried to smile back, still unable to put her stress away completely. “Thank you, Colt. I’m glad you’re here to remind me to breathe.”

She reached out to him, and their hands touched across the width of the small table for two. The restaurant wasn’t packed, and they were seated a little away from the other patrons because Colt had requested the table specifically. He twined their fingers together and squeezed her hand gently.

“I’m glad I’m here too, Faith. I’ll always back you up. No matter what,” he promised.

He sounded so serious. The words were like a vow. Like he was talking about more than just today and tomorrow, or however long this mission lasted. It sure sounded like he was talking about much longer than that. Like maybe…forever.

Whoa . She had to get hold of her emotions. Her heart had leapt at the idea, but she couldn’t really think about any sort of future just yet. Not until the demons she sensed were on the horizon had been dealt with. If the worst should happen, she might not even survive the encounter.

As such, she had no business dreaming of a future with this man. This amazing lion shifter who had such integrity, skill and honor that she didn’t think she’d ever meet a man like him again.

They got back on the road a short while later after lunch had been consumed, along with a decadent dessert that Colt talked her into enjoying. They split it, which felt sort of intimate and…romantic. She just couldn’t help it. Her little heart went pitty-pat whenever this man turned on the charm.

They drove farther south, but the feeling of being drawn remained at a lower level than this morning. It was still there, but not really giving her the sense of urgency she expected. She interpreted that to mean that nothing was going to happen today.

Faith really hoped she was right about that.

“We might as well turn around. Nothing is getting any clearer,” she finally said as the afternoon wore away.

Colt had driven them through some of the suburban neighborhoods on either side of the highway, but Faith didn’t feel drawn in any particular direction. She felt really frustrated with herself, but Colt was the voice of reason, helping her remain calm and almost accepting of what she privately considered a failure.

“We can go over the more detailed maps back at the apartment,” Colt told her, reaching over to put one hand over hers in comfort. “If nothing else, we’ve done good reconnaissance today. I now know what a lot of the places on the map look like up close, which is always a good thing. And I’m more familiar with the traffic patterns and the routes to get various places. All good knowledge. So, we did accomplish something today.”

She shrugged, still feeling dejected. “If you say so.”

“Hey,” he crooned, making her look at him. “A lot of my former profession was what soldiers call hurry up and wait . That’s what we’re doing today. It’s all part of the process. You were in a hurry to get to the place of conflict. You’re here now, and you have this waiting period before the action actually starts. It can get to you. I know that first-hand. But it’s way better than not being where you need to be when the stuff starts hitting the fan, as you put it earlier.” He gave her a lopsided grin, and she felt her own lips lift in answer. “You’re in the right place. Now, we’re just waiting for the right time. It’s all good. Don’t let the waiting drag your spirits down. You’re doing really well so far. You could still be back in Oklahoma or someplace else when you really need to be here, so step one is complete. This is just a little intermission before the rest of the play begins.”

His words lifted her spirits a bit, and by the time they got back to the apartment, she was ready to look at maps and try to figure out their next step. The sense of dejection had almost entirely left her by the time they spoke to Gavin who had graciously offered to procure dinner for them again.

He dropped it off and left them to it, claiming he had a bit more work to do before he called it a night, but that he’d be right across the hall if they needed anything. The food was delicious and plentiful, and it revived her spirits even more.

“Gavin really is good about giving us our privacy,” Faith observed as they ate.

“Yeah, I suppose I can give him points for that,” Colt replied. “Of course, they could have this entire apartment bugged in some way I can’t detect.”

Faith frowned, looking around suspiciously. Colt chuckled, and she looked back at him.

“Don’t worry. I honestly don’t think there’s any bug in existence that I couldn’t detect in some way, and I’ve gone over this apartment pretty thoroughly since we’ve been here. I can say with ninety-nine point nine percent certainty that we’re not being spied on by anybody while we’re here.” He tilted his head. “Which is a bit odd, to be honest. I expected them to try something. Of course, with Gavin just across the way, we can’t really leave without him noticing, and I’m sure the hallways and elevator has surveillance. All buildings have that now as a matter of course.”

Colt finished the last of his food and set down his fork. He’d had a much larger serving than she had, but had packed it away faster than she could eat. She supposed shifters got used to consuming large quantities in order to power their shifter magic.

“If you don’t mind, I think I’m going to invite Gavin over for dessert,” Colt surprised her by saying as he pushed back from the table and stood. He gathered the empty plates and put them in the sink.

She wasn’t sure if Colt had suddenly had a change of heart where the other Kinkaid was concerned, but she wasn’t going to question it. She thought they could use Gavin’s knowledge of the area and was glad Colt had decided to invite the other man over. He lived here. He knew the terrain and the neighborhoods better than they did. It would be foolish not to consult him.

She said nothing as Colt went to the door of the apartment, opened it and went across the hall. Faith cleared the rest of the table and then got the dessert tray out of the fridge, along with three dessert plates and forks. She could see the door of the other apartment through the open door of theirs, so she watched as Colt knocked on Gavin’s door and waited. It took only a few moments for Gavin to answer.

