Charlotte woke to a loud bang.

Something had fallen in her room. Her heart racing, she sat up and fumbled with the drawer in the dresser next to the bed. She had a canister of pepper spray that she wanted to grab before turning on the bedside light. Fingers reaching into the darkness, she grabbed the small can in her hand and then reached for the lamp.

Something shuffled in the dark and then banged again. Charlotte wanted to yell, or to say something to the intruder but her throat appeared sealed shut. She couldn't make a sound, even

when she tried. Suddenly, light filtered into the room as the door flung itself open from the hallway entrance beyond the bed. Then it slammed shut. Finally, she was able to turn the lamp on, bathing the hotel room with bright light. Her suitcase was on the ground, along with her work bag and her computer.

"Charlotte!"

Liam bounded into the room, anger on his face. He shut the hotel room door; his gun drawn.

"Liam..." she squeaked; her fingers tightly wrapped around the pepper spray.

He quickly swept the room and then the bathroom. Not being very large, it took only a few seconds. To Charlotte though, it felt like an hour. Her pulse was racing, and she felt frozen in the bed, the sheet falling to barely cover her lap.

"Charlotte, who did you see?" Liam asked.

She couldn't answer but shook her head, fingers still stuck to the pepper spray.

Realizing she was in shock, he walked to the bed and sat next to her.

"It's ok. No one is here now. Charlotte, it's ok," he softly replied.

She glanced at him, her blue eyes melting his. Laying his gun down on the duvet, he scooted closer to her in one movement, then tilted her chin upwards, his lips twitching slightly. Charlotte's eyes seemed to glow with a bright blue. Lowering his face to hers, Liam slowly and deliberately kissed his charge. Giving out a tiny moan, Charlotte kissed back, softly and slowly.

The air in the room stood still as they gave in to their attraction. Liam felt an overwhelming protectiveness for the tiny woman now in his arms. Charlotte had moved so he could hold her close. Neither cared about the reasons why. They both wanted this. Finally though, after a few heavenly minutes, Liam broke the kiss.

Breathlessly, he spoke,

"Charlotte, we have to talk about this."

"I know," she whispered, "I'm not using my gifts though, not now."

Liam brushed a strand of her hair away from her face, his fingers tingling at the contact. It was just as soft as he had imagined.

"You aren't?"

"No," she whispered again, barely audible.

"You can turn it off, making the male species attracted to you?"

She smiled, her eyes sparkling in the light from the bedside lamp.

"I think so. I was terrified when you busted in the room. After I heard the crash and woke up, then you kissed me. I wasn't thinking about anything. Just panic and fear."

Running a thumb over her bottom lip, he slowly smiled back.

"That's a good point. We need to figure out who snuck into the room though. They could've killed you, but they didn't."

Touching his earpiece, Liam began talking to his crew.

"Find him, or her. Bring them to our office. I want this breach figured out. One hour."

"Roger that," was the reply back.

Charlotte frowned, "How did this happen though? I thought you and Josh were watching me?"

"We are," he said, letting a hand rest on her leg as he took out his cell phone. "The person who got in wasn't an enemy."

Feeling his touch caused her body to tingle. She was aware of the attraction and now she could feel herself wanting him, acutely aware of her emotional response. Swallowing, she moved from under his hand and stood up, off of the bed. Focusing on her fallen laptop, Charlotte began cleaning up the mess that was made.

"As I thought," Liam said, "Not one of the Egyptians. We will find out who it was."

He stood up as well, grabbing his firearm as he watched Charlotte reorganize her work equipment on the hotel desk. Her demeanor had changed suddenly, and he could feel the shift in the air. The passion that had just flowed between them had dissipated, almost as fast as it came on. He wondered if she was controlling it.

"Charlotte.."

"Yes?" she replied, plugging in her laptop.

"What we just did.."

His breathing slowed as her blue eyes looked up at him, wide with curiosity.

"Yes?"

Fumbling with the chest holster, Liam wondered if he should continue.

"What about what we did?" she prodded.

"I know that I need to keep this professional, and I apologize for kissing you like that."

Charlotte frowned.

"You apologize?"

"I do, I mean, I shouldn't have kissed you. It's completely unprofessional."

