Chapter 9 Zeke
Zeke
The fork with a bite of eggs hovered close to my mouth as I stared at the image floating up from the tiny computer crystal.
Our sensor array had collected data on every energy anomaly inside the coverage area, plotted a constellation of different colored dots to represent different signatures, and gave me seventeen possible locations for the source.
Seventeen. That was a lot of places to check out. I reminded myself the array hadn’t even had twenty-four hours to work. Hopefully, as we collected more data a more conclusive list of targets would emerge.
I heard Orion shuffling through the house. His bathroom was on the other side of the kitchen, and while thankfully I couldn’t discern much, the sound of the water running was easily heard.
Shoving the now remembered bit of food into my mouth, I looked up just as Orion entered the kitchen. I should’ve stuck to eating and studying the readings because the sensory input made my brain freeze.
Orion made my pulse rush in normal time, but seeing him in nothing but a tight, white T-shirt and boxers fried my synapses.
The thin fabric hugged the contours of his muscular frame, leaving little to the imagination.
My gaze raked shamelessly over the swell of his biceps, the ridges of his abdominal muscles, the powerful thighs .
. . Fuck. I wasn’t going to be able to unsee his bulge.
He ran his hand through his adorable bed hair and stared at me like I shouldn’t be there. Had he expected the kitchen to be empty? Is that why he appeared dressed like my wet dream come to life?
Clamping down on all the inappropriate thoughts I had for my partner, I tore my eyes away before he noticed my ogling. I cleared my throat.
“Morning, Ori.” My casual greeting had a hint too much nervous energy. “There’s fresh coffee if you want some.”
Orion shot me a lazy smile that did funny things to my insides. “You’re up early.”
Definitely didn’t expect me to be here when he got up. “It’s eight o’clock. I hate mornings, but when I’m on a case, I can’t sleep late. Best time to find stuff is before people are fully awake.”
“Hmm.” He nodded as he searched the cabinets for a mug.
“Last one on the left,” I said, knowing his frustration all too well.
“Thanks.” He grabbed a cup, filled it, and breathed in. “Gods, this smells good.”
I watched him take an appreciative sip. Coffee wasn’t a culinary creation, but every good chef knew bad coffee could ruin a meal. “I hope it’s not too strong. I need a jolt when I get up this early.”
“It’s perfect.” He took another sip and nodded to the image floating over the table. “Everything okay with the readings?”
I ate the last piece of toast and picked up my plate. “Yeah, just going over the data. I can make you breakfast if you’d like.”
The words tumbled out in a rush before I could think better of it. Part of me hoped he’d refuse so I could get my raging hormones back under control. The other part . . . well, that part simply wanted to do something nice for him. To take care of him.
“You don’t have to go to any trouble.” Orion’s dark eyes crinkled at the corners. “I can figure something out.”
I’d heard that kind of answer before. Most people liked having someone else prepare their food, me included.
I put my plate in the sink, unable to resist the opportunity to impress him further.
“No trouble at all. The bacon is still warm, and I can cook the eggs in the grease. Just tell me how you like them.”
Why did I care so much what he thought? Ever since our sparring session yesterday, my silly crush had bloomed into something dangerously potent.
The sight of Orion’s powerful body glistening with sweat, the intensity in his eyes as we traded blows—it had awoken desires I thought long-buried.
Desires I needed to bury again quickly, before they threatened the mission.
But not until after breakfast, a traitorous part of me decided. I wanted to indulge one more time by doting on him. Then I’d force these feelings down into a locked box for the sake of the job.
“You don’t need to do this, Zeke. I can do it.”
Turning the gas back on, I ignored his feeble protest. “I’m up already. Relax and wake up. Sunny side up or over easy?”
“Over easy.” He gave me a lingering look and then smiled. “Thank you. This is really a nice way to start my morning.”
I grunted at the compliment because if I spoke, I’d have promised to do it every day if he smiled at me like that.
Collecting what I needed, I busied myself over the stove while Orion settled at the table.
I cracked his eggs into the pan and put two slices of bread in the toaster.
As domestic bliss went, this was hard to top.
“Can you tell me what you saw in the data?” he asked.
“There isn’t enough data collected yet. Seventeen is too many potential locations. Anything more than five is inconclusive. I’d like to get it under three before we start going in person.”
