Chapter 3
"I can't believe they sent a Vardian," Mel muttered, looking around the crowded airport.
"Why does it trouble you, Mel?" Cole asked, frowning faintly. "Eijan would not have sent him if he were not to be trusted."
"He's a Vardian!" she hissed, shaking her head. "Damn it, Cole, I'm not sure if I'm comfortable with one having free run of my bar..."
Cole's frown deepened. It was troubling that his Mel would have such an attitude. "Mel, if Eijan trusts Ro'ahn, we must as well. Bendal says that he is a very dedicated young man."
"Yeah, but dedicated to what?" Mel asked, shaking her head. "What if he's some kind of spy, or..."
"Mel, any of them could be spies for Zin," he pointed out, shaking his head. "He has more Enixians and Orsusians in his service than Vardians." He sighed faintly. "Mel, Eijan trusts Ro'ahn because he has proved himself through his words and action. Can you really distrust him simply because of the race he was born into?"
Mel blinked at his quiet words. She had always firmly believed that racism was wrong, immoral, yet here was Cole, tacitly describing her attitude as racist. The problem was, he was right...
"I... I'm sorry. It just surprised me. I'm used to Vardians being the bad guys." She shrugged apologetically.
"Not all Vardians are evil, Mel. Not even most of them." He shook his head. "Bendal and Olia seem very fond of Ro'ahn. Perhaps you should get to know him as well?"
"Yeah, maybe," she agreed. "Where is Jess?" she demanded abruptly, scowling down at her watch. "Her plane should have been here by now..."
"It was starting to rain when we got here," Cole noted. "Maybe her flight was delayed?"
"Yeah. Let's find a monitor and check."
"There is one, Mel," he said, pointing.
"Great," she said, weaving her way through the crowd. "I wouldn't have thought that an airport would be so crowded at five in the morning," she noted to Cole as they moved to stand in front of the bank of monitors.
"Many flights are delayed," he said, scanning the screens. "Outgoing ones as well."
"Huh." Mel nodded, frowning. "Guess the rain must have turned to sleet or something. That's going to make getting back into the city fun..."
"Here is her flight, Mel," Cole told her, pointing. "It has just landed."
"Good." She smiled up at him. "And her stuff should be at that baggage carousel."
"Yes, Mel. We should wait there."
"Yeah," she agreed, following him closely. The best part of being at an airport with a man Cole's size was definitely the fact that he left a clear space in his wake, making it unnecessary to fight her way through the crowds. "Good timing. Here come the bags."
Cole smiled and nodded placidly, scrutinizing the luggage as it passed. He abruptly scooped up two duffel-bags. "These are hers, Mel."
"How did you do that without checking the tags?" she asked, grinning as she read them.
"Jess has a very distinct energy-signature, Mel. Feel."
She lifted one hand to the bag and smiled faintly at the slight buzz it was throwing off. "Yeah, that feels like Jess," she agreed, pleased to recognize her friend's energy. It was just one more manifestation of her growing Cirronian skills.
"I will bring them to the car and drive it to the door if you wish to wait for Jess," Cole offered.
"Thanks, Tausha. I'd appreciate it." She stood on her toes and planted a kiss on his cheek. "Love you," she murmured in his ear as he moved away.
Smiling to herself, she returned her attention to searching the crowd for Jess. A young man in a suit brushed elbows with her as he walked past and, as he muttered an apology, Mel immediately found herself wishing that Cole was still there. She hated crowds and strangers lately, especially when Cole was not present to provide a protective buffer. She told herself firmly and frequently that it had less to do with any kind of left-over anxiety from her abduction than it did with her increasing sensitivity towards life-forces, but part of her mind nagged and called it cowardice.
Another part of her mind just as firmly called it common sense, and it was that part of her mind that had gained a foot-hold the moment the young man had passed. The fugitives were not her only worry in life, something she often allowed herself to forget. The respectable-looking business man had been undeniably human. And just as undeniably strung out... She would never have been able to tell it by his manner or dress as he purposefully crossed to the ticket-counter, but that brief accidental contact had been more than enough to tell her that he was on some very powerful stimulant and violently agitated as a result.
"Ignorance really is bliss..." she muttered, shaking her head and finding a wall to stand against.
