Echo 8 (29 page)

Jake glanced around. “Hmm. Which ones did you mean?”

“Mac found some. There must be others. And there are Echoes on Earth who might want to come back.”

“Cuz I'm sure they're homesick for all
this
.”

“The ones who end up in Garcia's new maximum security prison for Echoes probably will be.”

“Good point.”

“How would you fund it, Dr. Caufield?” asked Goff. Jake offered him the wine bottle, but he shook his head.

“I don't know yet,” she admitted. “I just thought of it. I got the idea from Mac, actually.”

“The great philanthropist,” muttered Jake.

“If he can make deals between worlds, why can't we? Only better ones.
Humane
ones. If people understood what happened here, I'm sure they'd want to help. I can coordinate on this end, since if I go home Garcia will probably have me killed. Maybe Abby, Seattle Psi's director, could coordinate on the other side.”

“Where would you put your camp?” asked Goff.

“I was thinking right here. It seems to be geologically stable. It's not as cold as it's bound to be farther inland. We also might be able to rebuild on this foundation, reusing the materials that didn't burn. I'm sure there are more suitable locations, but this will work until we can figure out a way to assess that.”

“And transporting the materials?”

“That's the part I'm not sure about. Can we dislocate
stuff
as well as people? Since we arrive with our clothes and the stuff in our pockets, I don't see why not. I'll have to try it.”

“You're forgetting one thing, Doc,” said Jake.

“What?”

“Nobody knows about this. The whole Echo thing. How will you get people to believe you, much less want to help you? They'll have you committed.”

She frowned, staring into the fire. “I'll have to expose it. Go to the press.”

He raised an eyebrow. “Am I talking to myself here?
Who's going to believe you?
You think the Bureau's going to back you up?”

She sighed and accepted another sip from the bottle. “You're right. I'll have to think about that part. Abby at least will believe me.”

And Ross.
She wondered where he was now and whether he'd completed his assignment. She wondered how he'd feel when he learned she'd gone. Probably relieved. She believed he would have gotten her out of there if he could. Now he wouldn't have to.

She didn't blame him for anything. He was just doing his job. But she did miss him.

Miss him? You think?
She covered her face with her hands. Denial had served her well so far. Why stop now?

Jake scooted close to her, and he raised his arm to put it around her. She flinched away. But it was only a reflex. They were controlling the transfers so well now there was very little pain or risk.

“It'll make you feel better,” he insisted, lowering his arm over her shoulder.

She rested her head against him, and he was right: The gentle flow was soothing. The pulse of information coming from him was faint, but she could feel the loneliness that had settled over him in the last few days. It intensified her own.

“Am I hurting you?” she asked, just to be sure.

“Only when I laugh, Doc. Now if you're referring to my broken heart, I hardly notice that anymore.”

“Very funny.”

He gave a dry chuckle. “Who's joking?”

Goff cleared his throat and turned his gaze toward the fire.

“He let you down,” said Jake. “I know.”

“I'm fine.”

“Don't be ridiculous. But remember who he is. I would have ridden in there on a white horse and carried you out of there. Then they would have shot us both. Probably the horse too. Ross thinks things through. He always has a plan. I wouldn't be surprised if you haven't heard the last of him.”

She nodded but was afraid to hope. “I don't need rescuing anymore. He can go on with his life.”

Jake was quiet a moment and then asked, “You have a hard time trusting people, don't you?”

She gave a brittle laugh. “I trust you.”

Jake smiled, but it was the kind of smile that hurt her heart.

“That's how I know you and I will never be more than friends. You don't trust him because he has the power to hurt you.” He bent his head so his chin touched her forehead. “I dare you to tell me I'm wrong.”

*   *   *

Ross watched them, and he couldn't help wondering whether he should leave it alone. Maybe Jake was what she needed. They seemed so good together—any time Ross wasn't around. True they were from different worlds, literally, and that made things complicated. But there he was, snuggling her by the fire like any normal boyfriend. Just a few days ago he'd kissed her like any normal boyfriend. He adored her. He made her laugh. What did Ross have to offer beyond that?

Only himself. And he had to try.

“I wish you
would
trust me.”

Tess jumped to her feet, almost toppling Jake.

She ran straight into his arms.

She landed against him hard, and he grunted and pulled her so close her feet lifted off the ground. “You about gave me a heart attack, woman,” he whispered into her hair.

“I'm sorry,” she murmured. “I promised myself I wouldn't run like that again. Then you left, and I was confused. Mac showed up at the institute and I—”

He tilted her face back and stopped her lips with his. She gave a little moan, fingers slipping into his hair. Then suddenly she pulled back, looking into his eyes.

“You're not here to kill me are you?”

“Are you seriously asking me that?”

“Sort of?”

Ross laughed out loud, pulling her against his chest. “Jesus, Doctor.”

“Come on, Professor,” Jake said quietly to Goff. “Let's take a walk on the estate. Maybe we can find Tess some refugees. Some little tiny ones we've overlooked so far.”

Jake glared at Ross as he stood up. He tossed the professor a blanket, and they exited the ruin.

Ross led Tess over to the fire. “Here, sit down.” He tossed on a couple of barrel staves. Jake had stacked up teepees of them near the fire so they'd dry. Which was pretty forward-looking for a suicidal songwriter. He'd also erected the tent they'd found in the camping gear. Ross wondered if Jake had been nesting in hopes Tess would come back. His gaze fell on the collection of empty wine bottles next to the fire.

“I'm glad you're not here to kill me,” said Tess. “But I can't go back there. If Garcia sent you to try and—”

“Why
is
it so hard for you to trust me?” He shot her a look of puzzled frustration.

“It's not personal, Ross.”

“That's great.” He laughed darkly.
What am I doing here again?

