that.â
She lifted her glass for him to clink. âThank you. For everything.â
âYouâre welcome, Doctor.â
They ate their dinner in silence and slid the plates back onto the coffee table. She sank against the sofa with her glass. âCan I ask you a question?â
âSure, go ahead.â
âThe stuff you gave me to read earlier ⦠that was about you, wasnât it?â
He gave her a wry smile. âWhat makes you think so?â
âJust a hunch.â A good one, apparently. âWho sent you the file?â
âDirector Garcia.â
âHave you always known? Or was the Bureau the first to talk to you about your abilities?â
Ross shrugged and settled back against the sofa. âMy father always said I had good instincts. Those are an advantage in my line of work. You really canât make field agent without them.â
âTheyâre an advantage in any line of work,â she said. âBut from what I read of your file, your instincts are better than most peopleâs. Why do you think theyâre sharing this with you now?â
He met her gaze. âThey intend for me to train while Iâm here. Garcia notified me today.â
She frowned. âDid he say why?â
âNot yet. I think it has something to do with the Echoes. Heâs coming here to discuss it with us.â
âWhen?â
âI should know soon.â
Tess eyed him, uneasy. She didnât like the idea of his agency getting more involved in their work. She knew full well she didnât have any right to expect they wouldnât. But the FBI viewed the Echoes as a threat to public safety. Rossâs superiors didnât care that Jake and the others had once been human. What she and Jake had discovered could resolve all thisâ if she could make the administration listen to her. She was counting on Rossâs help for that.
âItâs interesting to me that youâve used your ability without even being aware of it,â Tess said. âWhen I spoke earlier about suppression, I was talking about individuals who block or sabotage their abilities. Can you tell me about a hunch youâve had since youâve been here? Something thatâs ended up happening?â
Ross stared at his glass, turning it in his hands. âI knew Jake would attack you when we went in there last night.â
âThatâs right, you told me.â
âAnyone could have guessed that. Itâs what they do.â
âTrue enough. But tell me more about your hunch. Was it just your sense of the danger of me going into a room with an Echo?â
He considered this, lifting his eyebrows after a moment. âIâd forgotten this until now, but I had a dream the night before.â
âAbout the attack?â
âNot really. It made no sense, like most dreams. You and I were arguing about somethingâI canât remember what.â
âIâm sorry to inform you that was no dream. It really happened.â
The corners of his lips turned up. He had a boyish, charming smile that she hadnât gotten to see often enough.
âWe were sitting at a table in the cafeteria,â he continued, âand there was a plate between us. There was a donut on itâone of those powdered-sugar ones. I was trying to give it to you, and you wouldnât take it.â
âThat doesnât sound very much like me.â She laughed. âWhat makes you think the dream was related to the attack?â
âYou never touched the donut, but at one point you showed me your hands and there was powdered sugar all over them. Then you just disappeared.â
âPowdered sugarâ¦â It tugged at her memory, but a couple moments passed before she figured out why. âYouâre thinking of that white residue I touched on the floor, before Jake reappeared.â
Ross nodded. âAfter you disappeared I woke up in a panic. The
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