Voyage of Discovery (Sue Thomas FBEye)

Chapter Eight

Bullpen, Tuesday

Bobby and Myles were back.

Reba's and Timmy's whereabouts were soon placed on the back burner as Jamieson kept slipping through their fingers. The agents became convinced only one man had the answer to their disappearance and they just couldn't get their hands on him.

They followed Jamieson across DC using his credit card and debit card, but he was always a few hours ahead of them. No more attempts were made on the decoys. By now, the agents assumed Jamieson knew they were onto him, but in the sick man's mind, it was a game, a deadly game.

Their only consolation was knowing that Jamieson was in DC and Jack, Sue and Jay were not. Jack hadn't contacted them in almost a week. If the bullpen didn't know where they were, nobody else would either.

***

Jack's original plan was to drive all the way to Ohio, even if it meant arriving late at the Thomas'. But that was without counting on the eighteen-wheeler lying sideways over the freeway, blocking the circulation for hours, and all the construction detours that went on for miles at a time. Around nine o'clock, they were still six hours away, providing no more delays. There was no way they were spending the entire night crawling on the road. Reluctantly, Jack checked them in a big hotel under Sue's name.

Jack took Levi for a walk in the park across from the hotel. Without apparent reason, he kept looking over his shoulder. That gut feeling that he was where he shouldn't be, had been following him for days now. He didn't know what set it off, he just acknowledged it and it made him edgy. Jamieson couldn't guess they would visit their family, could he? Even the bullpen had no idea where they were. And since nobody contacted him, he assumed they were safe. Except, he didn't feel that way.

He went back to the hotel. Clear laughter welcomed him into the room. Sue and Jay were signing a new book and from the look of it, it was very funny. Soon he was with them and he began to relax. After sleeping most of the evening in her car seat, Jay wasn't sleepy. Jack lay back against some pillows while they watched the carton network. The television set and the city lights through the open curtains were providing the only illumination.

Sue cuddled against him, one hand over his chest, and her head against his shoulder. Jay was lying on Levi near their feet.

Inconspicuously, her hand was moving down his shirt, slowly unbuttoning it. She expected Jack to say or do something, but so far he remained unruffled. While they were at his parents, they'd behaved very properly even though they were still spending the night together. The fact that Jay was in their bed all the time also helped.

Jack simply closed his eyes enjoying the sweet sensations. He felt her hesitate as she reached the last exposed button. Slowly his shirt was pulled out of his jeans and the very last button was freed. A smile crossed his lips. He only needed to wait till Jay was asleep.

Her fingers were tracing his well-defined muscles. When her lips retraced the path her fingers took, he gasped for air before lifting her head toward him. She innocently looked at him.

"You know I will reciprocate, don't you?" He grinned as he noticed Jay wasn't twitching anymore. He took the remote and turned the TV off. When Jay didn't react, he knew she was asleep. "Can you read me, Sue?"

He cupped her head, but she couldn't see his face.

"Jack, I cannot see your lips," she whispered.

He took her hands and spelled P-A-Y-B-A-C-K in her hand before getting out of bed and scooping her in his arms.

"Jack! What are you doing?"

He lay her down on the other bed, trapping her legs under his leg, and her lips with his. He tasted her avidly, knowing it would be days before he had another chance.