Loving Night: Dream Catcher Series ~ Book 2 (18 page)

“Yes, we do.”

They sat like that for a long time.
Their hearts beating against each other. Their breathing matching one another. Her
clinging to him. Him running his hands over her back, along her thighs, and
back up to massage her shoulders.

“Before you, I never thought about
what I wanted beyond being an agent,” Chaz confessed. “Now, I can’t imagine my
life without you.”

Stephanie didn’t respond. She
didn’t need to; they both knew that she felt the same.

Chaz eventually warmed his dinner
and they talked about buying furniture for the nursery while he ate. He asked
about her family and mentioned that his mother wanted them to visit soon—she
hadn’t seen them since Thanksgiving. Chaz suspected that she wanted to corner
them about the plans for their wedding since no one knew they were already
married. Stephanie updated him on the ideas she and Karen had discussed.

When they went to bed, they didn’t
talk at all. They simply held each other until they fell asleep.

Over the next couple of weeks,
Stephanie had several visions relevant to the case against Paul Watkins. With
her help, Steve was able to keep the task force focused in the right direction
and all of his plans for capturing the criminal were falling into place. He’d
left a few days earlier to begin the intense surveillance on the target with
hopes of having charges in that case filed within a month.

He had asked her to not tell Chaz
about some of their conversations—specifically the ones that only marginally
indicated her husband’s role but which hinted at things that might affect him
in the future. Things regarding his position on Steve’s team. On one hand,
Stephanie didn’t feel comfortable; but on the other hand, she trusted Steve
McDaniels. And he trusted her.

“That must make you feel good,”
Karen said during one of her video-chats with Stephanie.

“It does.” She smiled and pulled
the band from her ponytail so that her hair could hang free. “I’m finally
getting used to dealing directly with Chaz’s colleague; Steve has called me a
couple of times to tell me about specific developments and to ask whether the
new information relates to any details that might have been in one of my previous
visions but that didn’t seem relevant. And, it seems that I’m having new dreams
about the case; I’ve texted him twice this week to let him know what I’ve seen.
It’s exciting.”

“How does Chaz feel about this new
relationship? I mean, does it bother him that he isn’t always the middle man in
communicating what you see? It’s got to feel weird to have you dreaming on a
case that he’s not directly involved with.”

“He’s fine with it. Besides, he’s
still on the task force and analyzes the data being collected. He and I both
keep Steve going in the right direction.” She paused for a moment before
adding, “I think that Steve being around—he’s come to dinner a couple of
times—takes some of the sting away from Sylvia no longer being in Chaz’s life. I
mentioned that theory a couple of days ago, and I think that her absence
bothers him. But then, he’s adamant about not backing down from his position.”
She shrugged. “He’s probably right to think that if he made overtures to repair
their friendship that she would think he was backing down from choosing me over
her. He doesn’t want there to ever be any misunderstanding.”

“I agree with that; she was so far
out of line that I can’t imagine him ever wanting her to forget that she created
this chasm between them.” Karen shifted a sleeping son from one arm to the
other. “This boy is getting heavy. And speaking of babies, how are you
feeling?”

“Great! I think she’s moving
around. I can feel when she’s moving. It’s not like it was at first when it
felt like a butterfly was in my stomach. She seems to be stretching and
turning.”

“Really?” Karen tried not to laugh
too loudly. “You’re moving right along, Steph. The next time we get together,
you’ll probably look like you swallowed a melon.”

“I’m not far from that now.” She
stood and moved away from the computer so that her friend could get a better
look at her. There could be no mistaking the large swell in the center of her
body.

“Oh my god! You look wonderful! I
just wish you were here so that I could spoil you, and we could do marathon
shopping and gorge on your favorite foods. You deserve it after how wonderful
you were to me when Little Victor was still baking.”

“Hey, I’ll be there next weekend,
remember? Chaz does a good job of spoiling me, but I’m definitely looking
forward to some more pampering from my best friend. Honestly, I have to come
before I get too much bigger or that protective husband of mine might not want
me to travel by myself.”

