Alex looked away, and Teren let her head drop. She leaned forward and kissed the blonde head.
“You never had to shoot anyone before, did you, Alex?”
A shake of the golden head. Teren kissed her again. “That’s one of the reasons you’re having so much trouble.” A nod.
“You had no choice. None. You can feel bad for the way it turned out, but you have to remember that you had no choice. He was going to kill you, your partner, and Ken. The only thing you could do is shoot first.” She paused.
“And I’m damn glad you did.” Teren’s voice had dropped to a whisper.
Alex finally looked up again. She met Teren’s gaze and held it, watching the mix of emotions in the blue eyes. There was concern, and comfort, and a touch of pain. The electric blue was intensified by the tears that threatened to spill over. They didn’t however, and as Alex watched, Teren blinked her eyes rapidly. Each blink seemed to chase another tear away, until the eyes were as clear as ever.
She couldn’t stand it any more. Alex leaned forward and brought her lips to Teren’s. Quickly, the kiss lost it’s aspect of compassion, and became one of desire. Mouths opened, hands reached, skin grew heated.
And the alarm rang.
Teren pulled back, and Alex let her go. Neither of them could look away from the other, though.
“I suppose that means we have to get up, right?”
Teren nodded. “I set it a little later so we could talk.”
Alex grinned. “Want to set it a little later again, so we can do more than talk?”
Her face quickly reddening, Teren shook her head. “We can’t. Things to do, people to see.”
Alex felt the urge to pout, thinking that if she did, she could probably convince Teren to put off the inevitable. But she clamped down on those thoughts, and stood up from the bed.
“Right. Well, are we finished talking?”
Teren nodded again. “For now.”
Their eyes met once more. Alex nodded.
“I think I’ll grab the shower first, if you don’t mind.”
Teren stood. “Not at all. Just don’t use all the hot water.”
Alex grinned. “Nope. This shower will be rather cold, I think.” She raised an eyebrow at Teren, then left the room.
Teren called her name, and Alex stuck her head back in.
“You’re always welcome to sleep with me, Alex.”
They stared at each other for a moment, then Alex nodded.
“Thanks, Teren.”
Alex disappeared out the bedroom door.
*******************************************************
Teren ordered breakfast while waiting for Alex to finish in the shower. She ordered coffee for herself, and remembered the hot chocolate for Alex.
“Teren? Shower’s free.”
“Thanks.” Grabbing her kit, the dark haired woman headed for the bathroom. She ran a hand through her hair. “Damn, I wish I hadn’t had to cut this.”
Alex put her hands on her hips and cocked her head, eying Teren’s head.
“I don’t know, I think the short hair is kind of growing on me.”
Teren grinned. “Great. Now if I could just get it to grow on me.”
Alex blushed, but shook her head. “That wasn’t what I meant.”
“I know. But don’t get too fond of it, Alex. It ain’t staying short.” Teren winked at her blonde friend and closed the door.
Alex stood staring for a moment, imagining what the difference would be if she ran her hands through Teren’s hair now. She could remember what it had felt like, just a couple of nights ago, to sink her hands into the mane of obsidian, feel it glide over her in a caress as Teren’s hands slid —
“Okay, that’s enough, Alex.” She looked around the room. “Now, where did we leave that ice bucket?”
When breakfast arrived, it came with a complimentary newspaper. Although Alex couldn’t read it, she enjoyed looking through it as she ate. An item on the third page caught her eye. She folded the page back, setting it aside until Teren could read it to her.
Teren had to admit that it was easier to deal with short hair. A quick toweling, and a combing through, and she was ready. By the time she joined Alex at the table, she was fully dressed, and her hair was almost dry.
She slid into the chair. “Breakfast okay?”
“Yeah, thanks. You even remembered cocoa.”
“Of course. I’ve always been a quick learner.” She grinned at her blonde friend.
Alex pointed at the article in the paper. “Unfortunately I’m not quite as fast. What does this say?”
The smile left Teren’s face. “Umm, it’s an article on something that happened last night.”
“No kidding. I got that much. But it mentions the Altbusser Galerie. Why?”
“Uh, well, because there was an incident outside of the gallery.” Teren really didn’t want Alex to ask the question.
“Would you read it to me, please?”
Teren cleared her throat. “‘The body of Otto Keppelmann was found outside the Altbusser Galerie late yesterday evening. He had been shot twice in the head. The police suspect that he was killed in a robbery attempt.’”
She glanced at Alex, whose face had gone white. “Do you want me to go on?” Alex nodded.
“‘An employee, and co-owner of Altbusser’s, Mr. Keppelman was found in the alley behind the Galerie, approximately ten feet from the rear exit. Police surmise that he was heading to his car in the back parking lot when he was attacked. His briefcase, which he was seen leaving with, was missing, as was his wallet, and his watch. A police spokesman said there were few leads in the case.’”
Teren put down the paper, and looked up at her friend. Alex was staring down at her plate, her hand wrapped around her glass of juice. Teren could see the whiteness of her knuckles and hoped she didn’t squeeze any harder, or she’d break the glass.
“That’s the guy you met with yesterday, isn’t it.” It wasn’t really a question.
“Yes.”
Alex took a deep breath. “Do you think it was a robbery?”
Teren bit her lip and shook her head. “No.”
Alex sat quietly for several minutes. Teren stared at her plate. The only sound in the room was the ticking of a clock.
“Do you think it was because he talked to us?”
“Talked to me. I wouldn’t be surprised.”
Alex finally looked up at Teren, but the dark woman avoided her gaze. “Does the article mention Rolf?”
Teren picked up the paper, and scanned the article again. “No. He’s not mentioned.”
Alex let out a breath she haddn’t know she was holding. She stood, carrying her juice as she paced across the living room floor.
“Are you sure we have to involve Meinhard in this?”
“Yes.” Teren didn’t hesitate. She knew if she did, Alex would try to talk her out of it, and she really didn’t think they had a choice.
“There’s no other way.”
“No.”
Alex was quiet. Teren hoped that she’d accept it, but had a bad feeling she wouldn’t.
“Alright. Will we be coming back here after we meet with him?”
“No. I’d like to go directly to the train station.”
A nod from the blonde head. “Then I’d better go finish packing.” She left the room without looking back at Teren.
Teren sighed, and rested her head on her hands. After a moment she sat up and grabbed the paper, crumbling it into a ball and throwing it towards the wastebasket. It bounced off the side and landed on the floor under the coffee table.
“Fuck.” She pushed her plate away, covering it with her napkin. She’d lost her appetite.
Teren reached for her shoulder holster and slid it on.
Chapter Twenty-six
“Teren, I have an idea.”
The two of them were packed, and their bags were by the door. Teren had called and made their reservations on an evening flight to Munich while Alex checked their email. Ken had sent word that Derek White had been seen, but no one had picked him up yet. Apparently he’d been using a disguise, and this sent Alex’s mind spinning.