She shook her head. “I mean it's not that I don't believe you're trustworthy. I just know your job is important to you. I know that our interests don't align. It's not your fault. It's not anyone's fault.”

Sighing, he sank down next to her. “That was true yesterday. Or maybe the day before that. Actually I'm not sure when it stopped being true.”

She looked at him, and he reached a hand to her cheek. “What are you talking about?” she asked.

“I've given the Bureau's confidential Echo files to a news service. In the past week they've run a couple of investigative pieces on the spate of missing persons. They're going to eat it up.”

Tess froze, her eyes wide. He didn't think she was breathing.

“I no longer
have
a job. And our interests, as far as I can see, are in perfect alignment. Except for one thing.”

“What?” she whispered.

“I don't think I'm okay with you kissing Jake.”

Tess threw her arms around him, pulling his mouth to hers. He cradled her neck, thumbs brushing along her jaw, as her tongue met his. She sighed against him, shifting her body until she was sitting in his lap.

Then she released his lips and nuzzled his cheek. “You came for me,” she whispered. “You yourself. Without the Bureau.”

“I did.”

“Ross, I can't believe … Are you sure about this?”

“I'm sure.” He pulled her head to his chest so he wouldn't have to watch the effect of his words on her. “I did it because of you. Because I believe you're right that they deserve better treatment from us. But I made my own decision. There are no strings or obligations. The Bureau will come after me for this, and you didn't sign up for that. Also, I know you care about Jake, and if you'd rather stay with him, I'll deal with it. I'll be okay.”

She shook against his chest, and at first he thought she was crying. Then he realized she was chuckling softly. “Ross, don't be an idiot.”

*   *   *

He raised his eyebrows as she pulled back to look at him. “Okay.”

“First of all, you may be number one on the Bureau's most wanted list, but I'm right behind you. As for Jake…”

She took a deep breath and tried to organize her thoughts. “You're right that I care about him. I care about him a lot. Under different circumstances I might even fall in love with him. He understands me, and I think in a lot of ways he would be good for me.”

Ross began to nod, and she took his face in her hands. “This kind of thing is hard for me. You're right that I haven't trusted you. Something happened to me when I was a kid—”

“I know.” His arms tightened around her. “You don't have to say this.”

She placed her fingers over his lips. “Something happened to me when I was a kid. The people who were supposed to take care of me let me down. After that I didn't trust anyone.”

It was the first time she'd admitted, to herself or anyone, that her mother hadn't been blameless. It gave her a feeling like the beginning of the dislocations. Like the ground was dropping out from under her.

A tear escaped and started down her cheek. Ross followed it with his eyes, looking wretched.

“Jake was right about what he said. The people who can hurt me the most are the ones I trust the least. When I dislocated that first time, I was terrified of you. Because I knew I was falling for you, and I could see all the traps on the road we were traveling. I believed there was very little chance we'd be together at the end of it. Jake said we were imagining problems, and it was him and me who had real obstacles between us. He was wrong about that. But he was right about something else.”

She ran her thumb over his bottom lip, and he waited for her to continue.

“That's love, and that's life. And you have to start living sometime.”

“Tess,” he hissed, pulling her close. She felt the tension trip along his muscles.

She wrapped her arms around his neck, brushing her lips against his earlobe. A shock of desire shot through her, and she whispered, “You'll never know how happy I was to see you in that doorway.”

He squeezed the breath out of her chest and then drew back to kiss her. Moving slowly from her mouth to her neck, he traced the curve of her throat with kisses.

A shiver teased along her spine, and she squirmed against him. She tucked her head against his neck and whispered, “Do you want me?”

“Do I ever.”

“Are we in danger?”

“Aren't we always?” He laughed. “But no one's coming after us, if that's what you mean. I didn't tell Garcia the truth about where we'd dislocated.”

She pulled his head down to her mouth. “How clever of you. Agent McGinnis?”

“That's ex Agent McGinnis to you.”

“Ross?”

“Hmm?”

“If you're not inside me in thirty seconds I'm going to find Jake.”

In one fluid motion he rose with her in his arms. He glanced around, and his gaze fell on the tent. He carried her over, set her inside, and crawled in after her. She lay back on the blanket while he zipped the flap closed.

He crawled over, planting a knee on either side of her thighs as he tugged off his shirt.

Oh Jesus
. Her eyes moved over the pale ridges and curves. Her legs opened against his knees without her willing it.

“They may be back soon,” he said.

“Then let's not waste time.”

He reached for her and pulled her shirt over her head. Then he tugged off her jeans and pushed her legs farther apart.

“I'm sorry I kissed Jake,” she said, fixing him with her gaze. There was a taunt in her words, and he heard it.

He dropped onto her, moving his lips to her ear. “We're not going to talk anymore about Jake, or I'm going to turn into a jealous asshole.”

He took hold of her hand and pulled it down between them. She closed her fingers around him, and he sucked in a breath. “After everything you've been through, you deserve gentle. I
want
to be gentle. But honestly, Doctor, I don't know if I can.”

Tess squeezed him and guided him toward her, whispering, “I won't break.”

She felt his teeth against her throat as he pushed inside her. He moved with slow, fierce thrusts—bone-rattling and deep—claiming her with his body. She had been aching for him for days, and there was no pain, only her own fierce need.

He touched her mouth, slipping two fingers between her lips. She nibbled and sucked them into her mouth, and he groaned from deep in his chest.

Tess unwound her legs from his waist, murmuring, “I need to move.”

Ross held her close and rose to his knees. Her legs folded beside his as he settled her onto his lap. His mouth locked over one erect nipple and flicked it with his tongue … charging every one of her nerve endings. She gave a hiss of excitement.

He flicked again, and the contraction that answered from low in her belly sucked the breath out of her and threatened to bring it all to a rapid conclusion.