"I'm canine. That means I do no' like bein' alone."
Elora looked at Ram. "See. He is canine."
Ram's intelliphone vibrated. He saw that it was Simon and picked up. While Elora continued to talk to the werewolf, explaining why it would be in his best interest to get in touch with his politic side, Ram walked a few paces away and spoke in low tones.
Elora heard the phone click closed and looked up. Ram's eyes were shiny.
"What's happened?"
"She's back."
Elora squinted slightly and started to ask, "Who?" Then her breath caught. "Katrina."
Ram nodded. "She's in the lobby of the Hyde Park Hotel. Borrowed their phone and called Kay. When she did no' get an answer, she called the Norns. Then they called Song. We need to go get her. After what she's been through, we do no' want to leave her waitin' there alone."
Elora nodded. "Let's split up. You and Baka go get Trina. I'll take the werewolf to get his things and we'll meet you at the plane."
"We have one car."
"Werewolf, do you have a car?" Elora turned to Harry. He shook his head. "How far away do you live?"
"Six blocks."
Elora turned to Ram. "We'll get a cab. I don't have a purse. Do either one of you have the fare?"
Baka reached in his pants pocket, pulled out a fistful of bills and placed it in her hand without looking to see how much was there.
All of a sudden, Elora drew up short. She looked at Ram. "What about Litha?"
He just shook his head no.
Elora had planned for the werewolf to gather essentials into a reasonably sized article of baggage, but that would be too easy. When they got to his flat, he went diva on her. By the time he was done insisting on this and that, they had three oversized bags of stuff. The werewolf was turning out to be le giant pain in le derriere.
Baka, Ram, and Katrina were already at the steps to board the plane when Elora arrived with Harry in tow.
The werewolf rushed out of the taxi and headed straight for Ram. "I'm beggin' you. Please make her stop sayin' 'Bad Dog'."
In a new fit of laughter Baka repeated, "Bad dog." Grabbing for his little notebook, he said, "I can't stand anymore. I think I may have broken a rib earlier."
Elora gave Katrina a gentle hug and asked Ram to keep Harefoot at the other end of the plane saying the last thing Katrina needed after her ordeal was to put up with Harry.
Ram took custody of the werewolf then called Simon to let him know they were bringing him in and that Katrina had an urgent message for Storm. Simon said he'd make arrangements for foster care for the werewolf until they could find a tribe that would take him. Glancing at Harry, Ram said, "You need to find people with Paddy’s patience. They're goin' to need to dig deep."
Storm was sitting alone on the uncomfortable cobblestones of a Tuscan side street with his back against a stone wall when he got the call from Ram that Katrina had been returned to the hotel lobby from which she was taken. He'd been recalled to Edinburgh. Ram had added that Katrina was adamant about wanting to personally deliver a message to Storm from Litha.
He stood up slowly. "Rammel. She did it." It was reverent, almost a whisper.
"Aye. To be sure. I'm lookin' at Kay's girl in the flesh."
Storm stood for awhile with the flat of his hand on the wall where Litha had disappeared. Going didn't feel right. It felt like leaving a soldier behind. What if she came back the same way? A big part of him wanted to stay, but there were two problems with that. First, orders were orders and, second, he wanted... no... needed to hear that message.
It seems you can persuade a Siena taxi driver to go all the way to the Florence airport in exchange for a small fortune. He had the driver circle round past that wall in the shadow of the Cathedral just one more time and drive slowly, just on the off chance...
All the way back to headquarters, he thought over and over about how he had told her it was impossible. And she had just said impossible is what you think when there's nowhere left to go. The jet landed in Edinburgh before breakfast. Storm knew he wasn’t looking his finest, but he was eager to see Katrina, wake Kay up, and last, but certainly not least, collect his message from Litha.
It was so early the streets were practically deserted. The doorman opened the door with a smile and a tip of the hat. Storm stepped into an empty foyer, pulled out his phone and called Ram. If there was anybody alive that he had blanket permission to wake at any hour of the day or night, other than Kay, it would be Rammel.
