“How is my goddaughter doing?” Karen placed a hand on Stephanie’s stomach and leaned down to talk directly to the child inside. “We’re going to have such fun, Amanda. You’re going to look like your dad but be smart like your mother. And you will get along wonderfully with your cousin Victor.”
“Amanda? Chaz and I don’t even know that we’re having a girl—but Amanda is a pretty name. And, speaking of your son,” Stephanie slid onto a stool at the breakfast counter, “are we going to call him Little Victor for his entire life? That would suck.”
Karen laughed and moved to the stove to grab the tea kettle. While she did that, Stephanie sent her husband a text letting him know that she had arrived safely.
“It’s funny that you should mention that. We’ve decide to call him Victor and switch to calling his father V.D. for Victor David.”
Stephanie laughed so hard at her friend’s wicked grin that her side hurt.
“You are NOT going to call your husband V.D.!! That’s awful! He is not a venereal disease.”
“I think that would be hilarious and awesome. Unfortunately, he agrees with you. We’re going to call him Big Vic and let our son answer to Victor.”
“That’s better.” Her lips spread into a big smile. “I’ve missed your crazy sense of humor. Chatting online isn’t the same as being face-to-face.”
“Of course not. We feed off of each other much better when we’re together.” She finished filling the kettle with water, set it on the stove, and turned the oven on to pre-heat. Stephanie watched her friend pull a pot from the window sill, cut some herbs into tiny pieces, and retrieve a roll of sugar cookie dough and the canister of flour. Karen always swore that rolling the refrigerated dough onto a dusting of flour helped to make sure the cookies didn’t spread too thin. She did that, sprinkled the herbs on top before pressing them lightly, and rolled the dough into balls that she then flattened.
The result, after 10 minutes in the oven, was a plate of fragrant and delicate cookies that held their shape as well as ones made from scratch.
“Now, tell me what’s on your mind,” Karen demanded after they’d spent sufficient time talking about raising babies. “Your aura is still a little dull.”
Stephanie shared the details of the vision she’d had earlier.
“What about it is bothering you?”
“The vision isn’t the problem. I don’t usually keep this stuff a secret from Chaz, but I feel like I should this time. That makes me a little uncomfortable.”
“I can understand that, but your instincts are usually correct. Don’t think of this as keeping a secret. You’re just delaying the conversation until you can have it in person.” Karen set her cup of tea on the counter. “It just occurred to me that, even though you feel off kilter, I don’t. Lately, you haven’t disrupted my sleep or distracted me during the day. I figured that everything was quiet in that brain of yours.”
“No.” Stephanie shook her head. “The déjà vu is back in full force, and I’ve been having dreams and visions. They just don’t seem to be significant right now. Well, let me rephrase that—they don’t seem to impact Chaz as much as they involve Steve. Maybe I’m not anxious because of that.”
“Maybe. Well, whatever is going on, it’s a relief to me.”
Stephanie could definitely understand why her friend would say that. None of them liked having Karen worry about Stephanie’s gift. That was a new development that she was glad was easing, but in the back of her mind, she wondered why.
The women chatted about Karen’s job and the co-workers that also use to be Stephanie’s co-workers. It seemed that not much had changed at Caledonia Financial Services. From there, the conversation drifted to other friends they had in common. Karen’s vivacious sense of humor was alive and well as she shared one anecdote after another until Stephanie was in tears and her jaws ached from laughing.
“I see it didn’t take any time for the two of you to start cutting up.”
Both women turned at the intrusion of Victor, or Big Vic, into the conversation. He immediately handed his son to his wife and scooped Stephanie into a bear hug, telling her that she looked great and reminding her that Karen isn’t her only friend.
“I’ve missed you, too.” Stephanie smiled before opening her arms to accept the baby who was nearly a year old. Her godson. He was sweet, and round, and alert with his mother’s bright eyes and red hair. Stephanie couldn’t resist squeezing and kissing him.
