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Authors: Desiree Holt

BOOK: DeliciousDanger
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“What is the matter with you?” she asked over and over. “I
can’t understand you, girl. You’re driving me nuts.”

Now she gave Xena a stern look as she pulled the covers over
her. “We’re glad he called, aren’t we, girl. But now we need to get some sleep
or we won’t be worth spit in the morning.”

Xena lay down next to the bed, head on her paws, whining
steadily.

“Fine. Whine if you want to. But I have to get some sleep
tonight, so keep that in mind.”

It seemed she had barely rested her head on the pillow
before the dream came. Rick, his face in shadow, raced toward her, weapon slung
over his shoulder. Only it wasn’t Rick. He was tucked into a corner. The man
turned and spotted him. Sharp cracks split the air, punctuated by loud barking.
One more
snap
and he tumbled forward, landing on her chest. She tried to
push him off, her breathing constricted but she couldn’t make him move.

She was gasping for breath when she awoke, sweat running
down her face and Xena lying on top of her.

“Off.” She pushed at her. “Get off me, you big lug. You’re
suffocating me.”

She shook her head to come fully away but the terror of the
dream wouldn’t leave her. Looking into Xena’s eyes, she realized that somehow,
in a state of sleep, she’d connected with the dog’s thoughts, with what she was
dreaming. Xena put her face close to Kelly’s and barked, twice.

“Okay, okay. I hear you. Let me up so I can reach the
phone.”

She blinked and realized bright sunlight was coming in
through the windows. Her bedside clock read nine o’clock. Oh, hell. She’d slept
right through the alarm. Picking up the two-way radio on her nightstand, she
pressed the button to call the kennel.

“We’re here,” came a cheerful voice. “We just thought we’d let
you sleep in this morning. Everyone down here is okay.”

“Thanks. I’ll be down as quickly as I can.”

She stumbled to the closet to find the jeans she’d worn the
other day. Digging in the pocket, she pulled out the slip of paper Mia Romeo
had given her during the visit. She sat on the edge of the bed, phone in one
hand, the slip of paper in the other. Xena barked again.

“Okay. All right. I’m calling. I just hope they haven’t left
already.”

The phone on the other end rang several times and Kelly was
ready to hang up when a female voice answered.

“Hello?”

“Mrs. Romeo?”

“Yes? Who is this?”

“This is Kelly Monroe.”
This is stupid. Xena, what have
you gotten me into?
“You gave me a list the other day and it had this number
on it.”

“Yes. Kelly, of course.” She heard a voice in the background
and Mia saying something back.

“I’m sorry for bothering you but Xena wouldn’t take no for
an answer.” She giggled nervously.

“It’s fine, Kelly. Really. I was just checking a catalogue
for the museum. Tell me what’s wrong.”

Kelly swallowed hard. “This is going to sound really stupid
but you can’t let Rick get on that plane.”

There was a short silence. “Why not?”

“Please don’t think I’m joking but I connected with one of
Xena’s dreams and she woke me up. If Rick goes over there he’s in terrible
danger.”

“Tell me exactly what you dreamed. Wait, let me get a piece
of paper. Okay, go ahead.”

Kelly related as much of the dream as she could. “It wasn’t
very long but it was explicit. Someone’s going to kill him. You can’t let him
get on that plane.”

“Hold on a moment, can you? Just a sec.”

Kelly waited. Then Dan Romeo’s voice sounded in her ear.

“Kelly? This is Dan. Can you repeat what you told Mia?”

So she told it one more time, her heart thudding
erratically. She was too late. She knew it. And so did Xena, pacing and
whining.

“I hate to tell you this,” Dan said, “but Rick’s already
left. The plane flew out of here this morning.”

Kelly’s stomach clenched. Xena skidded over to her and put
her head on Kelly’s knees, her eyes looking at her with silent accusation.

“Can you get hold of him?” she pleaded. “I’m sorry. I know
this is so absurd and I’m sure I sound like an idiot to you. But the thing is,
I saw Xena’s dream. Rick is in very grave danger.”

She was glad Dan Romeo’s voice sounded calm and solid. “Take
a deep breath, Kelly. I can call Rick on his satellite phone and pass this
along. He can’t turn back but at least it will make him more alert. Did the
dream show you specifically where the attack would take place?”