"Where are you?" Ram answered on the first ring.
"Front door."
"We're in the infirmary and we just got him up."
"Tell him I'm here."
Storm closed his phone, handed his bag to the doorman, and jogged to the infirmary. He opened the door of Kay's hospital room without knocking. Ram and Elora were standing together on the far side of Kay's bed in front of the window. Kay was sitting in a big reclining chair next to the bed where he'd been kept sedated and he was still wearing a blue cotton print nightgown. Katrina was rolled into his lap in a semi-fetal position with her knees drawn up and her head under his chin. Kay's big arms were folded around her like a shelter.
"Hey, Partner," Kay gave him a little smile with his mouth and a big smile with his eyes.
Ram nodded at Storm. "We have no' even had time to tell him what he slept through."
While holding Ram's eye, Storm pointed to Katrina and raised his eyebrows.
"Simon said under the circumstances we're liftin' the confidentiality rule. Since she already knows about demons, he's takin' a chance on trustin' her with the rest." Ram chuckled. "'Tis an up side to this. Life is goin' to be easier for Kay with her knowin' what he does for a livin'."
Storm closed the door behind him and leaned back against it, suddenly feeling tired.
While Kay stroked Katrina, Ram described how Litha tracked the location to Siena in secret then Storm escorted her there where she disappeared. At that point in the story Katrina's head came up off Kay's chest.
"Storm," she said and looked around. "I have a message for Storm." She sat up on Kay's lap. When she turned and looked in his face, Katrina’s bottom lip started to quiver a little. "She made a deal with him." Tears started to run down her cheeks and she swiped at them. "She told him she'd stay with him if he'd let me go. They bargained about how long. She said it was important to remember to tell you that you're not interested in a relationship with anybody but her. And that not even demons can keep her away forever. She said she didn't know if that would please you or scare you, but to tell you anyway." She looked at Storm sorrowfully. "I'm sorry."
Kay asked her quietly, "Did he hurt you?"
"No."
Kay noticed a bruise on her upper arm. "Then what's this?"
Katrina looked at her arm. "He pinched me."
"He pinched you?" Kay's shot a glance Storm's way to see if he could pick up what his partner might be thinking about that.
"Well, he pinched me really hard."
"I see that. And I'm not trying to make light of it. You know every hair on your head is precious to me. It's just that we've never come across a situation where pinching was used as coercion before."
Katrina raised her head to look Kay in the face. "Are you laughing at me?"
He was serious as a judge and shaking his head. "Absolutely not."
"He was trying to get Litha to make fire."
Kay looked confused. "What do you mean? Like build a campfire?"
She shook her head. "No. He could make fire in his hands. He said she could too and that she had to make the fire to seal the deal. She tried, but she couldn't do it until she got mad because he was hurting me."
Storm said, "Litha made fire in her hands?"
"Yes," Katrina went on. "And he wanted her to call him Dad."
He knew that he'd felt empty since she disappeared into that wall, sort of like a hole had opened up in his middle. It would drive him crazy if he thought she was in danger or being
hurt. But, if the demon thought he was her father, then maybe she would be…
"Katrina, do you think Litha is safe?"
She took her time answering as if she was replaying everything. "I think so. He was willing to give up his... revenge against the lover..." She looked at Kay. "- I guess that's you. - ...in exchange for Litha staying with him. But, I can't say for sure. He seemed... erratic. I'm worried about her." Tears began to fall again. "She sacrificed herself for me."
"She hasn't sacrificed herself, Katrina. She just struck a bargain to get you both home. Can you remember how long she agreed to stay?" Storm pressed.
Katrina closed her eyes. "He said a year. She said a day. They went back and forth. He said something about stretching time. I don't know." She was getting agitated. "I'm really sorry, Storm."