She couldn’t hear their conversation, but she saw Gavin’s nod of agreement. Both men turned away. Colt returned to their apartment while Gavin left his own door open and seemed to gather a few things before coming across the hall. When he walked in the still-open door, he was clipping his phone to his belt with one hand and held a file folder in his other hand.

Faith greeted Gavin as he came over to the dining table and set down his folder to one side. He smiled at her and rubbed his hands together.

“I see I’ve arrived just in time for the good stuff,” he said, grinning.

“I didn’t know you had a sweet tooth,” Faith commented, smiling as Gavin sat. Colt was right behind him, having stopped to get the coffee.

“Actually, I have a sweet spot for the pastry chef. She’s my older sister.” He grabbed one of the cookies off the platter and bit into it. “She makes the best chocolate chip cookies in the universe,” he said after a moment to chew and swallow.

Faith decided to humor him, taking one of the cookies for herself. She bit into it, and the explosion of chocolatey deliciousness took her by surprise.

“Oh, that’s good,” Faith told him once she had swallowed that first bite. “My compliments to your sister.”

Gavin nodded and kept nibbling on the cookie. Faith did the same as Colt poured coffee for all three of them. Once everyone was settled with something sweet and a cup of coffee, they got down to business.

“How did the recon go today?” Gavin asked, sipping his coffee. “Did you find anything actionable?”

Colt shook his head, but Faith wasn’t sure what Gavin meant. It must have showed on her face because he clarified.

“Actionable means something I could take to the Clan so we could do something about it.”

Faith nodded. “I thought it might be something like that, but sadly, I wasn’t able to locate the spot. We did a lot of driving around, though. I know the general area, though not the exact location.”

“Whereabouts do you think it might be going down?” Gavin asked, leaning forward as Colt spread a map on the center of the table.

“We took this route and then went through some of these neighborhoods. Broadly speaking, this is the general area Faith seemed to gravitate toward. I’d bet our bad guys are somewhere in this radius.” Colt drew a big circle on the map with his finger as Gavin’s eyes narrowed.

“Some of the Clan lives in that zone,” Gavin said, frowning. “In fact, my house is in that zone.”

“A shifter community would be a big, fat target for the Venifucus ,” Colt said, his tone grim.

Gavin was nodding. “I think maybe we ought to warn some of the folk in that general area. Maybe evacuate the vulnerable.”

“Good idea,” Faith said before either of the men could speak further. They both looked at her. “Whatever is going on with the demon summoners, it’s going to happen there. I feel it in my bones. If you can get your people to the other side of the city, or somewhere else entirely, they’ll be safer.”

Gavin looked at his watch, then unclipped his phone from his belt and stood from the table. “I’m going to make a few calls and get the wheels in motion before it gets any later.”

Colt nodded, and Gavin left, walking across the hall to his own apartment.

“What do you think?” Faith asked, prodding Colt to answer after he’d been silent a bit too long.

“I think it’s a good idea to get their vulnerable Clan members out of the danger zone. I should have called him earlier. In a situation like this, every minute counts.” Colt shook his head, cursing himself for not thinking it through. It had simply never occurred to him that the Clan might have people living that far outside the city.

“I didn’t realize it either,” Faith said quietly. “It’s not your fault. They haven’t been very forthcoming with information on their setup here.”

“No, they haven’t, but that’s not uncommon. Every shifter group keeps secrets. I should have realized that and thought ahead.” Colt shook his head again. “At least they know now and can take steps tonight to mitigate the possible danger.”

Faith sipped her coffee. “The important thing is that they know now and can still do something about it before whatever’s going to happen, happens. I think Gavin has a handle on it.”

“Yeah, I think he does too,” Colt agreed. “I actually like the guy a lot more than I thought I would. My brother, Billy, was right about him. Gavin’s a good one, despite his having been a soldier of fortune and not a regular Spec Ops guy.” Colt popped a cookie in his mouth, chewed the gooey chocolate delight, then swallowed. “I’ll try not to hold that against him. And his sister sure makes great cookies.”

Faith laughed. “Yeah, that definitely counts in his favor.”

Gavin didn’t return that night, and they tidied the kitchen area then moved to the couch—that very comfy couch—to watch the weather report for the next day. Colt liked the way Faith snuggled into his side as they sat together. She was such a good woman. She had a heart of gold and had somehow softened him in ways he didn’t mind at all. She’d rounded out his rough edges where the Clan was concerned and allowed him to think more cooly about the situation rather than jumping to harsh conclusions that might not actually be grounded in fact.

He knew enough about himself and his temper to admit that sometimes he got the wrong end of the stick. But he also knew that he was man enough to admit when that happened and do the right thing. He could admit when he’d been wrong, and he was starting to think that maybe he’d been wrong about this entire Kinkaid Clan situation.