You never found yourself uncomfortable just looking at a well-groomed, seemingly self-possessed businessman. It took the knowledge of what was going on just beneath that façade to get you worrying. No wonder Cole sometimes seemed so weary... She shook her head again and tried to tune out her read on the passing life-forces, focusing on scanning the crowd for Jess' face. Almost instinctively, she found herself scanning the thronging masses for a familiar energy-signature instead. Cursing softly, she tried to overcome the impulse to do that. After a few minutes, she realized that she was failing miserably. Sighing, she closed her eyes and let it happen instead, smiling as one life-force in particular began distinguishing itself from all the others.
She opened her eyes and started in that direction, glad that she had done it the Cirronian way. She doubted that she would have recognized Jess otherwise, heavily bundled as she was and without her signature blond hair.
"Mel!" Jess exclaimed, smiling and breaking into a run when she saw her. "And here I thought I was going to have to find you in all this mess!" she said, hugging her.
Mel laughed and hugged her tightly. "This is new," she noted with a smile, batting at the dark brown hair and herding Jess out of the crowd.
"Oh, my bags," Jess began, turning towards the carousel.
"Cole's already got them," she told Jess, pulling her coat more tightly around herself as they stepped outside. "He's just getting the car now so we don't have to walk. Weather took a turn for the worse..."
"I noticed while we were landing," Jess said, smiling and scanning the covered roads for the car. "Bleeding weather-men might as well be guessing at random for all the good their forecast ever does."
Mel laughed and nodded. "Tell me about it. Here, let me have a look at you."
"You can look me over when we get back to the Watchfire where it's warm," Jess told her, cupping gloved hands in front of her face and blowing into them. "I'd forgotten how temperate Chicago is in the winter."
Mel laughed again. "Oh, it's great to see you again, Jess."
"Yeah, you, too. I've missed you."
"Me, too. Love the hair, by the way."
"Do you?" Jess asked, pulling a lock through her fingers and examining it critically. "Part of my clean break. I'll never have to buy another bottle of dye again."
"It looks good on you."
"Thanks, Mel."
"So, why don't you tell me a little more about this 'clean break' of yours," Mel suggested quietly. Jess had mentioned it in passing a few times, but had not mentioned anything quite as radical as a complete change in appearance.
"Not much too tell. I got sick of being irresponsible and a doormat so I decided to change." She shrugged. "I don't party any more, either. I still like to have a good time, mind, but... I don't know. Maybe it's just part of growing up."
"Growing up? Jess, you are still just a baby," Mel informed her solemnly.
Jess grinned slyly. "Speaking of babies, Mel, when are you and Cole going to make me an aunt?" she asked, her expression serious while her eyes laughed.
Mel was aware that she had turned bright red and was grateful for the shadowy darkness of the passenger drop-off area. She shifted uncomfortably, wondering how Jess would react to news that, after finally getting off of their respective 'bums' and becoming lovers, they now shared a bed only in the most literal sense of the term. Or how Jess would react to the knowledge of what had happened to make Mel so skittish...
"We decided to wait," she said honestly. "Cole's work..."
Mel trailed off. Until that moment, she had actually managed to forget most of her anxiety over how Jess would react to Cole's new friends. Admittedly they were a lot less conspicuous than Cole had been in the beginning, but Jess was a sharp woman, bound to notice that something was off. The timing could not have been worse.
"Things really that bad here?" Jess asked, squeezing Mel's shoulder.
Mel's head shot up and she stared at Jess with wide eyes. "Oh, no, Jess. It's just that... things are... well, they're strange right now."
"Like I'd expect less from life with Cole?" Jess teased gently. "It's okay, Mel. I know that things are different and... well, just bad with you two right now. I just want to know what I can do to help."
Mel stared, startled. "How did you..."
"You both have a lot more strain in your voices when we talk lately. Looks like you haven't been sleeping well, either," she added, lightly touching one of the dark smudges under Mel's eyes.
Mel shook her head. "Damn, you're good. Nothing gets by you, does it?"
"I learned from the best."
"You and my grandmother. No one ever could keep a secret from either of you."
Jess grinned widely. "Right enough you can't. Not that I'm quite up to Irene's standard yet. She'd have had the truth about Cole from you in a day or less..."
