Escaping Christian

20: Touch

"Weren't you once a dangerous man?" She laughed. "Besides, Vlad wouldn't hurt a fly... you know unless it landed on him. I assume you've found a witch to spy on us, how else would you know about Vlad."

He felt like he was talking to a child with the way she wasn't listening. Chelsea was clearly rubbing off on her. "You're covering something up and I'll find out what."

"You will eventually."

Christian grunted a sigh and glanced at Ivan avidly watching him. "How is she at least."

"She's okay. Better than when you left her, asshole. Didn't I promise you an aneurism if you hurt her?"

A small smile curved his lips. "Did you? I can't recall."

"Rain-check then." And before he could ask anything more she hung up on him.

He had to think quick on his feet. He had to find them somehow but with the cover Katherine had on them, it'd be impossible to locate them. Slowly, he slid in front of Ivan again and began to think. Sand beaches could be anywhere; the tropics, parts of Europe, literally anywhere.

He had no chance at finding them. No chance.

Unless... "Were you able to see into any of their futures?"

Ivan frowned. "Not much, no."

Christian grabbed his hand from across the table and said, "Look for a man named Joe's from my memories and see if you could work underneath any cover. But be careful, don't let any of them find out what's happening right now. Try latch onto the girl I've been talking about."

Once again, he closed his eyes and images of Joe emerged. He knew he was with them, he remembered Joe saying he was going back to Vancouver to help them. The streets were familiar in this premonition. Christian smiled. They were coming here. To Cuba. The images were sketchy, there were more people with Chelsea than he expected, two more to be exact. Maybe Evie and Amy joined them, he couldn't tell.

Katherine was getting better at her visions if she was able to see beneath Christian's usual cover but clearly not good enough to stop Ivan from sneaking under the radar. He wondered when she'd seen where he was, before or after the call?

Ivan grunted lowly under his breath and the images trembled and shifted to focus on Chelsea. Ivan had done it but only just about. He was powerful, old as well probably three hundred years this summer. Practice made perfect. They were in a building; an old motel in the city he caught the name of.

Chelsea wasn't alone here, walking up and down stairs, compelling answers from the locals to ask whether they'd seen a man with Christian's description.

Then she was at his motel in Havana. From the way her eyes shifted and from her tense alert posture he knew she was alone, alone. She was senselessly looking for him. He knew she'd do this but seeing her so close to where he was staying only made it more real.

"When will she be here?" He murmured watching her enter a few of the empty apartment doors.

"Thirty-six hours."

That was enough time.

He had to make sure Havana was clear of any of the Steinsson's henchmen instead of the opposite. A part of him couldn't wait to shake some damn sense into her but another part of him couldn't wait until he got her hands on her in any sense.

"Thank you, Ivan." He stood. "I need you to do me a favour. I need you to use your strongest cover on me for the next forty-eight. You'll receive your payment in the next thirty."