Chapter 13

Felicity soaked in the bath until the water began to cool. Her mind kept wandering back to what Brent had said about her being relaxed to have visions. She’d never thought to write down what she was doing when the visions hit. Maybe she should start doing that. The last few she could recall fairly easily, but there had been far too many in the past to remember what she had been doing at the time. Drying off slowly she stopped and cocked her head in thought. In her kitchen recently she’d been humming to herself and had been in such a good mood having had a good nap that afternoon. So she was … relaxed. Hmm.

Pulling on her robe she grabbed her brush and untwisted her hair. When was the next one? Pulling the brush through her long hair, she hummed to herself as she thought. They’d been going to go find the location at the lake. She remembered feeling excited; finally, someone was going to do something. Getting up she put the brush away. So she’d been happy? Smirked she shook her head, close enough to happy.

Pursing her lips, she frowned. Where was the next one? Oh yes, after she had cried herself into exhaustion in Brent’s arms. There it was again; she’d been completely relaxed in an exhausted sleep… How had Brent figured this out when she’d been trying to her entire life? She smirked at herself in the mirror, there is a reason he’s a detective you silly twit. He was good at it. A blush climbed up her cheeks when she remembered his kisses. Oh, he was good at more things than his job.

Shaking her head, she turned from the mirror. Focus. Ok, the time after that was … she bit her lip in thought. In the dingy little diner restaurant— laughing and teasing Brent about not sleeping because of him. She’d been happy and happy meant relaxed. Sighing, she sat on the edge of the bed. Brent was right about this. So how could she use this? She’d just have to walk around happy and relaxed all the time.

Rubbing a hand over her cheek, she chuckled. Much easier said than done. She stood up and undid her robe; sleep for now figure this out tomorrow. Pulling the cover back quickly she jumped up when someone knocked on the door. Maybe there was news … She hurried over and opened it.

Brent took in the silk peeking out from the open robe and grinned wide. “Can I come in? I’ve been kicked out.”

She stepped back and closed the door behind him. “Kicked out?”

He grinned. “They wanted some … alone time I guess.”

“Oh.” She smirked. “I guess I can’t make you spend the night in your car.”

“I thought about it, but it’s cool out tonight.”

“I have a couch, or you could use Jac’s bed …” She went over to the desk and clicked a light back on. “I thought about our discussion, Brent.”

He sat down on the couch and let his eyes slowly wander up her bare legs. “Uh, which one?”

She realized her robe was open and started to close it then realized she wanted him to look. If Jac got to have a night of cuddles and more, she could at least feel appreciated. “The one where you said I received the visions when I was relaxed. You were right.” She perched on the edge of the chair and knew it wasn’t nice to leave her robe open, but if it was the only thing was going to get then she was taking it.

Brent tried not to let his eyes roam over her, but it wasn’t working. Forcing his eyes back to her face he smirked. “Then all you need to do is relax and you’ll see more?”

“It would seem that way.” She sighed. “Unfortunately trying to relax when I’m so anxious to know he’s all right is easier said than done.”

“I can see that.” His eyes roamed over her. “Bath didn’t help?”

“As long as I’m in it, sure—but I have to get out at some point, I can’t very well lie in a tub of hot water all the time.”

He smirked. “Sorry. Just give me a sec.” He closed his eyes and took a deep breath before opening them. “I got lost in that image for a moment.”

A warm blush rose in her cheeks. “Oh, I see.”

“At least I’m honest.” He grinned. “Would a foot massage help you relax?”

“I don’t think that would entirely relax me …” She stopped when he got up slowly and came towards her.

Brent stopped in front of her and held out his hand. He had intended to do what he said, but the moment her hand touched his and he looked down to see her blue eyes darken ever so slightly, his intentions fled. Pulling her gently to her feet he whispered, “I could probably help you relax, Felicity.” He lowered his head slowly, not taking his eyes from hers. Brushing his lips over hers, once, then again, he waited. Her mouth responded.

Lifting his head, he placed his hand on her hip lightly and then lowered his mouth again while pulling her backward across the space to the dresser. Leaning back against the dresser he perched on it bringing their faces almost level. Pulling her between his legs, he wrapped one arm around her while still holding her hand and kissed her deeper this time. She opened to his kiss and he swept his tongue inside. Dropping her hand, he palmed the back of her head while he deepened the kiss. Pulling back, he whispered against her lips. “A man could become addicted to your lips.”