"Then she'd have been ahead of me..." Mel grinned and shook her head. Without doubt, her grandmother would have known the Cirronian for exactly what he had been, and not just because of her frame of reference. Nothing had gotten past Irene. Ever. "Oh, here's Cole," she added, pointing to the car as it pulled up to the curve. "Here, you take the front seat," she added, pulling the door open.
"Ooh, toasty in here, is it?" Jess asked as she climbed inside. "Hi, Cole," she added.
He smiled warmly at her, leaning across the seat to hug her. "It's good to see you again, Jess. I like your hair much better this way."
"Same old Cole." She grinned and returned the hug, a little surprised by it, but unwilling to argue with how nice it felt to hug her old friend again. "Bet you spend a lot less time going around the bar in just your underpants in weather like this, huh?"
Cole chuckled and murmured in her ear, "I don't do that any more, Jess, but I'll do it once just for you. I did promise after all."
"Promise what?" Mel asked as she climbed into the back seat, wondering what Cole could have said to so effectively reduce Jess to helpless giggles.
"Cole grew a sense of humor while I was gone!" Jess managed between giggles.
"Oh." Mel smiled faintly. "Sick one, too, isn't it?"
Jess sniggered at Cole's innocent expression. "I think it's bloody brilliant..."
"You would," Mel laughed, shaking her head. "I'm going to have my hands full keeping you two in line."
"Hey, at least it'll never be boring," Jess pointed out cheerfully, pulling off her scarf and gloves. It was really too warm for them in the car. "Cole, how's the weather out there?"
"Horrible, Jess." The Cirronian made an expressive face. "Chicago blows in the winter." He tried and failed to maintain his innocently blank expression as both women dissolved into giggles. Smiling to himself, he put the car in gear.
.
.
.
Mel spent most of the drive back in silence, listening to Cole and Jess as they made plans for the visit and wondering whether or not Jess would end up finding out about the otherworldly nature of Cole and his new associates. By the time Cole pulled into the parking lot behind the bar, Mel had managed to convince herself that everything was going to be just fine. The others would probably be spending the bulk of the time in the Vault and when they did emerge, they would certainly be on their best behavior.
"God, it's bloody freezing out here," Jess observed as they walked to the apartment's back door. "It's going to take me hours to thaw out."
"Damn, and I forgot to make coffee this morning, too," Mel said, shaking her head. Glancing at her watch, she added, "The pots in the bar should be done, though."
"Sounds good," Jess said, detouring to the storage-room door. She frowned faintly as she stared down at the key-pad installed next to the door. "This is new," she noted quietly.
"It is safer," Cole explained simply, leaning around her and swiping his key-card. Smiling reassuringly, he typed the week's combination into the pad and opened the door.
"Safer," Jess repeated quietly, walking into the store-room.
"It's okay. You get used to it pretty fast," Mel assured her, stripping off her coat and scarf.
"It is only a precaution, Jess," Cole told her gently, helping her out of her coat. "I just feel better this way when I must leave Mel alone."
"Okay..." she agreed quietly. "Thanks, Cole," she added, taking her coat from him and hanging it on the peg next to the door.
Cole smiled down at her, shucking her own coat. "It is good to have you with us again, Jess. Maybe after you have some hot coffee you would like to rest?" he offered. "Or take a warm bath."
"My God, Cole passing up dibs on the first hot water of the day. Jess, you should feel honored," Mel chuckled, shaking her head.
Cole smiled faintly. "Jess is our guest, Mel. We should do what we can to make her comfortable." Pausing for a moment, he bent and whispered in her ear, "Besides, Mel, my taste for hot water is not the reason I disturb your morning showers."
"Cole!" Mel gasped, blushing furiously.
Not that she minded sharing her morning shower with Cole, whether it involved sex or, as more recently, just being close to him. She just wished that Jess had not been standing so close. The young Englishwoman was valiantly attempting to suppress her laughter but failing miserably.
"Sorry, Mel." Cole regarded her apologetically. "I did not think my whisper would carry so far."
"It's okay, Cole," Jess assured him. "She's not mad. Besides, it's not like I don't know what you two have been getting up to since 'Cole's room' became 'the guestroom' again."
