Chapter 16
Fugitive
I make a quick pit stop in Poland before I return to headquarters. I need Father Pawel to see me happy. He's seen me through so much misery; he deserves to see me happy. And I am so very, very happy. Probably happier than I've ever been, certainly happier than Pawel has ever seen me. I tell him all about Gregorio. He wonders when the wedding is. I laugh. We talk late into the night - or rather, I babble like a schoolgirl and Pawel patiently listens. He gets sleepy, so I tuck him in and give him a kiss on his warm forehead. I leave for Romania once he is sound asleep.
Gregorio and I talk on the phone and agree that we shouldn't risk seeing each other until the bi-monthly departmental meeting in ten hours. I pace my room the entire morning, counting down the minutes until the meeting and trying not to think about how close Gregorio is. The time finally arrives. As soon as I walk into the conference room, Viktor greets me.
"My Little Beta," he says, walking to me and taking my hands. "You are positively glowing, my dear. What's going on with you?"
"Viktor, how can I help but glow when you greet me so warmly?" I croon.
"Ah, Beta, always a pleasure," he says and leans in to give me a fond kiss on the cheek.
Over his head, I see Gregorio's sultry figure across the room. A jolt of lighting charges through me. I want to run to him, but I hold steady and smile benignly at Viktor. The meeting starts and the jolts don't stop. I surge every time I steal a glance at Gregorio's chiseled features, every time he pierces me with his coal, black eyes. I feel the current rushing from him, too. By rights, every hair in the room should be standing on end from all of this electricity bouncing off of us. If either of us were any less practiced in self control, we'd be mauling each other on the middle of the table right now.
The meeting finally ends, and Gregorio disappears out the door. I walk into the hallway as quickly as possible, but he isn't there. Where did he go? I can't believe he'd just leave me hanging like this. He wouldn't dare to go to my rooms, would he? Does he mean for me to go to his office? I have no idea. He surely doesn't expect me to wait until the next meeting to see him again, does he? I decide to go to my office, where I can send him a strongly-worded text message. As I'm ambling down the corridor, I'm suddenly yanked into a storage closet, and the door slams shut behind me.
I'm surrounded by musk and spices. Before my eyes even adjust to the darkness, I press my mouth to Gregorio's in a long, determined kiss. While our lips and tongues get reacquainted, I inhale his scent. I want all my senses surrounded by Gregorio. I eventually let myself down from him with my arms still around his neck - there's no way I'm going to stop touching him. He seems to feel the same way and keeps his hands firmly around my waist. He nuzzles his nose back and forth in my hair, inhaling me while he murmurs in the deep rumble that I love.
"Oh, Elisabeta, I have missed you."
I can't even begin to tell him how much I have missed him, because my throat is clenched. I am overwhelmed by him. I need to simply hold him and breathe him a while longer.
We bring our faces together again, but we don't kiss. With our eye lids half closed, we slowly rub our faces together. In dream-like slow motion, he drags his cheek against my temple, I run my lips along his jaw line, we press our foreheads across each other. We continue this way for a long time, and then I'm able to speak.
"Is all this secrecy really necessary?" I ask lazily as his lips brush my forehead.
"Probably not," he admits sleepily as I run my cheek along his. "But I find that with Viktor, it's best to proceed with caution…he's agitated about something right now…bad time to surprise him."
"Okay," I murmur in easy acquiescence. The situation has its enjoyable moments, after all. The corners of my mouth turn slightly upward as I think of a joke. "Just tell me when it's safe to come out of the closet," I say.
Gregorio's mouth spreads into a lazy grin as he utters, "That is so lame."
"I know," I laugh.
Our smiling lips cross paths, and we kiss, and we kiss, and we kiss.
*****
This is how our relationship goes for the next weeks - business as usual in front of others and stolen moments in closets when we can. We spend most of our early closet time embracing and talking about how much we miss each other.
"I can't take this much longer," Gregorio tells me. "I'm working Viktor up to it. We'll tell him soon. Very soon."
Then Gregorio's whispers start take on a more serious tone.
"They've asked me to make use of my contacts at the Volturi……sentiment against them continues to spread……Italy's not happy with your American friends……putting pressure on Viktor to stand by them……can't tell which way B.I.T.E. is going to go……best to lay low……I'm concerned about your connection with the Cullens……so far they haven't put you together…"
Gregorio is worried. He thinks Viktor is planning something, but he hasn't been brought in on it. We don't talk about making our relationship public anymore. Gregorio thinks it's best not to tell anyone about us just yet. It's very likely that my secret is going to come out with all of this attention on the Cullens, and he thinks he'll be in a better position to know if I'm in any danger if he distances himself from me. He stops pulling me into closets. I miss him.
One night, there's a soft knock at the door to my rooms. It's Gregorio. I'm shocked that he'd risk coming here, and I pull him in excitedly. My first thought is that he's finally had enough of the ruse and decided it's time to tell everyone about us. But his expression is one of dire concern. This can't be good.