His words made her knees weak. How long had it been since she’d kissed a man? Too long she decided as she wrapped both arms around his neck and moved her mouth back to his.

Brent pulled her tighter against him and ran his hand down over her tight ass to caress his way down the back of her bare thigh. She moaned quietly into his mouth. He ran his hand back up her thigh, squeezing her warm flesh as he went. When his hand touched the bare skin hidden under the short robe he deepened the kiss. His tongue roughened as he plundered her mouth now. Grasping her waist, he hauled her up against him as he stood up.

He took one step towards the bed on the other side of the room when she wrapped her legs around his waist and moved her mouth to bite at his neck. Shuddering he turned and crushed her with his body against the wall.

Rasping out a breath Brent grasped the back of her thighs and held her pinned between him and the wall. His hardness pushed against his jeans rubbing between her legs. Still, her teeth and lips continued to torture his neck. He pulled her robe up between them and bared her body for him to see. Her pale skin was perfect—perfect for kissing, for licking. Pressing his throbbing flesh into her he lowered his mouth to taste the hard nipple that begged for his lips. When he closed his mouth around the nipple she groaned and pushed into him. Biting gently, she bucked, and he almost lost the tiny scrap of control he had left. Trailing his mouth up to her neck he whispered. “You’re so fucking sexy I can’t stand it.”

When he pulled back slightly Felicity whimpered. He grasped the back of her legs and slid her body further up the wall. Looking into his eyes she could see the hunger he had for her. Pulling up the silk nightshirt she wore, she grasped his shoulder and straightened. He needed no further invitation as his mouth moved to her ribs to explore roughly. She groaned again when his teeth dragged over one sensitive nipple before his mouth closed over it.

The way she was rocking herself against his body was driving him into a fevered pitch. Grasping her tightly he pulled her down to land against the demanding bulge in his pants. His mouth attacked her throat as he rocked against her, he could feel the heat even through his jeans. Turning, he stumbled quickly towards the bed and tumbled them onto it. She was beneath him; touching everywhere her hands could reach. Pulling his shirt from his pants and yanking it up to lick his chest.

The phone in his back pocket rang and they both froze. No.

He swallowed and lowered his head to her forehead. In a voice he barely recognized as his own, he gasped out. “If I answer that, chances are this won’t get to continue.” He held his breath waiting for her to speak.

Her whole body was shaking. What if it was to do with Damian? Reaching up she kissed his mouth lightly and reached into his back pocket to get his phone.

Letting out a long breath he took the phone and answered it without moving off of her. “Yeah?” Leaning across her body he let his eyes wander over her. He scowled. “You’re lucky I answered. What’s up?”

Felicity watched his face as he spoke. His eyes were roaming over her with a possessive look. She was still breathing raggedly trying to bring her body under control.

Sighing Brent reached over and pulled her shirt and robe back into place, then spun until he was sitting on the bed. “Private how?”

Letting out a frustrated breath she sat up slowly and pulled the robe closed. He was back in cop mode now and her interlude was obviously over. She looked at his back and pouted silently to herself. Damn!

“Keep looking, I want this guy.” He closed the phone and looked down at it. Turning back towards her, he hid his disappointment that she was sitting up and her robe was tied around her. “That was Alec.” He snarled. “Reid ignored his phone, so she called me.”

“How nice of him.” She didn’t try to hide the sarcasm she felt. “Has she found out something?”

Reaching over, he smoothed a hand down her hair. “Yeah. There’s a private doctor somewhere in this area that came up when she searched deeper. He doesn’t have an office or does any shifts at the hospital.”

“Does she have an address?”

Brent shook his head. “He appears to move around a lot, so she’s having trouble following his trail.” Her shoulders dropped. “She’ll find him. Alec is … tenacious, to put it mildly.”

“I hope so.” She noticed his eyes were still glazed and was trying really hard to keep her hands to herself. “So now…”

He gave her a little smile. “She’ll be calling back shortly if I know Alec.”

“Oh.” She pouted. “It’s just not … fair.”

His eyes searched her face for a moment. Turning more, he reached over and placed a finger under her chin, and tilted her head up so she was looking directly at him. “Just so you’re not confused, I’m going to clarify this.” He looked at her a moment longer. “I don’t want to be interrupted, again. So don’t think this is the end of it, far from it. Okay?” She nodded. “Good.” He smirked at her. “Now I’m going to go interrupt my partner and he can be as miserable as me.” She grinned at him. “Try to get some rest, Felicity.” He dropped a quick kiss on her mouth and headed towards the door.