Mel sighed and rubbed her forehead, wondering why she had been so worried about the other Trackers when she would obviously go insane long before Jess could discover anything incriminating. Shaking her head, she walked into the barroom. Her jaw dropped at the sight that awaited her there. Oh, yes. She was definitely going to have to check herself in somewhere before the week was over.
Bendal was sprawled across one of the couches, drinking a cup of coffee and reading a newspaper while absently, if loudly, singing along with the Beach Boy's tune blaring from the jukebox. That in itself would not have bothered Mel very much. It was the gaudy Hawaiian-print shirt, Bermuda shorts, and flip-flops that got her attention. And, judging by her wide eyes, Jess'. Mel glanced at Cole who just shook his head, his expression tolerant and amused.
"Good morning, Bendal," he greeted the Nodulian. "Cold?"
"Not compared to how cold I was during my morning swim in that gorgeous lake of yours," he answered cheerfully, springing to his feet. "Good morning, fair Melanie. I trust your sleep was restful?"
"Uh, it was... fine," Mel murmured, eyeing the Nodulian and wondering if he had any idea how inappropriate the ensemble was. Not to mention going for a swim in Lake Michigan when there was ice falling from the sky...
"Splendid. And you must be the radiant Jessica," he added, catching her hand and kissing it lightly.
Mel shook her head. Cole had been right: the man was definitely a flirt.
Jess grinned. "'The radiant Jessica', huh? I like your new friend, guys."
"Old friend, actually," Bendal corrected her smoothly. "Sean Bendal, my dear. It is an honor to finally meet you in person. Cole here speaks most highly of you."
"Don't you have a job you should be doing, Bendal?" Mel asked quietly, ignoring the little knot of pain forming in her forehead.
"All in good time, fair Melanie." He winked and grinned reassuringly. "Even the most dedicated among us must occasionally take breaks in the interest of continuing mental health and acuity," he pointed out.
"Right..." She nodded faintly and moved behind the bar, filling cups of coffee and trying not to look as shaken by Bendal's behavior as she felt. So much for the new arrivals being inconspicuous...
"Little early to be mixing Kaluha with your coffee, isn't it?" Jess asked Bendal, causing Mel to spill half a carafe of scalding coffee on her hand.
Cole quickly moved to heal the burn while Jess was still distracted by Bendal.
"Actually, if you work third shift, it is just early enough," the Nodulian informed Jess.
"Oh, okay." Jess shrugged and glanced over to where Mel and Cole were standing. Cole was helping Mel dry coffee from her hand, standing so close to her that their bodies were touching, his expression one of infinite concern. It was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, a thousand times more genuine than any interactions she had ever had with a man. Mel was one damned lucky woman.
"Some men have all the luck," Bendal murmured to Jess, noting the direction of her gaze. "He always did have wonderful taste in women, and the charm to back it up..."
Jess grinned at him. "What about you? You seem pretty charming yourself," she pointed out.
"Me?" Bendal laughed. "Olivia, did you hear that?" he demanded in the direction of the empty alcove. "She thinks I'm charming..."
"That's only because she just met you," an amused voice answered from the shadows, making Mel and Jess both jump.
"Good morning, Olia," Cole greeted her cheerfully.
"And to you, sir." She seemed to melt out of the shadows of the alcove, moving to join them. "It's quiet here in the morning. I like that." She pulled up the sleeve of her turtleneck, glancing at her watch. "Well, I really should back to work now. Good day to you all." With these words, she walked out the front door.
"All work and no play, that one," Bendal said gravely, shaking his head. Making a face he added, "Well, I suppose I must follow her fine and industrious example..." Still shaking his head, he followed her from the bar.
"He's going to get frostbite, going out like that," Jess said, shaking her own head. "Interesting guy."
"That's one word for it," Mel muttered, shaking her head.
"Jess, have you eaten breakfast yet?" Cole asked. "I can make pancakes."
"Oh, that sounds great, Cole. I am a little peckish..."
"You're in for a treat, Jess," Mel told her friend as they started upstairs. "Cole's a better cook than cop and that is saying a lot."