"For your sake and Kay's we're very glad you're back.” Storm's eyes met his partner's. “Tell me what you need." Nobody needed to worry about Katrina now that Kay was awake. He was always going to see to her first.
Elora came around the bed like she was cued and joined Storm in his bid for support. "Do you want to try to move to your own apartment? Are you hungry?"
Kay pulled his chin in so he could look down at Katrina and asked her softly, "You hungry?"
"Maybe."
"We can have a quiet breakfast in my room and then you can go to sleep."
She nodded.
"You up to walkin' that far?" Ram asked Kay.
"Guess we're about to find out. I'd like to do it in pants though."
Elora looked at Ram. "How about if I get enough breakfast for everybody and bring it to Kay's place while you find him some pants." Ram nodded and the two of them left leaving Kay, Katrina, and Storm alone in the room.
Katrina got up and said she was going to the bathroom down the hall. She didn’t want to use the one attached to Kay’s hospital room because of lack of privacy.
When she was gone, Kay's eyes ran up and down Storm. "You know the funny thing about this is that I think I'm the only one unscathed. Hell. If there's any other really bad stuff in my future, maybe y'all can arrange to just put me out of commission till it's over. What do you think?"
Storm couldn't tell if he was kidding or if he was objecting to being sedated.
"You mad about being tranqed?"
"Nah. What else could you do?"
"I don't know, but, if you do, tell me. For future reference. I mean not that... " Storm didn't know where he was going to go with that or what he'd been thinking when he started that sentence.
"It was the best thing for all of us. For me, too. It wouldn't have helped Trina to come back and find me in a Hannibal Lecter suit.
Right now the only thing I want to think about is how to make this up to her. It was my fault she was taken. He wanted to hurt me through somebody I love. And he did. If it wasn't for that witch, it could have been a lot worse.” Storm’s heart felt a little pinch with the reminder that Litha had exchanged herself for the hostage. “The thing is, he wanted revenge because of something I did on the job. Makes you stop and think. You know what I mean?"
Storm was afraid he did know what Kay meant and started to feel uncomfortable about where this line of reasoning was headed. Never once since he'd been paired with Kay had he ever pictured himself working without him. When he tried to picture that, he saw nothing. They had basically spent their twenties as a partnership and he wasn’t ready for a change. It was selfish to think that way and he knew it. But, there it was.
He didn't want Kay to continue if it would present a serious danger to him or his family, or if it would be too distressing for Katrina. And he did want Kay to continue no matter what.
Waking Woden! When did he start having such a problem thinking things through?
He told himself to remember that there's always a right and a wrong. It's easy to figure out which is which. The right thing is always the harder thing. Always.
Elora had not only arranged for a knight-size breakfast, but talked Simon into letting the engaged couple use a suite like the one she and Ram occupied for the duration of Katrina’s stay. She had people putting Kay's things away in the closet while others were setting breakfast out on the dining table. She wasn't present when they arrived, but, a few minutes after they sat down to eat, she bustled in with some things to loan the refugee.
She held out an assortment of toiletries, a robe and a nightgown to Katrina. "If you'll make a list of what you need, I'll go out when the stores open." Much as she tried she couldn't suppress a yawn and ended the sentence that way. "Sorry. We haven't slept. We were bagging a werewolf."
Kay looked at Ram and saw that he was also running on empty. As a matter of fact, everybody in the room, except for him, looked like they would gladly accept an invitation to just fall down and sleep on the floor.
Kay took the robe from Elora’s hands. "Much obliged. I'm going to keep her in bed until tonight at least. The shopping can wait. Why don't you help us eat this feast and then go get some sleep yourself?"
"Thanks, Kay. You're still best mother hen in Black Swan."
Elora told them about Harry while they ate, omitting the sequence of denigrating remarks about her husband. It was evident that Katrina felt like she had fallen into the rabbit hole so Elora stopped and turned her attention solely on the other woman. “I know what it’s like to feel like the ground was jerked out from underneath you, but let me assure you that you have landed in the most ideal situation possible – surrounded by these three.” She nodded toward Kay, Storm, and Ram. “Having these men on your side means you’re ready for anything. They don't come better.”
