Then it took weeks for the children to stop asking about him. Her mother didn't ask, but she had followed Steve around with a Mother's-here-if-you-want-to-talk expression on her face. Her mom recognized a broken heart when she saw one, but her feelings were still hurt because Steve wouldn't open up to her.
At work the situation was equally stressful. Lou and her coworkers knew she was disturbed and went out of their way to help. First Lou had taken work away from her, then he had piled it on. She simply couldn't get interested in any of it and she knew that worried him most of all. His patience with her indifference was wearing thin.
The guys had razzed her with their best shots and got upset when they failed to get a rise out of her. Soon their concern had turned to irritation. She realized that they didn't care what her personal problem was anymore. After seven months of moping around, they thought she should straighten up and get on with her life.
Sometimes she wished she could scream at all of them. They didn't know what a true mess her brain was in. She couldn't concentrate unless she worked in her bedroom in the middle of the night. Even then, one of Vince's nightmares could unexpectedly burst into her thoughts.
What did you do to me? She tried not to think of him at all. When she did, she was careful not to say his name. She had no idea what would constitute "calling" him, but she wasn't taking any chances. Sooner or later this problem she had would go away on its own. It had to.
"Daydreaming again, Steve?" Lou teased as he stepped into her office and dropped a file on her desk.
She glanced from him to the file, then back to his face. Not only was he smiling, his eyes twinkled mischievously. The file obviously contained a pip of a case; his excitement was barely contained.
"A good one?" She massaged her temples in an attempt to quiet the pounding enough to hear his answer.
"Could be just what the doctor ordered. It's time for you to hit the road for Florida again, kiddo. There's a little town near Daytona called Cassadaga. It's a gathering place for psychic types. Everything from religious spiritualists to Tarot card readers. There are a few newspaper articles about the place in the file.
"Anyway, a few weeks ago, a card reader was found dead, apparently bitten by a very rare, poisonous snake while she was asleep. The police wrote it off as accidental, but another psychic in the neighborhood is insisting it was murder. She's hiring us to find the killer before he strikes again."
"He?"
"Figure of speech, I'm sure."
"Let me guess. She saw the murder in a dream and she'll be sure to get lots of publicity out of our investigation."
"Spoken like a true skeptic."
"Well, what other reason would she have to give us her hard-earned cash to find her competition's alleged murderer?"
"She's convinced it was not a singular murder, and she might be the next victim."
Steve whistled. The woman either had a great flair for melodrama or she had some genuine talent. What Lou couldn't know was that it would only take Steve a moment in the woman's presence to discern the truth. That was why she lost interest in the cases she handled in the last few months. Half of them were solved five minutes after she began her first interview. Maybe this one would be different.
It occurred to her that she was looking forward to meeting this woman. A legitimate psychic might even be able to help her live with her own unwanted powers.
"All right. Ill take it. When am I supposed to be there?"
"I promised the day after tomorrow. There's a few background checks we can make from here before you go."
Disappointment stabbed at her. She was ready to go right now.
Lou started out the door, then stopped and slapped his forehead. "What's wrong with me? I almost forgot the other reason I had to talk to you."
Steve angled her head and waited for the other shoe to drop.
"You'll be taking a partner with you."
"A partner?" Steve's voice rose several decibels. She almost sounded like her old self. "You know damn well I work alone, Lou. What are you trying to pull?"
"Hey, it was out of my hands," he said, showing her his squeaky-clean palms. "Senator Irven put the pressure on. What could I do? Our license comes up for renewal next year."
"Lou ..." Steve warned, "what are you babbling about?"
Incredibly, Lou maintained an innocent expression, but Steve could feel him suppressing his mirth.
"It's an international exchange program being conducted between law enforcement agencies, both public and private—a way of sharing information and know-how through routine, hands-on experience."
"Please tell me you're working up to spitting out one clear sentence here."
"Okay, okay. Here's the deal. Interpol is exchanging one of their agents for one of our investigators, and I'm assigning him to you."
Steve's heart stopped and started again with a jolt. Interpol?
Lou backed out of the doorway, grinning like an idiot.
She recognized his aura the moment he allowed her to sense it. "Falcon?" she whispered, knowing he was there, yet not accepting it.
He moved into her office and closed the door behind him. "You once told me a simple thank you was not enough." He produced a bouquet of pastel roses from behind his back. "I was to give you flowers, also. I did not forget."
Steve sat frozen in her chair, still half-believing she was imagining him. He looked different. Perhaps he'd lost a few pounds. His hair was shorter, tamer, his eyes perfectly normal, a medium brown color without any golden lights. When she didn't reach for the flowers, he laid them on her desk and came around to her side. She stared at the blossoms, terrified that the slightest movement on her part might cause him to vanish. Seeing him again was worse than she had expected. When he left her this time, she would surely die.
