Shaking Off the Dust Read online

  I put my hand over my mouth, because I couldn’t seem to stop making sounds. Wet from his ministrations, I lifted my body, arching my back until there was no doubt he understood how much I wanted him inside me.

  He pushed my fist away and his mouth covered mine. I groaned and used my free hands to reach down and unzip his pants. Once he was free, I brought him straight into me. I think I screamed when he entered, but he swallowed the cry as we buried our noises deep into each other, as he buried himself inside of me.

  I rocked against him as he thrust in and out. He swung me around, until I was on top. Our mouths never parted as his hands and strong arms lifted me up and down. I clawed his chest and I think I almost passed out when I came.

  He held me until I stopped trembling, but he hadn’t come and he rolled me under him again, still joined. He began slow but powerful strokes. Reaching down, I placed a finger at my entrance, so each stroke slid against my finger. I tried to increase the rhythm, but he refused to vary his speed. He sighed each time he came into me, each thrust deeper. As the angle changed, he settled into a position that brought the most sounds from me.

  He broke our kiss to watch my face, his pace finally building. I panted, making keening noises, quiet but growing louder. He began to talk low and guttural in Japanese, his voice one more layer of pleasure. I spiraled into a bliss so strong I was literally airborne. He covered my mouth, catching my scream as if it was a piece of his own happiness, anchoring me to his body.

  “You are mine,” he growled, starting to pull out.

  But he couldn’t. I was wrapped around him like a barnacle, every possible inch of skin melted into his. He pulled me even closer, his body jerking, his hips fitted to mine.

  We stayed in a heap until we could catch our breaths. I writhed underneath him. He grunted and ground into me again. I didn’t mind, in fact I liked it. I don’t know how long we stayed that way. I let the postcoital lethargy suck me under. He’d managed once again to put me to sleep.

  The return of Rachel and Bill woke me. I was curled against my man, and he trailed his fingers along my spine.

  “It’s going to take quite a bit more than making the earth move for me to get over the whole putting-me-to-sleep thing,” I scolded softly.

  “We need to shower again.” He rolled until he stood. “You realize”—his voice serious—“that we didn’t use a condom this time, or at your home the night Marv came for us. It was my fault. I should have been prepared.”

  I didn’t say anything. I guess I knew we had not been careful, but there had been so many other things to worry about.

  “So you wouldn’t want a child?” he asked.

  “I love children. I don’t believe I can carry a child. I know the experience of counting on it. I got over it.”

  “What about you and me, could you see us with a family?”

  “Don’t you understand what I’ve told you, Takeshi? I learned a very brutal lesson. You can’t count on anything. I know right now that you are with me and I want you desperately. Will you be with me tomorrow? Or next week? I refuse to count on that future.”

  “Hannah, there’s more than this moment. I know there is.” He reached out with his hand and touched my face. “There is our whole life together.”

  “Don’t count on it, Takeshi. It’ll break your heart.” I wanted to think about anything else. I headed into the shower.

  I hated that we lost that moment because of my bleak outlook. I was a jaded soul and so busy protecting myself from being hurt again that I was losing these small pieces of happiness. I’d do better. I told him I couldn’t count on the future, but in truth I was. I’d chosen to see the bleakest outcome possible. That way I’d never be disappointed.

  We had supper with the three. The evening was short, but I was exhausted. I wonder why? We got into bed and he curled into my side, touching my arm like it was a petal.

  I draped my leg and hip over his, pulling him towards me. His body nestled into mine, firm and aroused. I loved that I could make him rigid, so fast. I stroked him, the skin soft and silky, over the hardness of his erection. I watched his face while I touched him. His eyes had gone to that sexual place, full of desire and need. His hand drifted down finding my sex, those skillful fingers already causing my bottom to move in an ancient rhythm.

  “You need to sleep, Hannah,” he whispered, an echo on the air.