She was happy to be back with her friends.
The drive and the excitement of being back in Erie tired her out. Around 9:00, she laid down to take a nap before Chaz would call. She had no idea when he’d be getting home from work. It didn’t take long for her to drift into a light sleep.
And it didn’t take long after that for a dream to interrupt her rest. Again, it was about Steve. It didn’t seem related to the vision she’d had while driving, and she again didn’t feel anxious about Chaz—so she was pretty sure that he was safe. Maybe the fact that she’d seen two incidents involving Steve in the same day meant that her earlier vision was more relevant than she’d thought. She sighed and pulled out her phone to text Steve McDaniels.
Stephanie: I had a vision today. You were in the cafeteria having an animated conversation with Roy Gifford. It didn’t seem like anything was wrong. Then I had a dream a few minutes ago. You were in a meeting with Roy and two other men. It was a telephone conference call. Someone on the other end of the phone was describing a murder scene but I couldn’t hear the words, only had that impression. When the call ended, everyone in the room was silent. Then, one of the men I don’t know said that whatever you heard was how someone deals with snitches. The other said that he was positive it was your man. No one said his name, but I felt like you were talking about Paul Watkins. Then Roy made a comment about increasing the manhunt before your friend is found. Was he talking about Chaz?
Steve: The vision happened this afternoon. The dream hasn’t happened yet. And you know I can’t confirm names. Try not to worry. I’m working hard on this situation. Goodnight.
Stephanie set her phone on the nightstand and stretched out on her side. That was a déjà vu moment. It reassured her that she needed to trust that Steve would take care of the problem.
Soon Chaz would call and have a fun conversation with her sexy husband followed by a great weekend with friends who knew how to make her life all right. She smiled at the thought that she was a very fortunate woman.
CHAPTER 16
The moment Stephanie walked into her house, she wondered whether the time had come to talk about the vision she’d had on her way to Erie, the dream she’d had before going to bed that first night, and the brief dream she’d had on Saturday night that she hadn’t yet told anyone about. She wondered because Steve McDaniels was seated at her kitchen table in an obviously very serious conversation with Chaz.
“Hey, baby.” Chaz rose, gave her a heartwarming kiss, and held her for a long time as if his team leader wasn’t a couple of feet away. “How was the drive?” He dropped another kiss onto her forehead as his hands roamed across her back and shoulders.
“Everything was fine: light traffic, almost no construction, and only three bathroom stops.” She kissed her husband’s chin before looking around his shoulder at their guest. “Hi, Steve. How are you?”
“I can’t complain.” His eyes always seemed to smile at the affection Stephanie and Chaz showed toward each other. He pushed some papers together and tamped them so that the edges were straight. “We were going over the newest developments in the Paul Watkins case. Arrest warrants will be ready in the morning.”
“So, you found him?” She kept an arm around Chaz’s waist as they stood side by side with their backs against the counter.
“Yes. He’s in Cincy. In fact, he’s staying about 15 minutes from here.” He paused to let that sink in. Stephanie had always known that they might be in danger, but until that statement, it had only been hypothetical. Those words made it re
al. She swallowed hard when it occurred to her again that the phone conference in her vision was about this man. “We have a team watching him. I’ll know if he steps out of his house to wash the car in the driveway. But, after tomorrow, you won’t have to worry. He’ll be in a federal holding cell facing thirty-seven charges. After that, we’re planning on sending him back to Chicago since that’s where the majority of his activities were conducted.”
“Good.” She smiled in relief, but she was also distracted by a thought that suddenly made everything else sense. “Let’s sit,” she said to Chaz. When they were all at the table, she took a deep breath and asked Steve, “Will you be leaving us permanently?”
He gave a half smile to indicate that he wasn’t surprised by the question.
“No. I’ll only be gone for about a month while we make sure all of the paperwork and affidavits have been collected.”
“And when that’s done?”
