He winced. ‘Double espresso? I thought you drank tea.’
‘At night. I need my caffeine in the morning, especially when morning happens in the afternoon.’ She leaned her forehead against his shoulder, gratified when his arms came around her without hesitation, moaning quietly when he threaded his fingers through her hair and began massaging her scalp.
‘Better?’
‘Umm. Not sure. Need you to do it a little longer.’
He chuckled and kept it up. ‘Just another minute or two. I need to go.’
With another sigh, she sat back. She could get used to massages like that. Except that it made her want his hands all over her bare skin. ‘If you can wait twenty minutes, I can go with you. That way you won’t have to make Agent Troy stay here babysitting me when he could be helping you guard Shane and Kyle while you transport them.’ She pulled the blanket aside, but paused before sliding around him to get out of bed. ‘If Papa wants to stay, can the officer stay with him? The one who was guarding Shane and Kyle?’
Adam’s gaze dropped to the collar of her pajama top and Meredith was suddenly conscious that several of the buttons had slipped free while she’d slept and her breasts were very nearly completely bared. He drew a deep breath, twin flags of color staining his cheeks. Her own cheeks heating, she began to refasten the buttons, wondering how they’d come loose on their own. They never had before.
Maybe they had help. And I slept through the whole thing? Dammit.
‘No need to do that on my account,’ he murmured thickly.
Her hands paused, her heart beating against her chest like a hummingbird’s wings. She glanced up, almost whimpering at the sight of his slightly parted lips and the hungry set of his jaw. ‘You’ – she swallowed hard – ‘are in a hurry, aren’t you?’
He jerked his gaze away. ‘Yes. Dammit.’
Somehow that made her feel better, as did his scowl when she resumed the task.
‘Adam?’ she said softly when she’d finished. ‘Can the officer stay here with Papa?’
He met her eyes, the raw desire in his sending shivers all over her skin. He banked the desire, but slowly, by degrees, taking several lungfuls of air along the way. ‘No,’ he finally said. ‘First, the officer went off shift and since I was awake, we didn’t replace him. Second, your grandfather’s going downtown with Kyle and Shane.’
‘Why?’
‘Apparently, he and Shane bonded over video games while the rest of us were asleep. Between Shane and Diesel, you’re picking up adopted cousins all over the place. Except for me,’ he added glumly. ‘I got the cold shoulder when I went out there to get coffee.’
‘That’s because of me. He’s . . .’ She had to look away. ‘Protective.’
‘Why?’ Adam asked, then hooked a finger under her chin, turning her face back to his when she didn’t answer. ‘Why?’ he asked again, his voice going deep and soft.
She opened her mouth, but no words came out because she never had any when it came time to telling that part of her story. She was saved from the effort by the ringing of his cell phone – an eerie flute tune that was vaguely familiar.
‘It’s Deacon,’ he said, pressing a kiss to her forehead. ‘I’m going to take this outside on the balcony because I get a shitty signal in here.’ He hesitated, then took her mouth in a hard, fast kiss that left her stunned and breathless. He rose from the bed and walked toward the door, but backward so that he continued to face her. ‘It’ll be better if you go with us, so get dressed. I’ll wait.’
She heard him say hello to Deacon as he closed the bedroom door. Carefully she touched her lips and let out the breath she’d been holding. ‘Wow.’ Then she laughed, remembering where she’d heard Deacon’s ringtone. It was the theme song for an old Clint Eastwood spaghetti western. Perfect for Deacon, who marched to his own drummer. Kind of a rogue superhero. At least Faith thought so, which was exactly as it should be.
Meredith wondered if she had a ringtone in Adam’s phone, and if so, what was it?
Twenty minutes. Get dressed. She went into the bedroom she’d been assigned to get some clean clothes, only to find a cup on the nightstand. Hot cocoa, she realized.
She touched the cup. Cold cocoa, actually. The cup had been sitting for at least an hour, a candy cane placed on the saucer. Her grandfather’s offering. He’d been making her hot cocoa with a candy cane every year at Christmastime since she’d been small.
That he’d left it here in her empty bedroom was a message, for sure. Busted. No wonder he’d given Adam the cold shoulder. But it was totally worth it. And her grandfather would come around. He just needed to see what she saw. Adam’s heart.
Shaking herself into action, she collected a clean outfit from the bag Kate had packed for her and wished she had her phone, but she’d surrendered it to Adam and Trip last night, just as Shane and Kyle had been required to do. There was a landline on the nightstand, but nobody had told her it was okay to use.
She needed her art supplies if she was to work with Penny. She opened the door to the rest of the condo and stuck her head out. ‘Agent Troy?’
‘Dr Fallon,’ Troy said warmly, ambling up to the crack in the door. ‘How are you?’
‘Okay. And you?’ He looked wonderful, actually. Healthier. He’d looked spent and sad and haggard when she’d met him last summer, but today he had a spring to his step and a light in his eyes. She frowned slightly. ‘You look different. Did you change something?’
Troy ran a self-conscious hand over his smooth head. Which was now quite bald when his hair had been thinning before. ‘Took a page out of Trip’s book.’
Meredith smiled at him. ‘I like it. You look like Jean-Luc Picard.’
Troy rolled his eyes. ‘If I had a nickel for everyone who’s said that.’
‘You should be happy. Patrick Stewart’s like . . . still really hot. I think he has a painting aging in his attic.’
Troy chuckled. ‘I think you’re right. So thank you. What can I do for you?’
‘I need to make a few calls. Can I use the phone over there?’
‘Can I ask who you’re calling?’
‘First, Voss’s wife. Soon-to-be ex-wife, I hope. Adam wants me to talk to her daughter, see if she can tell us any more about what her father was doing. If she can bring her to the station, I’ll need my art supplies, so I was going to call my assistant. Actually, I need to call her first, because I don’t know Mrs Voss’s phone number. It’s in my files.’
‘Tell you what,’ Troy said. ‘I’ll make the calls for you on my cell while you get ready to go. Adam says we’re waiting for you. And my cell is secure. If I run into any trouble with either Voss or your assistant, I’ll knock on the door and let you know.’
‘Okay. My assistant’s name is Corinne Longstreet. And her cell’s . . .’ Meredith blew out a breath. ‘I have no idea. It’s in my phone. But Faith will know. Can you call her first?’
‘Of course. Do you want something you can eat on the way downtown?’
Meredith sniffed the air. ‘What did everybody else get? Because it smells good.’
‘Grilled cheese and tomato soup.’ He smiled sadly. ‘Comfort food for the boys.’
Meredith smiled back at him, just as sadly. ‘You’re a nice man, Agent Troy. Yes, a grilled cheese would be amazing. I’ll take a rain check on the soup. I’ll be ready in ten.’
Cincinnati, Ohio,
Sunday 20 December, 3.00 P.M.
‘Hey, D,’ Adam said, stepping onto the balcony and closing the sliding glass door. He shivered, his suit coat no protection from the cold. At least the wind was being blocked by the bulletproof glass that ran the perimeter of the balcony. ‘What do you have?’
‘Several things. When are you coming in?’
‘As soon as Meredith is ready. She’s setting up a session with Penny Voss and her mother in one of the interview rooms. She said she’d be ready in a few minutes. We’re bringing Kyle Davis in to meet up with his parents. They’re taking him home.’
‘Does Chicago PD know Kyle’s coming back?’