"You can't be everywhere, Eve." She glanced over at Roarke. "Shows? I feel like I'm running in place. Goal's in sight, but I'm stuck in this spot. Maybe you could contact the hospital again, charm some information out of somebody. I just make them mad." "People tend to get cross when someone threatens to pull their brains out of their nostrils." "You'd think they'd give me points for creativity. I'm too wired." She shook herself as they headed toward her division.
"Damn chemicals. You take the hospital, check in on Summerset. Talk the e-talk with Feeney, and I'll cut through the rest. Do you need me to find you a space?" "I'll manage." "Dallas!" Celina sprang off a bench. "I've been waiting.
They said you were on your way in. You haven't answered your voice or email." "Been busy. Getting to it." "Peabody." She clamped a hand over Eve's arm.
"She's holding. I'm really pressed, Celina. I can give you a few minutes in my office. You set?" she asked Roarke.
"I am, yes. I'll meet you out here." "I'm sorry." Celina pushed her hands through her luxurious hair. "I'm upset." "We all are," Roarke told her. "It was a long, difficult night." "I know. I saw…" "Let's take it in here." She led the way into her office, shut the door. "Have a seat." Though she knew caffeine wasn't the best idea at the moment, she wanted coffee. Ordered two.
"What did you see?" "The attack. On Peabody. God, I was in the tub. Hot bath before bed to relax me for today. I saw her walking sidewalk, buildings. He he just leaped out at her. It was like a blur, and the next thing I know I'm floundering around in the tub like a damn trout. I tried to contact you." "I was already in the field, and went straight to the hospital.
I haven't gotten to a lot of my messages." "He knocked her down. He was kicking her, and she was fighting him. He hurt her. It was terrible. For a minute, I thought she was dead, but-" "She's not. She's holding." Celina clutched the coffee in both hands. "She's not like the others. I don't understand." "I do. Just tell me what you saw. I want the details." "They're not clear. It's so damn frustrating." She set the mug down with a snap. "I talked to Dr Mira, but she won't budge on the time element for the next session. I wanted to go under immediately. I know, I know I'd see more. But I saw I heard screaming, shouting, and he threw Peabody down. I saw him jump into… It was a van. I'm sure it was a van. Dark. But everything seemed dark. He was hurt. There was pain." "She got to her weapon."
"Oh. Good. Good. He was afraid. I feel… it's hard to explain it, but I feel it. His fear. And not just of being seen, or caught, but of something else. More. Of not finishing? I want to know, I want to help. Can you convince Dr Mira?" "She won't budge for you, she won't for me." Sitting on her desk, Eve tapped her fingers on her knee. "If I could get a personal item from someone I believe was a victim, a previous victim, would you get anything from it?" "Very possibly." Excitement shone in Celina's eyes as she leaned forward. "It's more what I do. That connection. If I could link, I might see something." "I'll work on that. I don't know if I can be there for your session today. We've caught a break and I'm following it through. The witnesses from last night got a pretty good look at him." "Thank God. If you can identify him, this will be over.
Thank God." "I'll work on getting you something as soon as I can." "Anytime. Absolutely anytime. I'll come in as soon as you want me. I'm sick about Peabody, Dallas. Just sick about it."
Some time during the endless night, McNab dropped off in the chair beside Peabody's bed. He'd lowered the guard so he could reach her more easily, and when fatigue won, he rested his head beside her breast with his hand under the sheet and linked with hers.
He didn't know what woke him the pings of the monitors, the shuffle of feet outside the room, the light that spilled through the window. But he lifted his head, winced with the crick in his neck, rubbing it out as he studied her face.
They hadn't yet treated the bruising, and it broke his heart to see her face so damaged. It twisted his belly to see her so still.
"It's morning." He cleared the worst of the hoarseness from his voice. "Morning, baby. Ah, sun's out, but it looks like we might get some rain. You, ah, had a lot of people in and out, checking on you. If you don't wake up, you're going to miss all the attention. I was going to get you flowers, but I didn't want to leave you that long. You wake up, and I'll take care of that. Want some flowers? Come on, She-body, rise and shine." He slipped her hand out, pressed it to his cheek. There were nasty abrasions down the arm where it had skidded over the sidewalk.
"Come on, come on back. We got a lot to do, you know.
Moving day." He kept her hand there as he turned his head and watched Mavis come in.
She said nothing, only walked to him, laid a hand on the back of his head.
"How'd you get by the dragons?" "Said I was her sister." It made him close his eyes. "Close enough. She's still out." "Bet she knows you're here." Mavis leaned over, touched her lips to his cheek. "Leonardo's down getting her some flowers. She'll like having them when she wakes up." "We were just talking about that. Oh, Christ." He turned his head, pressed his face into Mavis's side as he fought to hold on.
She waited, stroking his hair until the tremors passed, and he was able to draw a steady breath. "I'll sit with her if you want to take a walk, get some air." "I can't." "Okay." He shifted, but stayed close so they watched the steady rise and fall of Peabody's chest together. "Louise checked on her a few times. I think she and Charles stayed most of the night."
"I saw him in the waiting area. Dallas?" "She's going after the bastard. She's hunting the animal who did this to her." "Then she'll get him." After giving him a pat, Mavis turned away to pull over a chair.
"Wait, sorry, let me get that. You shouldn't be hauling stuff." At best, the folding chair weighed four pounds, but she let him move it over for her. "McNab, there isn't a lot we – me and Leonardo can do. But we can move your stuff, set up your new place." "It's a lot of stuff. I don't want-" "We can do that, if you let us. Then when she's better, you can just, you know, carry her in. It'll be done. You need to be here, with her. We can do this for you. For both of you." "I… that'd be mag. Thanks, Mavis." "Hey, we're going to be neighbors." "You, ah, don't go lifting anything heavy. With that bun in the oven." "Don't worry." She rubbed a hand over her belly. "I won't." "I feel like I'm going to fall apart any second. Then the second passes, and it's the next, and I…" He jerked straight in the chair. "I think she moved. Did you see that?" "No, but I-" "She moved. Her fingers." He turned over the hand he held in his. "I felt them move. Come on, Peabody. Wake up." "I saw it that time." With her fingers gripping his shoulders, she leaned forward. "Look, she's trying to open her eyes. Do you want me to get somebody?" "Wait. Wait." He pushed up, leaned over. "Open your eyes, Peabody. You can hear me. No sliding back under again.
Come on, you're going to be late for your tour." She made some sound part gurgle, part moan, part sigh and he'd never heard sweeter music. Her lids fluttered, and her swollen, blackened eyes opened.
"There you are." The tears flooded his throat; he swallowed most of them and grinned at her.