  “I need what I have this moment. You are so beautiful. The world is spinning out of control when someone as amazing as you, would want someone like me.”

  He moved above me. “You are my perfect fit in every way.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  At nine exactly there was a knock on the door. Bill answered and I called for Tom. He appeared, looking at everyone. “You better today?” He glanced from me to Shimodo.

  “Yeah, fine.”

  Bill brought our guests into the room. “I recognize two of them from the hangar,” Tom announced.

  Three Spanish investigators sat across from me. Takeshi took the chair on my left. He’d taken that side since day one, especially in bed. I guess I’d realized it on some unconscious level, but in truth, after two years, I still forgot I was deaf in my right ear. He never did.

  Bill sat on my right and Tom sort of hung out. Jack and Rachel were in the lounge chairs, which they’d moved closer to the table.

  I decided within a few minutes that Spain must be filled with attractive men. The three sitting across from me were all of medium height, dark and handsome. From right to left, I was introduced to Enrique Eneas, Hector Norbert and Mateo Quinton. I requested a piece of paper and wrote down their names with arrows pointing to them. They found that amusing.

  They asked me if Tom was around. Once I replied yes, they appeared ready to begin. Mateo seemed to be the spokesman for the group and his English was excellent, with only the slightest of accents.

  “He’s very smooth. He comes to the hangar where they are reassembling the plane with Hector here.” Tom pointed to the man in the middle. He used my handmade name cards and smiled at them. “Oh and he’s been flirting with one of the female engineers there, Elena. She wears a badge, so I’ve seen her name a lot. I heard her talk to one of the other woman. She’s very interested in him. You should tell him.”

  “You’ve been hanging out there the last few days?” I asked Tom.

  The three Spanish men watched me with interest.

  “Dr. Mecurio is relaying information?” Mateo inquired.

  “He’s been hanging out at the hangar, where you are reconstructing the plane. You know I was ill for a couple of days and he found other interests during that time.” I looked at them and they nodded their heads. “He tells me you have been there often with Hector. You flirt with Elena. She’s very interested in you by the way.”

  Mateo’s eyes darkened. “What else does he tell you?”

  “That’s it for the moment. What questions would you have him answer?”

  “Many,” he said enigmatically. He opened a notebook and I could see a long list in Spanish. The first twenty or so were questions about Tom and me. They had watched his every move on security cameras in the airport before the plane crash and the questions were to confirm he was telling the truth. They didn’t want to believe anything until it was verified in their notebook.

  After the initial questions, they started going through the list of passenger names I’d given in my scan recording. The many personal questions required Tom to pop out to get information. When he returned, I’d regurgitate the answers to our interrogators. The first time seemed very awkward.

  “Agent Quinton, Tom doesn’t know those answers, so he goes to that person,” I explained while we waited for him to return.

  “You mean ghosts?”

  “Person, ghost, whatever we want to call it. He goes to them with the questions. It would go quicker if we were at the hangar or plane crash site or even if you brought some DNA of each person. He could just ask them the question or better yet, they’d h
ear the questions themselves and cut out all the repetition.”

  “What kind of DNA evidence?” Agent Eneas was taking many notes.

  “Hair is the easiest example,” Takeshi answered.

  Bill cleared his throat. “We mentioned in our report that according to Miss Campbell and Dr. Shimodo’s theory, the spirits of these people are tied to their physical body. The ghosts can be in their homes, where there are hairs in combs or brushes or skin cells in the bathroom or carpet. Miss Campbell claims Tom met them all at the plane crash site or hangar, where blood, hair and tissue residual are still intact.”

  “Yes, I read your report. You also state that you can detect their presence if they touch you, by a coldness of human tissue. This is true?” Agent Eneas appeared dubious.

  Everyone on our side nodded their head.

  “Yes,” Takeshi spoke for the group. “We can have Tom demonstrate this to you when he returns, if you would like.”

  All three of the Spanish agents agreed.

