Eye of the Falcon (Psychic Visions #12)(71)

Eagle could hear the laughter in his voice.

But then he sobered and said, “You know we’re always careful, right? Thanks for the heads-up.” He hung up.

Eagle glanced at her and said, “I’ve done all I can.”

She gave him the saddest smile he’d ever seen, then she said, “I don’t think it’ll be enough.”

*

Stefan carried his mug of tea onto the deck and sat down. He was grateful for something. There was one chair not covered in bird droppings. He stared at his deck and shook his head. “The unexpected negatives of having birds around,” he muttered.

Celina came around from behind him, holding her own mug of tea, and said, “I see a good night’s rest didn’t help.”

“How can anything help? I’m completely sidetracked by an owl,” he said in disgust. “Serial killers out there don’t have half the connecting power of this thing.”

“Did you ever figure out why the connection to the owl is so strong?”

Stefan shook his head. “No,” he said shortly and sighed. “I didn’t mean to snap. Lack of sleep and now nine canvases have an owl on them.”

She grinned, then started to laugh. He opened his arms, and she sat down in his lap. “Maybe there’s a market for owl paintings?” she asked with a note of humor.

Stefan shrugged. “No way to know. I’m just not sure how many more canvases I’m willing to sacrifice to the cause.”

“Is it moving you any closer to an answer?”

“No. I’m still feeling Humbug. He’s still moving cross-country but isn’t going very far or very fast. Roash is with him, and that’s all I know.”

“It’s a few hundred miles, is it not?”

He nodded.

“Any way for you to …” She stopped and frowned. “I don’t know, maybe teleport him physically?”

Stefan stared at her, and his jaw dropped. He started to laugh. “You mean, actually move them through energy to where he needs to be?”

She gave him a sheepish smile. “I know it sounds foolish, but it just occurred to me that, if it was possible, then this would be over a lot faster. Obviously he’s heading to where Issa is. He’s only going a mile or two or three a day, so can you do anything to speed this up?”

“Yesterday he managed four,” Stefan said grudgingly. “He’s almost halfway now.”

He leaned his head back and smiled as she gently stroked his cheek. “So what you’re trying to do is give him enough energy so he can do this on his own?” Her eyes smiled in comprehension.

He felt his heart melting as he realized once again how lucky he was. Would anybody else understand him the way she did? When her lips gently stroked his forehead, he crushed her to him. Be damned with the tea. He’d give up a world of half-lived lifetimes for this moment of completeness.

“Did I ever tell you,” she whispered, “how much I love your heart?”

He tilted his head back and looked up at her. “Just my heart?” he teased.

She stroked his nose. “All of you. But of all the people I know in this world, you’re the only one who is driven by his heart.”

He shook his head. “There are lots of us. Maddy’s another one for sure.”

She nodded. “But I don’t know them like I know you. I don’t see the purity, the strength, the compassion in their hearts, the same as I do in yours. I know they have the same elements as you. But I love you,” she said with a smile.

He went to answer her, but a pain struck behind his eyes. Gasping, he straightened his arms, automatically wrapping around to hold her so she didn’t fall off.

“What’s wrong?” she asked. “What just happened?”

“It’s Humbug,” he groaned. “He made a crappy landing. Now he is hurting again.”

She smiled gently. “Then you know what you need to do.”

He opened his gaze and glared at her. “How many women tell their men to take a moment and help an owl? Especially one that’s too stupid to land on its own?”

The words were hardly out of his mouth when her fingers stroked across his lips, and she whispered, “Not too stupid. Too tired. Undefeated. So determined to reunite with Issa that he’ll do anything he can to get there. And with your help.”

“And Tabitha’s,” Stefan added. “We can’t forget she’s doing the same thing I am, every day, every night.”

Celina nodded her head. “And with Tabitha’s help.” She leaned over and wrapped her arms around him. “And I love you all the more for it.”

Stefan hugged her tight. He was a fool. But it was the only way he knew how to be.

*

Dylan raced into the front yard. The truck doors slammed behind him as the others got out. The time was tight. Whatever the hell was going on was going on fast. And he had a rough idea what it was.

The boss’s head jerked to the side as soon as Dylan burst through the doors. “What’s changed?”

“The two men left. Went to the airport. With their IDs, we tracked them. They’re flying into Dublin.”

The boss’s face lit up. “Finally,” he said. He started to move his fingers—snapping—as his mind worked his way through the logistics of his next step.