“I’ll be back in Cincinnati while the prosecutors and lawyers argue over what charges will actually stick, work out plea deals, and verify any information Watkins is willing to provide against his colleagues. Given the fact that there are persons in the Chicago organization who were trying to push him out, we’re pretty confident that he’ll expose a few minor operations. If nothing else, he’ll want to send a message that he can still be a force to be reckoned with even if he’s behind bars. Chaz and I will have to travel to testify, but that won’t be for a while and it should only take a week or two.”
Stephanie nodded. The previous night’s dream rushed to the front of her thoughts: Steve being congratulated by the Director of their FBI Field Office. She had a suspicion that the conversation with Roy, the news about a murder and a manhunt, and the recognition that Steve would receive, were all related to the case against Paul Watkins. What wasn’t clear was how they all affected her husband—because she was almost certain that they did.
Her next words were considered very carefully. “Then, that means your promotion will be here?” She held her breathe while waiting to see whether her guess was right.
Chaz turned to her, but she didn’t look at him. She watched Steve’s face for the tell-tale flash of admiration in his eyes. Her heart fell.
“Nothing is final.” His tone was meant to soothe her nerves.
“Okay.” She turned to her husband with an apology. “You know that I would tell you more if I could, right?”
“Of course I do.” His fingers tightened reassuringly around the hand that he was holding against his thigh.
“This really feels weird—talking to Steve about something that I can’t tell you.”
“Yeah, it’s definitely a new experience, but don’t worry about it. Everything will work out like it’s supposed to.” Those were the words she so often said to him. She nodded very slightly and Chaz realized how tired she must be. “Are you hungry? Dinner is ready; we’ve just been waiting for you.”
“Oh? What did you cook?”
“Meatloaf, garlic mashed potatoes, and sautéed green beans. It’ll only take a few minutes to reheat everything.” The smile she gave as he rose from the table made his heart beat faster. It was another of those moments where her eyes held his and it seemed like no one existed in the world besides the two of them.
“I’m going to freshen up.” The men watched as she excused herself and headed upstairs.
“Before you say anything,” Steve said, cutting off the question in his friend’s eyes, “I can’t tell you until she does, and she can’t tell you until she feels it’s absolutely right. Like I told her, nothing is final. But I guarantee you that what you’ll hear later will be good news.”
“If you say so.” Chaz couldn’t help but feel confused as he moved to the cabinet to get plates for the meal.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
The arrest of Paul Watkins went as predicted. An FBI S.W.A.T. team swarmed the street and crashed through the front door of a two-bedroom house he was using as his temporary home while searching for something more suited to his tastes and status. He was caught completely off guard as he unpacked groceries. Steve McDaniels happily walked past the prone bodies of several of Watkins’ cohort to confront the crime boss who was handcuffed and seated at the kitchen table.
“I’ve been following your exploits for a very long time,” Steve announced with a grin, “and nothing makes me happier than being the person to read you your rights and haul you off to a Federal jail.” With that, he mirandized the man who had, among his many misdeeds, ordered the shooting of Special Agent Chaz Lawson a.k.a Chaz Winters in Erie Pennsylvania.
Chaz was able to watch the arrest via a video feed from one of the FBI camera men who was recording the event. Finally. He heaved a sigh of relief, turned off his computer monitor, and headed home to his wife.
“It’s over,” he said as he set a bottle of non-alcoholic champagne on the kitchen counter. “No more worrying, no more hiding, no more having his path cross my investigations.” He kissed Stephanie and rested his forehead against hers. “Paul Watkins is in custody.”
“Thanks to my wonderful husband.” She wrapped her arms around his neck to hold their position. “This is a significant arrest, isn’t it?”
“Very.”
“Good. You deserve all of the credit you’re going to get.”
Chaz leaned back and studied her face. The confidence in her eyes reassured him.
“What did you see?”