She wrinkled her forehead, thinking. “No. Well, maybe.
Inside or near someplace big. And it was just a vague impression.”

More mumbling on the other end.

“I should have gone with him.”She couldn’t keep the guilt
out of her voice. “If anything happens to him it’s my fault.”

“Kelly, listen to me. I want you to calm down and hear what
I have to say. Rick has been doing this for years. Having you and Xena along
would have given him an extra edge but he’s operated a long time without it.
And I have to say, I wasn’t too excited about taking an untrained civilian into
a war zone.”

“I would have been fine,” she protested. “I can take care of
myself. Xena takes care of me. And I can shoot.”

Dan gave a small chuckle, breaking the tension that hummed
across the connection. “I think I’d have paid money to see the look on Rick’s
face if he saw you pull out a gun. Listen. This should all be over and done by
late this afternoon. I’ll give you a call as soon as I get the all clear from
the guys. Okay?”

“Could you…” She bit her lower lip. “Could you call me back
after you get him on the satellite phone? Let me know what he says?”

“Yes. I can do that.”

“Thank you.”

She replaced the phone and took Xena’s face between her
palms. “I should have gone, no matter how absurd it sounded. If he gets killed
I’ll have no one to blame but myself.” She leaned her face down to the dog’s.
“Why did you have to pick someone like him for your second human?”

But the image of the tall, muscular man with the dirty blond
hair and blue eyes that blazed with energy shimmered in her mind. A funny
feeling had raced through her during that first meeting at the airfield. A
sense of connection. Of shared energy.

Of sexual attraction. Say it, Kelly. That’s why you fell
into bed with him so quickly. And the second time was even better than the
first.

But it was more than just sex. A lot more.
Something…special. Something she didn’t intend to let circumstances ruin. The
invisible thread linking them was getting stronger every minute. Just as soon
as he was back Stateside, if he didn’t call her, she’d contact him.

Sighing, she rose from the bed.

“Come on, Xena. I need coffee, then we have to check on
what’s happening at the kennel.” She tugged on her bottom lip with her teeth
and picked up the sheet of paper Mia had left with her. “Then let’s check out
this website and see what this Lotus Circle is all about.”

* * * * *

“I have failed miserably,” Zarife told his father. “Gabir
and his friends are less than worthless. Bumblers. Idiots. Totally incompetent.
The Latrobe man is still alive. He took off on the plane and I could not stop
him.”

“Did you tell your contact?”

“Yes. I explained everything to him that it was impossible
to get to him in time. If only Gabir—”

“Forget about Gabir. That’s only crying over split milk.
What did the man say?”

“That he would handle things on his end. Someone would make
sure Latrobe was taken care of.”

“Well, then,” his father said. “There you have it.”

“I hope so. In any event, it is all arranged. You only have
to be ready to take his phone call and rendezvous with his people.”

“Fine. Then you have no worries.” He paused. “Did you
transfer the money?”

“Yes. This afternoon.”

Right after that voice that I hate called to tell me we
were on target.

“And our seller knows that?”

“Yes, father. We’re all set.”

“He’s right, you know,” the man said.

“About what?”

“We could not have pulled this off ourselves. It’s too big
an operation. It’s only his planning that’s making it work. With our support.”

“If you say so.”

“I do. Now go to work and act as if nothing is wrong. We will
talk again when the deed is accomplished.”

* * * * *

The C-130J thundered across the skies, its engines
reverberating through the cavernous body of the plane.

“Can you talk a little louder? I can hardly hear you.” Rick
was sitting in the one extra seat behind Mike and Ed. He had a hand clapped to
one ear, the satellite phone held tightly to the other. “This is like flying in
a garbage can.”

“I said,” Dan shouted, “Kelly called and said I needed to
warn you to be extra alert.”

“Why? Did she get a message from her dog?”

“As a matter of fact, yes.”

“Hey. I was just kidding.”

“No joke, Rick, my friend. Any more than Faith’s telepathy
or Mia’s precognition.”

“So are you going to tell me what she said?”