He was studying the data when I turned to check on him.
Dad said he was a master strategist, so maybe he’d sort it out quicker than me.
I left him to manipulate the information and finished preparing his breakfast. I put the mostly cooked slices of bacon back in the pan to get them hot and spooned the grease over his eggs.
“We’re down to fifteen,” he said. “What readings are the sensors picking up for the analysis?”
I explained how Drevlin energy had similar patterns to most types of energy, with one tiny exception.
Because whoever was doing this was hiding their work, only minute traces would leak out.
These specks could be confused with ambient energy normally found in the world.
The difference was how often they occurred.
“Over a period of time, it’s highly unlikely for nature to produce more than a handful of positive readings from one location.”
“But a manmade—or angel-made—source will produce more consistent hits,” he said. “Smart.”
I finished buttering his toast and put the eggs and bacon next to them. “We should get a better reading in a few more hours. I think last night we had ninety-eight.”
Handing him his plate, I went back for the coffee machine to refill my mug. When I brought the pot back to top off his, he stopped me.
“Zeke, you don’t need to wait on me like this.”
“I know, but I like to. It makes me happy.” So much for having a filter. I quickly poured his coffee. “Remember, I was a chef.”
He watched me with an unreadable expression. The only thing I could glean was he didn’t buy my explanation. “Well, thank you. This is wonderful.”
I made a conscious effort not to watch him eat. He should enjoy his meal without me watching every bite. Shrinking the map to get rid of most of the empty area, I zoomed in and out to check on the readings. “Did you see any patterns that suggest a likely target?”
Orion finished chewing and stabbed his index finger at a spot north of Austin. “The readings here are tighter than anywhere else. If your description of the sensors is accurate, that’s where I’d expect to find our target.”
Zooming in deeper, I sat back in surprise. He was right. The spot he pointed to had patterns much closer together than anywhere else. “How did you figure that out from such a macro level view?”
Taking a bite of bacon, Orion smiled, and it reduced me to mush. I had it bad enough that I might need to call Dad.
“We all have our talents, Zeke. I’m not saying I’m right, and I wouldn’t suggest we go check it out right now, but you asked for my best guess.”
I tried not to stare too openly as he licked a smear of grease from his lips, but it didn’t stop me from wondering what other talents he had. “That was a pretty good guess.”
We locked eyes across the table, and it felt like he was looking for something inside me. If he’d asked me to open my soul to him, I would have. He was so perfect, it hurt.
The warning flare went off in my head and I blinked. Only bad things would come from these thoughts. “Let me clean up, take a shower, and we can plan the rest of the day.”
He cleared his throat and took a sip of coffee. “Sounds like a good plan. I’ll go shower first.”
I got up before him, but I swear he angled his body away from me as he left the kitchen. Telling myself it was just a simple case of trying to make people happy with food, I tried to deny the deeper feeling simmering inside me. The mission had to come first.
The problem was these troublesome feelings refused to go away.
After cleaning up from breakfast, I retreated to my bedroom and pulled out my phone, fingers hovering over the screen. I needed to get these spiraling feelings for Orion under control.
Taking a deep breath, I tapped my sister Brenda’s number and waited.
“Hey little bro, how’s the big hush hush mission going? Have you perfected your gay James Bond image yet?”
I grimaced. Brenda was in rare form today. If I wasn’t so stressed, I’d have snarked back and asked if last night’s date was hung. “Good, no, and I need your advice.”
“Wow,” she said with a dramatic pause. “Seven words to get serious. That might be a record for any conversation we’ve had. What’s wrong? Are you in trouble?”
Her fear for my safety embodied her other endearing quality. She’d always protected me, even when I didn’t need it anymore. “I said I need advice, not saving.”
“When you need help with a case you call Dad. If you’re having guy trouble you call Mom. You call me when you got yourself in trouble and don’t want them to find out.”
She wasn’t entirely accurate, but it was close. “I’ve kinda got a thing for Orion.”
“You’ve got a man crush on Orion Freaking Blake?”
I moved the phone from my ear and slapped it back. “Geez, B. Shout it louder. Mom and Dad didn’t hear you in Europe.”
“What you mean is you don’t want Orion to hear you’re crushing on him.” She mocked me with her laughter.