"Oh..." she began.

Liam's cell rang and he put up a finger to answer it. Charlotte began to busy herself once more with her equipment. A feeling of letdown pervaded deep within her. She knew that the kiss wasn't her doing. It was natural. But he admitted that he shouldn't have done it. For some reason, his omission made her sad. Liam hung up and looked at Charlotte.

"I need to go. Zach is waiting for you at the airport, he will help you today with any research that you need."

Before she could say or even do anything, he left her hotel room. Leaving an empty feeling in his wake. Blinking for a second, Charlotte gathered her thoughts. In less than twenty minutes, she had been awakened from a deep sleep, kissed by the hottest man she had ever known and then abandoned just as fast. The morning was proving to be as dramatic as it could ever have been.

"This is absolutely ridiculous," she breathed, shutting her laptop.

Out of irritation, she stomped into the shower and started the hot water.

"I can see Zach. He is calm," she ruminated.

Wondering if she was going to get more information on the group behind the airport secrets, she washed and got out quickly. The day could turn around, if she used her investigative skills.

Either way, I need to find out who is behind this. They can try and stop me all the want. I have powers at my disposal.

The main questions she had pertained to what the stones had given her. Josh explained some of it but not much, and she had a feeling he had hidden a lot of the information from her for a big reason. She just needed to find out what that was.

Once dressed, she gathered her notebook and her purse, leaving behind her laptop and bigger messenger bag. Going light seemed like the best strategy for the day. The person who came into her room made her skin crawl, but at the same time, gave her pause. They failed to harm her, and they clearly could have.

What if they were part of the Rosicrucian's? Or the organization Liam works for? A rogue employee?

Charlotte mulled the possibilities over as she left her room and got into the elevator. Anxiety began to set in. They wanted to look through her belongings.

Ring! Ring!

Her phone rang, startling her as the elevator doors opened to the lobby. Fumbling with her purse, she retrieved the cell and answered.

"Hello?"

"Good morning Charlotte," a velvety voice said.

"Mr. Johir."

Her blood ran cold at the tone he had with her, and the timing of the call.

"I'm not waking you am I?"

"No," she said, walking to her rental car in the parking lot. "I am heading out to DIA, what's up?"

"I was wondering if you wanted to meet again, if you had any more questions you still need answered for your podcast?"

Is he for real?

Beeping her rental unlocked, Charlotte climbed into the driver's seat and shut the door before answering.

"I'm assuming you are still tuning in to the show?"

"Astute of you. And yes. You are searching for answers on the secret runways. Wanting pictures.."

"Do you have anything new that I need to see?" she asked carefully.

"Perhaps, if you are interested."

Not wanting to get caught up in a cat and mouse game, she figured she would be followed anyways by Liam and Josh. They wouldn't let Johir do anything to her.

"Sure, where and when?"

"My office, tomorrow night after work, say eight pm?"

"Fine. I'll be there."

"Stay safe Charlotte, until then."

Then he disconnected. Another shiver ran down her spine at the words he used before hanging up. She thought for sure that he was behind the crash that almost killed her when she went to interview one of his former employees.

"Josh, if you can hear me, please keep me safe from that man," she whispered.

Joining the traffic in downtown Denver, she felt her chest begin to warm. Worries fading slightly, Charlotte smiled. The Rosicrucian's' were an amazing bunch. She had always loved them and respected what they stood for. No doubt, Josh was nearby, helping her to remain calm.

As DIA came into view, she pictured Zach with his disarming smile and unassuming demeanor. He had thus far always been so nice to her. Wondering if this trend would continue, she took the airport exit and made her way to the winding parking garage structure. Zipping upwards to the top, she spied a free spot.

I'll just check something first.

Realizing she hadn't opened her email since the podcast ended yesterday late evening, Charlotte pulled up her phone after she shut off the rental car. Her mail icon had a lot of notifications. Clicking on the first in the que, her eyes widened. There were images attached. Images of something large and almost invisible. She clicked on the next as her heart rate shot up. More pictures of the sky by DIA, with something huge in the sky, blending in with the clouds, basically transparent.

"What am I looking at?" she whispered.