"I am not as fine a cop as many," Cole said simply, walking into the kitchen and easily locating everything he would need. "Bendal is superior administratively and Olia and Kallissa are far better at processing crime scenes. And Vic's instinct is better," he added absently, leaning into the fridge.
"Vic?" Jess murmured curiously to Mel. "He still around much?"
"All the time, Jess," Cole answered for Mel, emerging from the kitchen with a carton of milk in one hand and several eggs in the other. "Mel, will you please remind me to call him after breakfast?" he added, smiling at her. "Jess, you should sit. Would you like a blanket?"
"Nah, Cole, I'm fine," she assured him, though she did drop to the couch. "Wow, you've domesticated him," she whispered to Mel once Cole was back in the kitchen. "When'd he turn into the happy homemaker?"
Mel smiled and shook her head. "He's like that when we have guests." Which made for a morning record of five minutes not spent thinking of the others...
"Huh. Maybe I'm not the only one who should take a nap later," Jess suggested, noticing the strain in Mel's voice.
"Probably couldn't hurt," she agreed, lifting her head and inhaling deeply. Cole had, once again, managed to create mouth-water smells from the kitchen in record time. One of these days, she was going to have to make him teach her the secret.
"Ooh, if that tastes half as good as it smells..." Jess murmured, smiling. "You just can't get good food in Britain," she added, shaking her head. "I come back, I'm going to need another gym membership. You work out much, Mel? It's always easier when you have someone to nag you into going."
Mel smiled and shook her head. "I'm not good at nagging. But I'm sure Cole would be more than happy to. He never forgets my self-defense lessons."
"Oh, you're taking self-defense?" Jess asked, nodding. "That's good. A girl can't be too safe."
"No, she really can't," Mel agreed, absently rubbing the small of her back.
"Back hurting you?" Jess asked, noticing the motion. "You really should leave the heavy lifting to Cole now that you have him trained."
"Nah, just a nervous habit." Mel made a dismissive gesture, mentally willing Jess not to press the issue further.
"Like you didn't have enough of those already," the Englishwoman teased.
"Smartass." Mel swatted her with a throw pillow, grinning. It really was great to have her back, even just for a visit.
Jess shrugged in blithe acknowledgement of the accusation, inwardly troubled. Mel had always been high-strung, but never as grave as she seemed to be now. Even when she had been grinning and smacking her with a pillow, there had been some shadow in her eyes. Worried about her best friend, she made a note to dig discreetly and find out what was going on. Whatever it was, there was more to it than she had been let in on.
"Breakfast is ready," Cole announced, stepping into the living room and smiling warmly at the two women as they lounged together on the couch.
All that was missing was red light filtering in through the window to make the scene complete. The woman who was a wife to him and the one who was like a daughter, relaxing and waiting for him to take care of them in the comfortable, homey living area... It was beautiful. It was what it meant to be a Cirronian male, caring for the women under your protection in every way and basking in their resultant pleasure in it. It made him feel warm, alive. Complete.
Jess watched curiously as his smile turned tender, but he did not seem aware of any shift in his expression. What did a man like Cole think about to draw such a smile from those lips and lift the pain from those sad eyes? Feeling like a woman caught intruding on a moment of intimacy, Jess looked away, rearranging the pillows on the couch as a pretext.
Jess looked up when Mel rose and joined him, smiling at the look on her friends' faces. Cole wearing an unabashed smile and Mel regarding him with overt affection? Mel had not been kidding. They had changed. She stepped past them into the kitchen, wondering if they had even noticed her. When she moved to the table, Cole immediately moved to hold her chair. She grinned up at him over her shoulder, murmuring a thanks as he moved to get Mel's chair.
"This looks great, Cole," Jess told him as he started laying plates on the table.
"You think it looks good, wait until you taste it," Mel said, grinning at him as he filled their plates. "Thanks, Cole."
"You're welcome, Mel." He smiled over at her as he sat then abruptly ordered, "Eat."
"Same old Cole," Mel murmured to Jess as he dug in.
If his table manners had improved since the beginning, his appetite had not diminished in the slightest. And he firmly believed that anyone who did not eat as heartily as he did was not getting enough... She was going to have to start joining Jess at the gym if she did come back for good, she decided, smiling to herself around a mouthful of pancakes.