"They've pulled your book from the archive," Gregorio tells me in an urgent whisper. "Viktor's reading it right now. He talked with the boy in publishing and knows exactly how many copies have been printed. He asked me if I knew what you did with them all."
"What did you tell him?" I gasp out in a whisper.
"The truth – that I don't know. You never told me about the extra copies. But I can guess what you did with them. Elisabeta, if they find out that you've distributed them to the Cullens…"
His eyes flick nervously around my room. He's thinking, planning on the fly. He goes to a closet and pulls out my backpack.
"You need to leave. Now," he says abruptly. His sharp, determined look stops my protest. "As far as anyone knows, you'll simply be on a research trip. You'll conduct your usual business, but don't stay in one place too long, and keep away from the vegans. Check in periodically with headquarters as usual, but be vague about your location and destination. Check your cell phone regularly, but don't answer it, and don't make calls from it. Say it's out of commission when you check in. I'll text you, but I won't sign the message, and you won't recognize the number it's coming from."
The whole time Gregorio is talking, he's throwing items that I'll need into my backpack. I've kept a curious eye on what's going in there. He's doing a pretty thorough job, which makes me wonder how many women's bags he's packed in his lifetime.
"Elisabeta, are you listening?"
I redirect my focus and answer quickly, "Yes. Got it. But for how long?"
"I don't know. I'll tell you when it's safe to come back. And darling, if they decide they want to, they'll be able to find you anywhere. Anywhere. Don't go anywhere that your scent will be strong from frequent visits."
I know that he's talking about the mysterious place that I disappear to on my days off – Father Pawel's monastery. It's exactly where I was thinking of going. Guess not.
"Get to an untraceable phone and tell the Cullens and whoever else you may have given extra copies of your book to to keep it to themselves for now. They'll only be putting themselves – and you – in danger by publicizing the fact that they have them."
He thrusts my backpack at me and grabs my shoulders, pulling me to him for a brief but fervent kiss. Then he sneaks me through the halls and out of the compound, and I'm turned out into the world.
I feel like a fricking fugitive.
And for what? For writing a book? For trying to make the world a better place? I'm not sure that I totally follow Gregorio's logic. He was talking so fast, and information was whirring all around me so that I'm not sure I grasped it all. I know that Gregorio thinks I might be in some kind of danger because of my association with the Cullens, and he wants me far from Viktor's grip, but this whole thing strikes me as a bit overly dramatic. Then again, what the hell do I know?
I follow his instructions, and as soon as I get into Egypt, I pay a small shop owner for the use of his phone and call the Cullens. I talk to Jasper and explain to him what I understand of the situation – that perhaps B.I.T.E. and the Volturi will be joining forces against them and that any evidence of our cooperation could be very bad for all of us. He'll call everyone off the job until further notice. Carlisle will talk to Alaska.
Madagascar doesn't have phones, so despite Gregorio's advice to avoid vegans, I have to go down there to explain the situation. I have a lot of explaining to do since they don't even know why the books came to them in the first place. The swells of the Indian Ocean are outstanding when I arrive, so I find Pippa, Kevin and Plainsong out gliding on the waves. I flag them in to the beach and bring them up to speed. They seem intrigued and excited by all the cloak and dagger business. We bury the books with a promise from the Madagascarians to help out once the project gets back on track.
I peer way out into the ocean and see that I was wrong; the waves aren't outstanding - they're stupendous. I figure it won't hurt to stay the afternoon and play. As I'm consumed with the thrill of navigating an enormous left break, I think of how much Gregorio would love this. We weren't able to surf when he was here last time; the ocean had been too calm. I want him here. Now. I ache for him.
I ache for him everywhere I go.
I leave Madagascar for mainland Africa and visit a tribe of humans. I've heard they drink blood, and I want a closer look. They think I'm an adventurous tourist, which isn't an entirely inaccurate assessment, and invite me to join them at a traditional ceremony. At the end of the ceremony, they pass around a primitive goblet of warm, rich blood. We all take a drink and keep passing. We smile at each other. Thick, red globules drip and cling to our teeth, and we smile huge, stained smiles at each other as if drinking blood is the most natural thing in the world. I wish Gregorio was here.
Alone on the savannah, I see a large, black bug with a spiky horn on his nose. He's slowly, slowly meandering across a dusty path. I sit for an hour, watching that silly guy make his way across the path. I wish Gregorio were here to watch this stupid, crazy bug amble across this dry, dusty path.
I don't get any word from him. Just some spam and phone calls that I can't return since my phone's not supposed to be working. I fax in an update to headquarters right before I leave Africa. I go to China. There are a couple of interesting vampires there that I haven't had much time to look into. They're brainiacs, even by vampire standards. They've put together all sorts of statistics and are conducting their own research, experiments really. They think that if they target specific types of humans for consumption, they can influence their own, natural characteristics. For example, hundreds of yeas ago, they dined exclusively on highly intelligent humans, thus their overdeveloped I.Q.s. I'm unconvinced. I think they always had their intellect and that's what led them to the experiment in the first place.