  They waited patiently for their questions to be answered and never gave any indication whether the answers were right or wrong, or if they even mattered. After three hours of questioning, Takeshi announced we needed to take a break. He asked if perhaps we could all go for lunch, then come back for a couple hours more of questioning.

  They chose a restaurant within walking distance of the hotel. As we crossed through the hotel lobby, I noticed several men turn to watch us pass and wondered if they were more security.

  I was near Bill and Mateo and heard them discuss that the press were watching everything related to the crash. I guessed that meant they’d be suspicious of the new Americans hanging out with the lead investigators on the case.

  The air was brisk and I’d worn my black leather jacket. I leaned into Takeshi as we walked. We reached the restaurant and got a large round table. I noticed that two men had followed us from the hotel lobby.

  Tom had come along and was in the middle of the table. He hung around to pester me. I told him to pick on Takeshi for a while. Surprisingly, he went behind Takeshi and played Morse code on his back.

  I discreetly pointed to the men who were looking elsewhere. “Those two followed us from the hotel and have been keeping an eye over here. Who are they?”

  Mateo glanced at them and returned his attention to me. His eyes were green with long, dark eyelashes. His nose was straight but not too wide, and he showed white teeth as his lips fell into a smile.

  He didn’t have Takeshi’s masculine beauty, but they shared some similar qualities. I turned to face my new man to remind myself of his features. He smiled, pleased I’d turned to him. I looked back to Mateo. He’d watched our interplay with surprise. I wondered if he was not used to women who looked away from him.

  “They are press reporters. The one on the left is from Time magazine. The other is CNN. We don’t speak to them, unless it is at a press conference.”

  “Is there some cover story for why you are all entertaining an American from nowhere, Indiana?” I gestured at the table in general. “It would be nice to know.”

  “Well, it is an unusual situation,” Bill said. “Dr. Mecurio has become such a hero to the American people that we felt that as his best friend, Takeshi, would get some special attention while he is here visiting colleagues. Hannah, of course, is your companion for the trip.”

  “That doesn’t explain why three FBI agents share your hotel suite, or why you are also having lunch with the Spanish agents on the case.” Enrique frowned. He’d insisted that I call him by his first name instead of Agent Eneas. Nothing got past him. This situation concerned him and that worried me.

  “Not if we make a show of updating Dr. Shimodo, as the everyman of America who has lost a close friend,” Bill said undisturbed.

  “It works for today. What about tomorrow and the next day, when they are still here and in your hotel suite?” Mateo was no more convinced of the wisdom of our current arrangements than I was. “We must not let this become suspicious, or they will hound us.”

  “The cover story should be focused on me, not Hannah. She is here as my companion. She is not well enough to take the stress of the press wondering how she may be involved,” Takeshi said. “I’ll make some calls. We must make sure your professional colleagues assure any reporters that you are here on a working vacation.”

  Mateo flipped open his phone, making arrangements in his rapid Spanish.

  Takeshi spoke to me often and touched my face and hands whenever possible. I knew it was for show, in case the press were paying attention, but I found myself responding with my own caresses. During the meal, there was polite conversation. Hector and Enrique spoke seldom, but observed us all.

  I excused myself to the ladies’ room and as I came out, one of the reporters was waiting for me. Behind him stood Tom. I glanced over at the table and the other reporter was blocking their view of us.

  “Miss, Richard Traylor, Time magazine. Can I ask you who you are and why you are sitting with the Spanish and American lead investigators on last month’s terrorist attack?” He was about five-ten, balding and looked to be in his forties. He had a tape recorder in his hand.

  My gaze traveled to Tom’s face. “Where’s Shimodo when I need him?” I mumbled. He took the hint and went to our table.

  I did my best blank stare at the reporter and thought of how I could stall. Tom reappeared behind the reporter and boxed his ears.

  “Miss, can you answer my questions?” His hand had gone up to his ear, brushing it like it hurt.