She sat there smiling to herself as he stopped at the door to tuck his shirt back in and run a hand through his hair to ruffle it back into place. Winking at her over his shoulder he went out the door quietly. Well damn. Sighing, she got up and then climbed under the blankets.

Brent entered the room and quietly closed the door. He turned to see Felicity curled up on her pillow sleeping. Sighing he walked over and stood beside the bed. He’d called Alec to tell her to let him know in the morning if she found anything, he’d filled Reid in as quickly as he could and then he’d rushed back over here and she was asleep. Was he the kind of man to just climb in beside her? He rubbed his jaw as his eyes ran over the golden hair spread out around her on the pillow. She looked like some sort of angel when she slept. Turning towards the couch he shook his head, he couldn’t bring himself to wake her up when she looked to be resting comfortably.

He sat down as she turned onto her other side. The blanket had gone with her and now it rested at her waist. He stared at the feminine shape of her lying like that and grit his teeth. Close your eyes and go to sleep. Don’t look. Not listening, he slumped down into a comfortable slouch and continued to watch the sleeping woman. Sighing he closed his eyes and focused on relaxing his breathing so he could try to at least catch a nap. He could still taste her. The entire room smelled of her.

***

His eyes flew open as a body slammed into him. Grabbing Felicity by the waist, he realized she was straddling him on the couch. He blinked again trying to bring her into focus. She was crying. “What?” He straightened up slightly and tried to hold her still. “Felicity, what’s going on?” Not that he minded her squirming all over his body, but he couldn’t shake the sleep to understand what was happening.

“They have a baby!” She grabbed the front of his shirt, her face only inches from his. Hiccupping she tried to calm down enough to explain. “I just saw Damian and there’s a baby with him now, Brent. It was crying…”

Cupping her face gently between his hands he spoke softly to her. “Felicity, honey you need to calm down. I can’t help if I can’t understand you.” He caressed her cheeks lightly and slid his hands down to her shoulders. “Besides Damian and the baby, did you see anyone else?”

She took two deep breaths and tried to breathe the panic she felt out. “I think … I think he looked at someone coming into the room, maybe a woman …an older woman, she looked kind of hunched…” She closed her eyes and took a few deep breaths and then opened her eyes. “I’m not sure.”

Brent nodded again. Even though he spoke softly and didn’t tense, he wasn’t nearly as calm as she needed to think he was. “Okay, the baby … where was it?” He almost held his breath waiting.

“Uh, in a little bed type thing … maybe a cheap bassinet.”

He squeezed her shoulders lightly. “Okay, so it may have just woken up hungry or was wet…”

“Yes.” She took a shaky breath. “I didn’t think of that.”

He hugged her lightly for a moment. Partially to comfort her, some from relief he felt, and mostly because she was on his lap and there. Leaning back, he touched her cheek again. “You get to writing it all down, do some sketches if you can.” She pushed up and got off him nodding. “I’m going to roust Reid and get Alec searching for any infants missing in the last few days.” Pulling the phone out of his pocket, he paused. “Boy or girl? Did you see?”

“Oh, uh…” She clenched her eyes tight trying to bring the image of the baby back. A white blanket … poor thing crying… bonnet. Her eyes flew open. “A girl, she had on a little pink frilly bonnet.” He nodded abruptly and opened his phone as he went out the door.

She was scribbling furiously everything she could remember when Jac flew into the room. She didn’t glance up but could sense Jac stopped when she noticed her writing and wouldn’t disturb her until she stopped. Finishing as quickly as she could without missing any details, she closed the journal and held it out to Jac, and then opened the sketch pad. “As soon as this is done, I’m taking a drawing class and learning how to draw people!” She hissed it to herself as she started to sketch the silhouetted doorway with the person she had seen standing in it.

Brent stroked a hand lightly down her hair, not wanting to wake her but needing to touch her. When the door opened he put a finger over his mouth to warn Reid and the sleepy-looking Jac to enter quietly. They closed the door without noise. “She paced around all night; I finally talked her into sitting down.”

Reid raised an eyebrow. “Across your lap?” He hissed softly with amusement in his voice.

Brent grinned. “Whatever works.” He winked at Jac before turning back to his partner. “Anything yet?”