When I last visited Chen and Stanley twenty years ago, they were going after a sense of humor, and China suddenly became a very dangerous place for funny men and women. I don't see any improvement in their corny jokes at this visit. Maybe it's because their theory is flawed, or maybe it's because there just aren't that many truly funny people in China. I don't know. I don't care. I'm just passing the time.
I'm deciding where to go next, when I get a text message. It's an address in Paris. Nothing else. I know it's from Gregorio. I don't know what this means, and I'm not sure I particularly care. I just want to see Gregorio. I'm going to see Gregorio!
I rush to him at the address in Paris. It's a small, boutique hotel rive gauche. It's the first time we'll be really alone together in a very long time. It's the last time we'll be together for we don't know how long. You know how I've said that nothing is ever warm when it comes to vampires? Well, this is going to be boiling, steaming hot.
It's hot from the moment he opens the door and takes me in with his burning eyes, and I come to him without a moment's hesitation. We become arms and legs and mouths, frantically tearing at each other's clothes. Frantic to get to each other. We are pressing and thrusting and gasping and moaning in ecstasy. We're together, together, as close as a man and woman can be.
We relax after our initial desperation is satisfied. Now we're slow, soft caresses and tickling, baby kisses. We're, "…my love…my darling…my angel..." Gregorio knows my special spots, and he lightly blows on them and follows up with his gentle mouth and tongue. I purr. I keep purring while I visit his special spots. Gregorio growls and keeps growling as I take things too far, and we're again rolling around in our oblivion. All thought, worry, planning, concern goes out the window. We're only aware of our need for each other. Our insatiable need.
*****
I'm lying sideways on the bed, staring out our window at the streaming rain. Gregorio is behind me. I'm resting my head on his arm, and he's tracing his fingers down my back and kissing my shoulder. He's given me the update. Viktor has been mildly irritated that I haven't been around when he's wanted to see me, but it doesn't look like he's called out the dogs on me – yet. The only potentially disconcerting news is that he's connected me with the Cullens, although we don't know what that means for us. Gregorio knows that B.I.T.E. is planning something, but he hasn't been brought in on any of the specifics. Not yet. We're still waiting.
"Let's stay here forever," I murmur in contentment.
"If only we could," Gregorio says wistfully.
I hear too much reality in his comment. I turn my head to him and kiss him. I don't want him to say more right now. It's a long, slow kiss, and the soft popping noises of our lips playing off each other blend in nicely with the slaps of rain outside. Eventually, Gregorio takes his hand to my chin. He gently pulls my face from his and lays my head back on his arm. He's looking down at me with his serious, black eyes. He's going to say more. Damnit.
"I want you to go stay with the Cullens," he tells me.
"No," I complain, turning my whole body toward him. "It's too far. I don't want to be that far from you again. It's too hard."
"I know," he whispers.
He dips his head down to press his cool lips to the smooth skin below my throat. I love the feel of his soft, black waves of hair against my chin. How can I leave this? When he lifts his head, I see the creases at his eyes and the tightness in his features. This isn't easy for him, either. I'm going to stop being a baby. It's not fair to make him be the only strong one.
"Why?" I ask simply. It's not a challenge. I'm going to go with the program.
"You should be with people who can defend you. If this is the direction Viktor is heading, he'll come after you all anyhow. You may as well be together. And with their ability to foresee danger, you'll stand a good chance. I've already talked to Carlisle, and he will welcome you."
"Okay," I say. He's right. It makes sense. Damnit.
"It won't be forever," he tells me. "Just until I can figure out what's going on. This may all come to nothing. Viktor's starting to bring me in on things, so I should know where this is going soon."
I nod and place my hand at the side of his gorgeous face. "You'll come see me when you can?" I ask.
"Yes," he says and turns his face to kiss my palm.
"And you'll think of me every day?" I ask.
"Every second," he tells me.
As we're talking, Gregorio has run his hand down my leg. He hooks it under my knee and bends my leg, pulling it up to my side. He's familiar with my flexibility and straightens out my calf, bringing it to his mouth and kissing it. He kisses down my leg to the back of my knee and then to the inside of my thigh. He keeps moving, and it's a long time before we speak again in any discernable language.
***
I leave him that evening.
"Goodbye, my little fugitive," he says to me with a soft kiss to my forehead.
I tear out of there while I'm still strong, before I weaken and make things more difficult for Gregorio. I'm a wreck on the plane. I think it would have bean easier not to have seen him at all. I ache for him more than ever.
As soon as I walk into the Cullens' house, I head straight to Jasper. He puts his arm around my shoulders, and we sit on the couch. I bring my knees up and curl into him with my arms thrown around his abdomen and my head buried into his shoulder. I'm touching as much of Jasper's surface as I can. I need his vibe. We are two of the prickliest vampires I know, and we're snuggling on the couch together.
Alice doesn't mind. She knows what it's all about. She knew this was going to happen.