  “I’m sorry, you must have me confused with someone else.” I tried to move away from him, but he continued blocking my way.

  Takeshi stood behind him and tapped his shoulder. “The lady would like to get past.” His voice was cold, but his eyes were dark.

  I reached for his hand and was pulled clear of the reporter to his side. We walked back to our table with Mr. Traylor right behind us continuing to shout questions.

  “Who are you people and what do you have to do with this investigation?”

  Bill frowned at the two reporters and used his best good-old-boy voice. “You two are barking up the wrong tree here. This is Dr. Shimodo, a close friend of Dr. Mecurio’s. He asked to talk with us about any progress on the case and as a courtesy we are having lunch. Leave them alone to enjoy their visit here.”

  “Do you always share a penthouse suite with the friends of a crash victim? Sounds a little cozy for an update visit,” Mr. Traylor said sarcastically.

  Bill stood and everyone else followed his example. “You are being a pest to these nice people. Now leave us and them alone. You’ll get your updates, when everyone else does.” We left, walking the distance back to the hotel in record time.

  We’d only been back to the suite a few minutes before there was a knock at the door. A short, dark man with a trim mustache came in with a file box under his arms. He went directly to Mateo, who greeted him like a long lost brother and took the box. He bowed and left us.

  “You asked for DNA evidence so that Tom might be able to spend less time going to the others.” He pointed to the box and opened it. He brought out a manila envelope and inside he found a thick lock of hair. He pulled this out and handed it to me.

  “You’re mistaken, Mateo. I can’t see them. I see and communicate with them through Tom.” I went to hand it back to him, but he shook his head.

  “I find that difficult to believe, Miss Campbell,” he said.

  I called for Tom and he appeared next to a skinny, dark-haired Spaniard, who I saw when I’d touched the hair.

  “Hello, Eduardo.” Tom seemed pleased. “Mia and her brother Arturo are also here. Good. This will help make it faster.”

  “Eduardo, Mia and Arturo are here,” I announced. I watched Eduardo as he came towards me until we were nearly touching.

  “This is your Hannah? She can see me, I can tell. Hello, Hannah Campbell. Thomas has spoken of you. Did you reach my sister-in-law? I checked my house. The neighbor is
gone now, but government people took my children. I must see them. I must know they are well.”

  I didn’t say anything. I couldn’t let any of my inquisitors know I could see him.

  Tom looked at me, then turned to Eduardo. “She can see and hear you, but she hides this from these people. They cannot know, or they would never let her live in peace.”

  He nodded to me. “Smile for me, pretty Hannah, so I know you can hear me.”

  I gave him a big grin and looked at Mateo. “Tom says that Eduardo is asking about his children. Where were they taken and has his sister-in-law been contacted?”

  “His children are with a very good family. We have found his sister-in-law, but she cannot travel to pick up the children. We await her to find a way to return to Spain,” he said in a monotone.

  Eduardo stomped to him, repeatedly pounding his fist into Mateo’s hands. I watched with surprise, but my shock was nothing compared to Mateo.

  “He is very mad,” I said.

  “I have seen the headlines. I had insurance. The Spanish government can bring my sister-in-law here or send my children to her. They should not be with a family they don’t know. You tell them this now.” He stopped hitting Mateo and turned to me. “You do this thing. You see to my children, yes?” He touched my face.

  “According to Tom, Eduardo believes his estate should receive money from his insurance. He wants that money used to send his children to their family.”

  “It’s not that simple,” Mateo replied slowly.

  I watched Eduardo beat on Mateo’s hands again.

  “Stop, Eduardo. Tell him to stop, Tom. You must be patient for now.” I looked at Mateo, who stared back at me differently. “Perhaps if he could see his children and see that they are well cared for.”

  “My hands, they became cold, very cold. You saw him hitting them. I watched your eyes go straight to my hands.” It was a statement.