After a long silence, Hesta said, “Okay, then. What next?”
The tedium of yet more meetings and discussions was tempered by her surprise at their lack of passionate response. She’d expected a verbal beatdown, and in its absence, a strategy meeting was downright tolerable. “We need to find Colb. Or get him to come to us.”
“Colb doesn’t know what we know and what we don’t,” Hesta pointed out. “Could we just pretend we know where the people of PAC command are hiding out?”
“A bluff.” Fallon liked the idea. “It’s a great play, but if he doesn’t fall for it, we’ve given away the fact that we know he’s watching.”
“So we’d have to make sure the bait was too good for him to resist.” Peregrine chewed on the pad of her thumb.
“I’m not sure what that would be,” Fallon admitted. “That’s why I’ve been focused on getting to Krazinski so we can use his resources and intel.”
No one responded, so it seemed no one else knew a surefire way to lure Colb out, either.
“We can think about it,” Ross said.
But Hesta’s suggestion had gotten her thinking, and an idea struck Fallon. “Wait. I might have a way. Or know someone who will. Let me see what I can find out tomorrow and I’ll let you know.”
Hawk nudged her leg with his. “That’s it? You can’t give us any details?”
“No. Not yet. I might be chasing starshine and I want to be sure.”
“Okay,” said Peregrine. “Then I think we’re done here. At least, I am.”
Relief washed over Fallon. They weren’t going to make a big deal about her decision to have the networking device added to her implant.
“Don’t think you’re off the hook.” Peregrine smiled at her sweetly while stretching her back. On Peregrine, an expression like that was downright terrifying. “You have two people who will be distinctly unhappy with your decision. I’m certain they’ll do a far better job at raking you over the coals than I will. That means I can save myself the trouble.” She ran a hand down her ponytail.
Hesta stood. “I think that sounds about right.” She directed her attention to Peregrine. “Can I buy you a drink at the pub?”
“Absolutely.”
Ross and Hawk exchanged a glance. “I think we’re out of here too, cupcake.” Hawk kissed her cheek on his way out.
Which left Fallon alone with Raptor.
“If I thought yelling or cursing at you would do me any good, I’d do it,” Raptor said. “I won’t waste my energy.”
“One second.” She ignored his bewilderment as she turned and marched to her bedroom. She pulled her knife case from the closet and expanded it. From the second row, third column, she removed a sleek black knife with a carved handle. She had a hard time saying it out loud, but she hoped this would show him how she felt about him.
She returned the case to her closet and straightened just as the doors opened.
“What are you doing?” He frowned at her, looking puzzled and angry.
She closed the space between them and held out the knife. “Giving you this.” She laid it carefully in his palm.
“This is the knife you won when you took the championship at the academy.” He ran his thumb over the engraving, which spelled out her name and the words Grand Champion, along with their class year.
“It’s always been my favorite, though it doesn’t have the finest blade, or the most expensive inlay. I earned this one. And I want you to have it.”
“Why?”
“Because you know what it means to me, and that I’d only ever give it to someone I truly love.”
He slow-blinked at her.
She steeled herself. “That’s right, I said it. I—oof.”
Raptor had picked her up and was squishing the air out of her. She had to wonder where that knife had gone, but it was a nice kind of squish. All warm and cozy and full of distracting Raptor kisses.
Apparently he had also decided to go with showing instead of telling.
“You didn’t accidentally transmit any of that, did you?” Raptor tickled her playfully the next morning, to no effect. They both knew she wasn’t ticklish.
“Nope. It’s not like it’s an open link to my thoughts. Telepathy, or mind sharing, or whatever you want to call it, has not been invented inside my head. Now I need to get to work.” She started to roll out of bed, but he caught her around the waist and held her back.
“What if you go, and then we have another fight?”
She relaxed against him. “We’re always going to fight. I wouldn’t know what to do if you stopped fighting with me. But we’re done fighting about whether or not we’re together. Well, unless you decide you want out. And if that’s the case I’ll have to kick your ass.”
“I’m not going to want out.”
“Good, because I’m working at being all enlightened, here, and it would suck if you ruined it.”
He gave her a push and she nearly fell off the bed. She got her feet under her and popped up beside it to see him grinning at her. She grabbed a pillow and threw it at him on her way to the shower.
Prelin’s ass, she loved that man.
Fallon seemed to be making a habit of skipping her morning run. Instead, she asked Cabot to meet her at his shop before it opened.
Once they were inside with the door closed, she wasted no time. “You suggested that if there was a way you could help, I should let you know.”
“Yes. What can I do for you, Chief?” Cabot’s usual good humor had been eclipsed by seriousness.
“I need a way to make someone think that something big is happening here. I’m sure he’s watching, and we just need to give him something to see. Something worth coming after.”
“Well, to know if I can arrange that, I’d need to know what would interest this person.”
“The transport of a few hundred