She shrugged before answering. “Let’s just say that a lot of people in positions higher than yours are hearing your name and applauding your contribution, as an analyst as well as a field agent.” Her smile faltered only slightly. “This will be good for your entire team.”
“Will it be good for us?” he asked quietly.
“Anything that’s good for you is good for us.”
“Hmm.” Chaz studied her for a moment longer before dropping the conversation in preference for the celebration. “Champagne?” He smiled and moved to the cabinet to get glasses.
Stephanie wanted to tell Chaz everything she had seen not long before he’d arrived at home, but she couldn’t. Roy Gifford was going to get promoted, partly because of the excellent way that his team handled the Damien Granger case and coordinated all of those other FBI offices with the pursuit of Paul Watkins. That’s what the conversation in the cafeteria had been about. Steve McDaniels was also going to get promoted. She’d seen that in a dream while she was visiting Karen. She wasn’t sure yet what those two events meant for Chaz beyond the fact that he would also receive special commendations. Whatever the deeper implications, they weren’t going to be immediate. She was positive that she’d have another dream or vision when her husband would be directly affected.
She returned to the stove to stir the cream into the chicken and vegetables mixture that she would pour over penne pasta and listened to Chaz talk about the details of that day’s arrest. The fact that this was another déjà vu moment assured her that she was making the right decision by delaying what to say to her husband.
Of course, she didn’t think the delay was going to be as long as it turned out. While those conversations she’d seen had happened soon after she’d known about them, the actual promotions took more than a month to officially announce.
The impact on Chaz wasn’t made known until the third week of May, just one week before their wedding.
On a Thursday night, Stephanie dreamed a scene she definitely hadn’t been expecting. Roy held a meeting with his entire office. At that time, he announced that he was being promoted and that Steve would be taking over as the supervisor of their office. Immediately, there was speculation and joking about who would take over Steve’s duty. Roy looked at Chaz and informed everyone that he would be acting in that capacity until a final determination was made. Chaz was too shocked to comment and the meeting ended a few minutes later. Everyone filed out of the conference room after words of congratulations and good-natured teasing that Chaz was getting what he deserved—Steve’s job was an
unenviable one—leaving Roy, Steve, and Chaz alone.
“I’m glad that you have faith in me, but this isn’t what I want,” Chaz objected.
“It’s not your decision.” Roy’s voice was kind, somewhat sympathetic. “We’ve had this conversation before, so I know how you feel. But, the Bureau needs me and Steve elevated as soon as possible. You’re the only one who can immediately step into his shoes.”
“And, you’re the only one I want,” Steve added. Stephanie had never heard him use that particular tone of voice with her husband. It was unwavering.
“And if I don’t accept?”
“You’re an FBI agent, Chaz. You’ll follow orders even when you don’t like them.” The words were firm but not harsh. Steve was a friend, but he was now going to be the boss; he couldn’t afford for Chaz to disregard that fact.
Stephanie was hit with the extreme sense of resignation, almost defeat, coming from Chaz. Other than him being miserable, she didn’t know the significance of the meeting and she didn’t understand the look that passed between the three men. Chaz ran a hand over his face and then through his hair and sighed.
“When?” he asked.
“As soon as you return from your honeymoon.” It was Steve who spoke. Chaz clenched his jaws but said nothing as he rose from his seat and left the conference room.
Stephanie woke from the dream and looked at the man sleeping beside her. She couldn’t tell him something that would make his so obviously unhappy. So, why then, had she had this dream? The truth hit her hard.
While her dreams were always for other people, to help them or to warn them, this dream was for her. It was her warning.
Something she wouldn’t like was coming. After the honeymoon. Something that would upset her husband. She kissed his chest and resolved that whatever it was, they’d face it and come out just fine. After all, these past few months had taught her that they were strong as a team. In the meantime, she’d do everything to keep him happy. She kissed his chest and went back to sleep.
Loving Night: Dream Catcher Series ~ Book 2 Page 16
