Catching Genesis (Completed)

Chapter LIV - Ring With Hearts and Flowers

"Time for school, sweetheart," I feel a hand stroking my cheek.

"Five more minutes," I mumble, snuggling deeper into the warmth of his arms. "Tired."

It's all Constantine 's fault. Our.....uh..painting sessions.. lasted a while last night, and we had several throughout the night, and again this morning at dawn. Now I'm still tired. How can he be so cheerful and energetic in the morning?

"Did I wear you out, Sunshine?" He chuckles.

"Never," I answer with my eyes close.

"Oh really? Hmmm..." he burrows his face into the crook of my shoulder, then starts kissing and nibbling on the skin just above my collarbone. He moves lower. Oh, my....

I open my eyes just in time to see his silky dark head disappearing underneath the blanket.

**********

"Are we going to start going to school late every day now?" asks Caspian, grinning mischievously. He's sitting on the hood of Lazarus's shiny black Escalade with his long legs casually dangling down the front of the SUV.

"You could just have left without us, you know," remarks Constantine.

"Nope, we're driving together today," Caspian says as he gracefully hops off the car.

Yes, we're running a bit late this morning, but we still have ten minutes before the school starts. With the way these lycans drive, I'm sure we'll make it there with a plenty of time to spare.

Lazarus and Serena are already waiting in the car. Lazarus in the driver's seat and Serena riding shotgun. Constantine opens the door for me and I climb in to sit in the third row. He climbs in to sit next to me, while Caspian takes his seat in front of us.

Lazarus pulls out of the long, winding driveway then speeds down the road. I lace my fingers through Constantine's and he plants a kiss on the back of my hand.

"I heard from our men this morning," remarks Lazarus suddenly. So that's why they were waiting for us this morning. They need to talk. "They had reasons to believe that Milan was in Krasnoïarsk."

"Was in Krasnoïarsk?" interrupts Constantine. He sounds aggravated. "Her family's in Krasnoïarsk. She has comrades in Krasnoïarsk. I specifically told them that's among the first places they should be looking for her."

"They weren't able to find her there...until someone spotted her at Yemelyanovo International Airport last night."

"Tell me they're on her tail now," asks Constantine. When Lazarus doesn't answer right away, he spits out several foreign words. I have no clue what he's saying, but it sounds so much like a string of expletives to me. Lazarus then starts talking in the same language, followed by Caspian barking out what sounds like curses as well. Pretty soon the three of them start conversing rapidly in a foreign language. I'm guessing Russian.

Serena turns around in her seat to look at me with a raised eyebrow. "They do this quite often," she says to me over their voices. That seems to make them pause for a second, then they continue to exchange a few more words.

A minute later, the car is unusually quiet until Caspian snaps, "чертовы идиоты," followed by grunts of agreement from the other two.

Constantine sighs, sitting back in his seat while at the same time wrapping an arm around my shoulders, pulling me down with him. I place my head on the head rest next to his.

"They saw her in Yemelyanovo International Airport, in Russia. They followed her all the way to Heathrow Airport, England, only to find out that it wasn't her. The woman was dressed to look like her and smelled like her." His voice is monotonous with frustration and heavy with the Russian accent. His eyes are trained on the roof of the car. "They detained the woman and are questioning her right now. They also brought in a couple of her comrades in Krasnoïarsk for questioning."