“Are you going to drive up alone? I
thought he would be bringing you.”

“I’ll be on my own. Chaz can’t get
away from work, and that probably won’t change anytime soon. Even though Steve
let him off the hook on going to Chicago, the data they’re getting back from
the surveillance technicians has to be analyzed very quickly.” She didn’t add
that even after Paul Watkins is caught, there would be a lot of paperwork. “I’ll
leave here after the rush hour on Friday morning and be at your house long
before dinner time. We’ll have all day Saturday and half of Sunday before I
have to leave Erie.”

“That’s not very much time.”

“It’s all I can spare right now. Chaz
isn’t the only one getting a lot of demands. With Cherise being out of town,
the pace at the office is a little frantic.” She watched her friend nod. They
both had careers in investing, so Karen fully understood.

“Well, I’ll take what I can get.
Just be safe on the road.” Karen’s face reflected her usual smile. “Bring your
bridal books and baby magazines. We can talk about the wedding Friday night.”

“That sounds like a good idea. I
can’t wait to see you; I miss you so much it makes me sad sometimes.”

Karen made a dismissive hand
gesture. “That’s just the hormones, but I miss you too. Now, get off this phone
so that I can take care of your godson who should be waking pretty soon, and
you can plan dinner or something.”

Stephanie didn’t need to plan
dinner. A roast had been simmering in the crock pot overnight. Potatoes,
carrots, and stewed whole tomatoes were already in there as well. All she
needed to do was make a small salad. So, she stretched out on the bed after the
conversation with Karen ended.

Chaz didn’t want to wake her when
he returned from the office. Normally, he wouldn’t be working on a Saturday,
but he’d decided to put in a couple of hours after his time at the shooting range
and a decent workout.

He sat in the chair in one corner
of the room and watched the love of his life look even more beautiful than
normal. Her skin glowed and her face was peaceful. He’d been worrying about her
lately; taking a more active role with his case, as well as being pregnant and
having more responsibilities at work, was taking a lot of her time and energy.
He smiled with admiration at the way she didn’t mind sharing herself.

Bridal magazines were stacked
neatly on the floor beside the chair, so Chaz picked them up and began browsing
through them. Stephanie had dog-eared several dresses along with ads for
caterers and photographers. It occurred to him that this was something else she
was doing for other people. Their families, not knowing they were already
married, were expecting a large ceremony in May—less than two months away. He
wondered how many of these plans had been finalized and whether it was fair to
have other people dictate an event that was definitely causing even more work
for Stephanie. Suddenly, he felt bad about being so consumed with work that he
hadn’t taken time to help her with even the tiniest bit of planning.

“Hey,” a groggy voice said from the
center of the room. Stephanie managed a weak smile through her sleepiness.

“Hey.” He set the magazines down
and joined her on the bed. “How are you?”

“Fine.” She reached up to run a
finger along the edge of his jaw and down his neck. He captured her hand and
kissed the palm and was rewarded with a sigh and the loving look she always had
for him.

“I was looking at some of your
books.” He tipped his head toward the chair where he’d been sitting. “How are
the wedding plans coming? Is this too much work?”

“Actually, most of the planning is
done. I’ve booked the wedding at the Atrium Hotel. Although it’s not a
five-star hotel, it’s a great place for Indian weddings and will therefore fit
nicely with our theme. The wedding will be in the atrium and the reception will
be in one of the conference rooms. Phailin recommended a couple of caterers and
a friend from work recommended a bakery. I’m still deciding which ones to
actually hire—which reminds me that we need to schedule times for food tasting
before the end of the month. As for the decorations, Karen and I will discuss
those next weekend.”

“And your dress?”

“Already ordered. I can’t wait for
you to see it.” A huge smile spread across her face as she thought about the satin
and lace dress with a beaded bodice, high empire waist to accentuate the
growing baby bump, and a keyhole back that also had corseting to allow for the
midsection to be adjusted. The seamstress had made special alterations to allow
for all of those details on a maternity wedding gown. Now she asked her
husband, “Are you ready to think about tuxedos? We have to make those decisions
soon, also.”

