Orloff looked up from the counter where he was hunched over a board, scribbling. “Yes, of course.”
Robert turned to Lily. “Stay with Jack. Try to get some rest.”
A swirl of panic coiled inside her. “Where are you going?”
Instead of answering, Robert leaned close to her, cupped the back of her head and kissed her hard on the mouth. The question fizzled, and for a staggering moment all Lily could think about was the way his mouth felt against hers. The gentle pressure of his lips. The taste that was uniquely his. The firm press of his body against hers. The reassuring strength that seemed to emanate from him. And the myriad emotions uncoiling inside her every time she was close to him.
An instant later he released her. “We’ll finish this when I get back.”
“Don’t leave,” she said.
“I’ll be back.” He raised his hand, brushed his fingers gently across her cheek, then looked at Orloff. “Keep an eye on them.”
The urge to rush to him and keep him from leaving was strong, but Lily held her ground. Feeling desperate and helpless and unreasonably frightened, she watched him walk out the door.
Robert skirted the main street, sticking to the alleys, bombed-out buildings and interior courtyards whenever possible. There seemed to be an inordinate number of soldiers in the city—a hell of a lot more than he’d expected. He tried to reassure himself that the soldiers had nothing to do with two wanted Americans, but he didn’t believe it.
Even though the morning was cool, he was sweating profusely as he made his way up the narrow wooden staircase and used his key to open the door. The apartment smelled of old wood and dust motes, but Robert barely noticed as he crossed to the satellite radio he’d set up on the floor.
Yanking off the cover, he dropped to his knees in front of it and hit the power button. Only then did he realize that his hands were shaking. That his heart was pounding. At first he didn’t understand it; he knew he wasn’t in imminent danger. But he sensed it coming. Like a dark storm on the horizon full of violent wind and killer lightning and heading in his direction. Or maybe toward Lily and Jack.
He loved her and that little boy more than anything in the world. More than he’d ever believed possible. He knew Lily loved him. There was no way in hell she could look at him the way she did, make love to him the way she had if she didn’t feel something powerful and real and soul deep. How in God’s name was he going to make her see that? How was he going to make her see past what she deemed as her duty to a little red-haired girl named Strawberry? How was he going to keep her and Jack safe when her sense of responsibility kept putting her in harm’s way?
“Damn, it, Lily,” he muttered, his voice sounding strange in the dead silence of the room.
Shoving the thoughts from his mind as best he could, he set up the digital camera and hailed ARIES headquarters. “This is PHOENIX, do you read?”
“Got you, PHOENIX.” It was Hatch’s voice.
Robert tapped on the monitor, and the older man came into view.
“What do you have for me?” Hatch asked.
“DeBruzkya’s headquarters is in the old Veisweimar Castle.”
“Satellites have seen some activity there,” Hatch said. “The place has been derelict for years. Now that activity makes sense.”
“He’s probably using underground tunnels to store tanks and missiles, to keep them out of sight of the spy satellites.”
“Not to mention the weapons inspectors from the United Nations. Good work.”
“He is, indeed, amassing gems, but this is where things get funky.”
“Funky?”
Robert told him about the old Rebelian Gem of Power legend. When he was finished, Hatch scratched his head and said, “DeBruzkya doesn’t strike me as the superstitious type.”
“You think there’s more to it?”
“Don’t you?”
“You mean aside from his being a lunatic?”
Hatch smiled. “What about Dr. Alex Morrow?”
“My contact couldn’t place the name but said it sounded familiar.”
Hatch regarded Robert with sharp eyes for a moment. “You look strung out as hell.”
Robert didn’t have anything to say about that so he remained silent.
Sighing, Hatch flipped a switch on his end. “Okay, Davidson, off the record. What the hell’s going on?
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You know exactly what I’m talking about. Damn it, when my agents are in the field, I like to know what’s going on inside their heads. I have no idea what’s going on inside yours right now.”
Robert rolled his shoulder. “I’ve been busy. Haven’t had much sleep—”
“You look like hell. You’ve checked in all of three times since you’ve been there.”
“I’m a little…distracted. That’s all.”