"Steve?" His fingertips touched her cheek, turning her face toward him, but she did not raise her eyes. "Why did you not call me? I would have heard you. I feel your need, your confusion. Let me help."
She stood up and backed away from his touch. "I told you before I wouldn't be able to handle you coming in and out of my life. That hasn't changed." A gasping sob escaped her, and she hugged her sides to hold herself together. "Why are you here?"
"I need you. Even though you did not call me, I have felt your need of me as well. You were never out of my thoughts. I have been to Emiron and learned what I needed to know. I cannot make it without you."
Steve gave up the struggle. Opening her arms, she met him halfway. Oh, dear God, she was alive again. Falcon was with her, holding her, taking away her pain. It didn't matter how temporary it was.
"Are you not curious to hear about my journey?"
She shook her head no, then yes, and they both laughed. He sat down on the chair and urged her onto his lap.
"The planet, Emiron, is much as I remember it, but the people are not. Their hopelessness has been reversed. The experiment to save the population from extinction was a success. Children have been born to the generation of mixed breeds. You would probably find them most peculiar. They consist of a wide variety of species, but they are gifted felan children, and there are thousands of them. I was welcomed, though my presence there was not required. I have been released from my duty to them.
"I spoke to many others, like myself, who had undergone all the transformations I did. Had I remained there all these years I would have known what to expect. The changes for each began when it was time to mate. The personal emotions surfaced, the mental and physical powers increased, and, suddenly, reproduction was a possibility. Do you remember our first encounter?"
Steve wrinkled her nose at him. "I thought you were a gorgeous pervert. You sniffed me."
Falcon closed his eyes and inhaled deeply. "Mmmm. Like no other female. If only I had known then what I know now, I could have spared us both the pain of these last months. I opened myself to desire whenever I was near other females, but I had no wish to take pleasure with them. I was as I always was before—indifferent. T
hen I would think of you and ache with need.
'Yet I still could not comprehend that you were meant to be my mate. It was not until I found myself losing control of my talents that I understood the rest of the cycle. You recall that your abilities strengthened, but toward the end of our time together I was having trouble focusing unless we were touching. That was because you were already a part of me. My skills are practically useless without you."
"You've just explained what's been happening to me. I still have the abilities, but I can't seem to sort them out the way I did when I was with you. It's been driving me nuts. What does all this mean, though? What can we do?"
"It is not complicated. As Lou Dokes informed you, I am now your partner."
"Not complicated? The list of complications is a yard long."
Falcon shifted her to a more comfortable position on his lap and nuzzled her. neck. In between tiny kisses he eliminated her list. "I had considerable guidance while on Emiron. With your help I will be able to cope with anything your world throws at me. With my help, you will reaccustom yourself to using your mind as you did with me before.
"New lenses were designed for my eyes. I hardly know they're in place, and every night, when we're alone, I can remove them. As your partner, I will be able to do the work I enjoy and not have to hide my special skills from you. And last, Romulus has appointed me as an official emissary here in San Francisco. From time to time we will return to Innerworld to report to him together."
"This is more than a little awesome, Falcon. But you seem to have forgotten one major point. I have two children and a mother to take care of. I certainly can't let them know who you really are."
He frowned at her. "Of course I have not forgotten. I will take precautions around them. My identity will remain a secret from them as long as you feel it is necessary."
"You missed my point. There is nothing I'd love more than knowing you'd be sleeping in my bed tonight, but you can't. I mean, I can't. It wouldn't be right."
"You are making no sense, Steve."
"My mother would never approve, and it wouldn't be proper for the kids to see their mother in bed with a man she isn't married to."
"Then we must marry."
"What?"
"Can we take care of this matter today? I have an urgent need to be in that bed tonight." He let his body confirm that statement.
"Falcon! That's crazy. What would everybody say? There's the license, and Mom would be furious if we didn't tell her first and—"
His mouth pressed against hers, ending all protests as he worked his wonderful magic on her senses.
She surrendered. We could get married in Nevada in a few hours.
He stopped kissing her immediately. "Nevada? Yes, that is a place of beginnings for me. We will go there, right after I tell you the most important thing I learned while we were apart."
"And what might that be? Some new mental trick?"
"No, not a trick, a new emotion—at least for me." He brought her closer for another long caress. I love you, Steve. We belong together.
She trembled as the truth of his words filled her soul, and she in turn poured all her love into his. Forever.
The End
Topaz Dreams Page 28