Katrina stared at Elora for a few seconds while she processed that, then looked around the table shyly and allowed herself just a little smile. “I know.”
All three men of B Team were a little moved by Elora’s sentimental speech. Being men, they were also a little embarrassed and at a loss for what they were supposed to say to that. Thankfully a knock on the door interrupted the silence.
As master of detail, Simon thought to send up a new cell phone for Kay since his former phone had been destroyed. Ram got the door then handed him the phone.
Kay looked at it for a minute and then ventured hesitantly, "Did I do any other damage?"
Ram barked out a laugh and Elora shoved an elbow in his ribs. "Ow! Great Paddy, woman, that rib has just finished healin' since the last time you broke it."
"Guess that answers my question," Kay said dryly.
Elora rushed in to supply the details before he had a chance to imagine the worst. "There was a little damage to the Director's outer office. It's already been repaired and even he said it was in need of redecorating. No harm. No foul."
Kay smiled at her effort to make him feel alright about losing control. "I'm sorry I called you a dumb ass."
Ram's head jerked toward Kay and his face flushed instantly as his own notorious temper fired. "You called her a dumb ass?"
Elora put her arms around Ram's mid section laughing. "He's just being funny. It was a long time ago and he didn't mean it at the time. Actually you were there, but distracted."
Kay nodded. "It's true that it was a long time ago. It’s also true that you were there and distracted. But I did mean it."
Elora just smiled, shook her head, and pulled Ram out the door. Storm said he might as well have a nap and left shortly after, but not before asking Kay to let him know if Katrina had thought of any other details. Kay assured him that his new phone was at the ready if she did.
"Part of me wants to take a hot bath and climb in bed." Katrina was grateful to finally be alone with Kay. "Part of me is too tired to move. And part of me wants to stay awake and talk about all this." She waved her hand in the air. "About what kind of work you really do. We've always thought you have some kind of high clearance government job, but I pictured you working at a desk. This..." She trailed off, looking around the room like something might be hiding in corners and not knowing exactly how to finish that sentence.<
br />
Kay pushed his chair back from the table, reached over for Katrina urging her to stand up and come back to the warmth, comfort, and safety of his lap. She snuggled in like she knew exactly where she belonged.
"We'll do it anyway you want, but the answers to your questions won't change if you have a nice bath and a toes up. The other thing that won't change - ever - is the way I feel about you."
She rested her head against his shoulder. "I was scared."
"I know."
"You know what I really want?"
"What?"
"I don't want to wait until October for the big ass wedding of the season. Now that I understand just how fast things can change, I want to get married right now. I can't even remember what it was we were waiting for." While she talked, Kay rocked her ever so subtly, so glad to have her in his arms and a little desperate to restore her sense of well-being and security in any way he could. "Just our families and your... these people you're so close to. And I want to do it at the place we’ve both loved so much since we were kids - your family's river house, with all those good memories around us like a good hug.” Kay let her know he was listening by giving her a little squeeze. “On the grass. In bare feet while it's still too early in the year for chiggers and stickers."
He laughed softly and kissed the top of her head. "Anything."
Kay had food brought in that night so they could stay put. They didn't talk to anybody else except for the Operations Assistant who delivered Katrina's suitcase to their door. Kay's sisters, bless their hearts, had overnighted it, anticipating that she would need her things. She’d been so ever-present all their lives, they loved her almost as much as Kay did.
The betrothed used their time together well. They bathed. They slept. They ate. They made love. They talked at length about Kay's work, about the history and work of Black Swan. Through Kay, Simon offered Katrina the best on site psychological trauma counseling available anywhere and, being a reasonable and well educated individual with no false pretenses, she agreed to talk it out with the pros before she left.
The Witch's Dream - A Paranormal Romance (The Order of the Black Swan, BOOK TWO) Page 20