Page 55 (1/2)

Chapter 55

Lucas knew Dev had made his decision when the other ht The Shine director’s face was haggard, his eyes blank with loss "One"

Knowing no words would ever be enough, Lucas watched silently as Sascha walked across the room to touch her hand to Dev’s heart

The man stood there like stone, and eventually, Sascha turned away, tears streaking down her face "He won’t letinto Lucas’s arms

"Some pain a man needs to feel" He dropped a kiss on top of her hair, understanding Dev in a way not many men could He’d almost lost Sascha once, would carry the terror of thosein place when Keenan and Noor ran past, laughing Lucas saw theo into Katya’s room and was about to call them back when Dev shook his head "Let the to shake himself out of his shocked state, the other man looked around the roorandrandfather’s in the office"

Nodding, Dev turned left, undoubtedly heading to talk to the doctor ould tomorrow note Katya’s official time of death "Is this better, kitten?" he asked the woood-bye?"

Sascha shook her head "His heart is shattered, Lucas - I have a feeling Dev will never truly recover" Her voice broke

"Shh" But Lucas, too, had to s a knot in his throat

Dev ca only to crawl into bed beside Katya and feel her heart beat for one last night But when he entered the bedroom, what he saw made him come to a standstill in the doorway

Noor lay curled up beside Katya, one tiny hand on Katya’s chest Keenan lay on the other side, his hand over Noor’s

"Dev, have you seen - " Ashaya caet Dorian to help carry the "They’re just doing what the cats do - trying to heal her with touch because she’s hurting"

Ashaya put her fingers on his arm "They’re too little to understand that she can’t be fixed"

"I think," he said, "she’d have liked to know she spent her last night surrounded by hope"

"I know you want to lie with her," Ashaya began

"I won’t sleep" He needed to watch her as long as possible

And he did Taking a seat on the bottom of the bed, one foot on the sheets, the other flat on the floor, he watched her as twilight turned to ht, when everything seeo silent Sometime after three am, he was distracted by a kind of ache in his headno, that wasn’t right, it didn’t hurt - it was more like a shift inside his skull, not unco, he checked his psychic shields Holding

Keeping his eye on Katya on the physical plane, he stepped out into the ShadowNet to check for outside interference - he’d allow nothing and no one to cause her any er he stared at the flicker of Katya’s ining it Her flaer

Heart in his throat, he dropped back down to the physical plane and tried to find any indication that he wasn’t si rief But she still slept as peaceful and motionless as always, two little hands on her body On her skin Why hadn’t he noticed that before? Both Keenan and Noor had moved their handsto either side of Katya’s head

Half certain he was losing his sanity, Dev forced himself to remain on the physical plane for an entire two hours Only then did he allow himself to open his psychic eye "Dear God" It was a whisper full of wonder

Terrified any disturbance would destroy thesure no one came into the bedroom When Noor and Keenan finally woke, within seconds of each other, he looked into their groggy little faces and barely kept hi," Noorat her eyes "Want Tally"

Keenan reached over to pat her ar as if his limbs were too heavy to lift "Tally’s at hoot up and crawled around the bed to Dev’s side, exhaustion in every line of her body "Pancakes?" she said hopefully as he cuddled her as hard as he dared

"Pancakes," he whispered in a voice that threatened to shake, raising his hand to ainst his knee

While his grandparents and Sascha distracted the kids with pancakes, Connor and Ashaya began to check Katya over using the equipment Connor had in his mobile kit Dev could tell both doctor and M-Psy were leery of his hope, that they were doing it only to huive a daan to swear under his breath, he didn’t allow himself to collapse in relief

That would have to wait until she woke

"Her brain," Connor finally said, "is healed, according to this scanner" He stared at the equip it with his palear"

"Get it," Ashayaat Katya "I don’t have the ability to see the dae"

Connor got out a cell phone "Glen," he said a moment later, "I need you to fly out with one of the"