Reid shook his head and perched on the edge of the dresser. “I just called Alec; she’d just received an updated list, so she should be calling back shortly.” Brent nodded. “Good.” He sent Reid a determined look, which he knew his partner would understand. They had to find these people. Reid sent him back one of his cool looks. “What are you thinking?” He whispered it softly then glanced down again at the woman resting on his chest.

Reid looked down at his phone, daring it to ring. “Jacinda and I discussed an option.” He looked over at her for a second then back to Brent. “We’re going to take off as soon as Alec gives us a location or locations and see if Jac can see anything to point us somewhere.”

Brent nodded. He didn’t speak, because he knew how much Reid didn’t want to let her do that to herself again, but he also knew these people had to be stopped as much as his partner understood.

The phone vibrated in Reid’s hand. Getting up quickly he went into the bathroom and closed the door most of the way before answering it.

Felicity moved in his arms. Brent looked down at her and smiled when sleep-heavy, sexy as hell blue eyes looked up at him. “Morning.”

Turning her head she spotted Jac slumped in the chair and straightened out of Brent’s arms. Her legs were still across his lap, his hands dropping to rest on them. “How long did I sleep?”

Brent wanted to pull her back into his arms but knew this was not the time. “Maybe an hour.”

“Mmm, that would explain why my body doesn’t feel rested.” She let out a slow breath and blinked her eyes a few times.

Jac chuckled. “I think I’ve forgotten what sleep feels like. The last few days have been a series of tiny naps here and there.”

Reid came back out still holding his phone. “We have two infants in the last two days reported, neither are female.”

Felicity swung her legs off of Brent and stood up slowly. “That baby has to be female; no one would put a boy in a pink hat—a girl in a blue one, sure, but not the other way around.”

Reid waved his hand around in frustration. “I know, I got that. Alec is checking for a longer time frame— going back a week.” He clenched his jaw. “I don’t suppose you have a guess as to the age?”

Felicity paced over to the window, then back to the couch. She shook her head. “I don’t know, uh … young enough to not be sitting up or trying to.”

Brent scowled. He looked at Reid again. “Alec wanting to know more yet?”

Reid glanced at Jac then back to him. “Not yet, but she keeps hesitating before kicking into gear.”

Felicity looked at Reid then at Brent. “What do you mean, know more?”

Brent rested his forearms on his knees. “Sooner or later, she’s bound to start asking where and how we keep coming up with leads to trace.” He let out a slow breath. “I’m actually surprised she hasn’t called us on it yet.”

“Oh.” Felicity looked at Jac, who was giving her the same look that went with how she was feeling. “Would she accept that we’re telling the truth?” She looked back at Brent.

Brent shrugged. “I honestly don’t know.” He stood up and stretched. “Then again, if you’d asked me if Reid would ever— I’d have said no and look at how well he’s taking it.”

Reid shrugged. “I just prefer not to sit and think about it much, still. The question of my sanity still hasn’t been established.” He grinned at Jac when she glared at him.

Jac sat up and looked at Brent. “Let’s not get ahead of things here. If Alec starts asking, we’ll decide that then. Okay?” Everyone nodded. Turning she looked back at Felicity. “Is it the same place as before Felicity?”

Felicity nodded thoughtfully. “I think it is.”

Jac stood up and looked down at the floor. “Okay, so they haven’t moved again.” She spoke without looking at anyone. “Has Alec found anymore on that private doctor?”

“No.” Reid said it quietly. Standing up he picked up the phone book. “I need a shower and some food and then I need a computer at a police station.”

Brent nodded. “Yeah, maybe we can turn over the right stones then.” Brent squinted at the clock. “I’ll go grab us some food while you shower and then we’ll get Cap to open a door or two for us here.”

“Sounds good.” Reid dropped a kiss on Jac’s head and went out the door.

Brent was tucking in his shirt when Felicity put her hand on his arm. “What should we do?”

He stopped realizing she was more frustrated with all of this than the rest of them. “Talk through what you saw with Jac.” He smirked. “If anyone can find something else there, it’s going to be her.” Brent paused for a moment. “You could also check out other motels and hotels within an hour of here and see if any of those resemble the brighter room in your sketches.”

She nodded. “Okay.” She patted his arm. “I’ll just take a muffin or something light to eat Brent, my stomach is not up to a heavy meal.”

He studied her for a moment. The dark circles under tired eyes. “I’ll see what I can find.” He glanced at Jacinda. “Any requests?”

Jac shook her head. “Anything edible works for me.” He nodded and went out the door.