“Oh.” All the times I’d thought I’d seen heat in his eyes hadn’t been my imagination, even before our unmistakable almost kiss on the wall. The desire that I’d been fighting rose higher, stoked by the knowledge that it was mutual, that he really did want me as much as I wanted him.

A thought occurred. “You could’ve used your power to carry me to the medbay without touching me.”

His grin was quick and wicked. “I could’ve,” he agreed. He stepped back but held my arms until he was sure my legs would support me. He gestured at the vent. “I think we’ve found everything we can here, so let’s head out before the guard returns. I’ll send someone to retrieve the suitcases later. For now, I have a few more places to show you, if you’re not too tired.”

My mind immediately jumped to exactly which places I’d like him to show me, but I figured he had less exciting things in mind. I sighed. Work needed to come before play, sadly.

With thwarted desire still simmering through my veins, I wasn’t sure I’d ever be tired again. Plus, I was in that weird, wired state that came from too little sleep. I would crash eventually, but I would be okay for another few hours. I followed Torran out of our hidden little corner and back into reality.

I nodded. “Let’s go.”

We made it out of the garage without being stopped, which I considered a minor miracle. Torran took us on the same route the kidnappers had used. With our visors down for night vision, we had resumed telepathic conversation.

Well, telepathic on Torran’s end, and half mental, half verbal on my side.

The route wasn’t the most direct way to get from the garage to Torran’s property, but it did seem to avoid most of the late-night traffic. Torran stopped at the corner of his property where the kidnappers had exited the transport.

There wasn’t anything particularly exciting about this corner, except that it was near the point they’d chosen to scale the wall. We were close to the house, so I sent Kee a message confirming I was still alive, and letting her know what we’d found.

“Some of us are trying to sleep,” she replied. Then she added, “But I’m glad you’re not dead. I’ll start looking for the outside surveillance tomorrow. Let me know when you get in.”

I promised her that I would.

Torran turned to me, though all I could see was the gleaming visor of his helmet. “Ready to continue?”

I nodded. “Show me the rest.”