Still shouting, Dan related what Kelly had told him. Rick
just held the phone tightly to his ear and shook his head back and forth. He’d
finally managed to adjust to Faith’s and Mia’s gifts but this was getting to be
a bit much. Yet hadn’t he believed it enough to make the trip to Maine? To ask
Kelly to bring Xena to Iraq with him?

“She’s got to be talking about the warehouse,” he told Dan.
“All right. I’ll talk to Ed and Mike and Greg when we get there and put a plan
together. They won’t catch us with our shorts down.”

“Don’t get too cocky,” Dan warned. “We don’t even know when
this is supposed to happen. And keep your eye on Greg. Just in case.”

“We’ll take care. I’ll call you back when we get there.”

“All right. I told Kelly I’d let her know I passed along her
message.”

Rick was silent a moment, the air filled with the engine’s
drone. “How is she?” he asked finally.

“I think feeling nervous and guilty,” Dan told him. “Better
not get yourself shot or you’ll ruin her day.”

Rick laughed. “Not half as much as it will ruin mine. Catch
you later.”

He thought about trying to explain the call to Mike and Ed,
then decided against it. Although they were good with Mia and Faith and
accepting of the developing Psi department, of all the partners they were still
the biggest skeptics in the agency. No, he’d just say Dan had called to tell
them once again to be extra sharp on the job. Hopefully, that would take care
of things.

* * * * *

Kelly spent a busy day with the dogs, but Rick, the trip to
Iraq and her conversation with Mia were constantly on her mind.

That night, she tried to fall asleep but no matter how she
tried it eluded her. She lay in bed with Xena stretched out beside her, the big
head on her shoulder, feeling the thumping of the dog’s heart. Her own
restlessness communicated itself to Kelly, leaving her in a state of agitation.

Rick’s image kept dancing before Kelly’s eyes, something
else guaranteed to keep her from settling down. With her unhappy social
history, she tended to keep her defenses up where all men were concerned but
Rick had somehow slipped in under them when she wasn’t looking.

Oh, did he ever.

It must be Xena
, she told herself. The dog’s
extremely unusual instant attachment to the man had somehow created a three-way
link. What other explanation for the sudden reaction of her hormones, for the
dry-mouthed sensation when she looked at him, for the latent longings of her
body that she’d kept so well under control until now.

When the phone rang she picked it up immediately.

“Dan?”

“Sorry it took me so long to get back to you,” Dan Romeo
apologized. “We had an emergency come up here that had us all scrambling.”

Kelly sucked in a breath. “Something to do with Rick?”

“No, things just got really dicey with another case we’re
working on. Anyway, I got in touch with him and passed along your warning.”

“He thinks I’m crazy, right?” she asked, already regretting
her impulsiveness.

“Not at all. Remember, psychic phenomena are continuing to
work their way into our lives. And he was more than agreeable to the suggestion
that you and Xena go with him.”

“I should have gone,” she told him yet again.

“You’ve got to get past that and remember what I told you.
Rick can take care of himself. And now he’ll be even more alert.” He paused.
“He said to tell you to keep that door open.”

Warmth suffused her. “Will he call you when they get there?
And when everything’s taken care of?”

“Yes, but I imagine it will be a couple of days before
they’re ready to come back. He needs to make sure everything’s secure,
something he’s still worried about.”

“Will you… Could you…I mean, would it be too much trouble to
ask you to keep me up to date?”

“No. Not at all. I’ve got your number and I’ll program it
into my cell.”

“And let me give you
my
cell in case I’m out of the
house or working with the dogs.” She rattled off the numbers to him.

“All right. Try to get some sleep. I know it’s been an
upsetting time for you.”

Sleep. As if.

“I will. And…thank you.”

She lay back down again but she knew she’d had the last bit
of sleep she was going to get until morning.

* * * * *

Rick shifted in the improvised seat behind the flight
station, rolled a thin blanket up and tucked it behind his head. Knowing they
had long hours of hard work ahead of them when they finally reached their
destination, he tried to make his mind a blank and catch some sleep. But the moment
his eyes closed and he dozed off, the image of a tall, slender redhead running
through a field of wildflowers intruded on his thoughts. Her face was tilted to
the sun and her tempting lips were turned up in a smile. Running beside her,
ears back, was a dog. If Rick didn’t know better, he’d think the dog was
smiling too.

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