“Traditional black with long
jackets works fine for me. I’m not picky.” He tucked a stray curl behind her
ear. “I’m very lucky to have you.”

“I keep telling you, Chaz, that
luck has nothing to do with it.” She gave the lighthearted laugh he loved.
“We’re meant to be together.”

“Yeah, I know.” He kissed her
forehead. “I know you have dinner cooked, and it smells wonderful, but I
honestly have a taste for a banana split. How about going to Graeter’s now and
eating dinner later?”

“Dessert first? I’ll never pass
that up. I think this baby is giving me a sweet tooth.”

While Stephanie freshened up so
that they could leave, Chaz stood in the doorway to the bathroom and reminded
himself of how amazing his wife was.

~
~ ~ ~ ~

“Are you sitting down?” Steve asked
from his end of the telephone.

“Sure.” Chaz sat up straighter in
his chair. Nothing good could follow those words.

“We’ve been tracking Paul Watkins
for the past couple of weeks and it looked like he was getting ready to
relocate. The prosecutor has been scrambling to confirm all of the federal charges
we want to file, but he isn’t ready and we might have missed at least one
chance to arrest Watkins. On top of that, local informants have hinted that
he’s headed to Cincinnati to establish his base of operations.”

“How soon?” Chaz’s heart skipped a
beat. There was no way he wanted that man anywhere near him and Stephanie.

“That’s the big question. We
haven’t seen him for a few days, so he might already be there. I’m at the
airport waiting on my flight back. I have a few people to talk to and a couple
of places to check out. One might be his new residence.” He paused. “I thought
you should know.”

“Thanks. I appreciate that.” Chaz
rubbed a hand across his face. Everything had been going so well. “Call me when
you get in and I’ll pick you up from the airport.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea,
Chaz. If he is in Cincy, you need to stay out of sight as much as possible.
There’s more that you don’t know.” He only paused slightly before saying, “It
seems that the informants who told us where to look for Watkins have now
disappeared. Both of them. Neither their families nor the officers they work
with have seen them for a couple of days.

“Damn!”

“Right. I’ll be in the office
tomorrow.” Steve sounded tired and frustrated.

When they ended the call, Chaz
debated over whether he should tell his wife about this latest turn in the
investigation. Maybe it would be best to wait until she returned from her trip
to Erie—she needed this upcoming weekend to relax with her best friend and not
be worried. He made a quick decision that, if her visions didn’t tell her, he
wouldn’t let her know about Watkins.

With his focus redirected, he
decided to skim back through the assessments he’d made about the Chicago surveillance
data to see whether he could pinpoint anything that might help Steve. The
effort to locate Watkins was becoming one of the biggest pains of his career.

It would be another late night at
the office.

Not fifteen minutes after he made
that decision, Roy appeared at the opening to Chaz’s cubicle to tell him the
same thing that Steve had said. Hearing it for the second time didn’t make it
sound any better.

By the time he arrived home that
night, Stephanie had eaten and left him a note to wake her no matter what time.
It was Thursday and she’d be leaving in the morning to visit Karen. Chaz
undressed and slid into bed beside his wife.

“You’re home. What time is it?”

“Almost 11:00.” He wrapped his arms
around her and pulled her body against his. “Are you all set for your drive
tomorrow?”

“Uhm hmm.” Her lips lightly brushed
his neck and she tossed a leg over his thighs. “Why are you so late getting
home?”

“I needed to review some recent
data for Steve.”

“Everything okay?”

“For now.”

Stephanie didn’t miss the evasiveness
in that answer but decided not to press the issue. There were more important
matters—like making love to her husband since she wouldn’t see him for a few
days. She wouldn’t let whatever was going on with his job interfere with the
fact that the night was their time to regroup, refresh, and renew their
connection. In those moments in the dark, only they existed—together.

As if reading her mind, Chaz
shifted so that they were lying on their sides facing each other. He stared
into the golden-brown eyes looking into his and relaxed. He was home. Stephanie
was his home, where he thrived and felt complete, where nothing and no one
could touch him.