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“Glad you could make it,” Caden said dryly.
“Fuck off,” Blake said with no heat, and went to the picnic table where he promptly took out the cans of beer and put them in the ice bucket. Then helped himself to one.
Not wanting to draw this out, Caden looked at Hallie and kissed her temple. “Why don’t you go sit at the picnic table with Orly,” he suggested. “I’ll come find you when I have something.”
Hallie gave him a weak, but reassuring smile, and left his side. The women greeted each other with big smiles and a hug, and then became engrossed in conversation, as if no one else was even around. He loved how Hallie fit right in with his friends, and he couldn’t be happier that the women now had each other to talk about their struggles with their abilities, and whatever else women talked about.
He pulled the drawing Hallie had made out of his pocket, hoping the guys could help him, not only identify the building, but stop Hallie’s glimpse from coming to fruition. Luke was standing nearest to them so he showed it to him first. “Hey, do you recognize this building?”
Luke glanced down at the paper. “When did you take up drawing?” He asked with a chuckle. “I think those bricks need to be a little straighter, my friend.”
“Dammit, Luke, I’m serious,” Caden bit out.
Luke took a step back and steeled his expression. “No. Why?”
“Never mind.” Caden moved on to Tanner who was manning the grill. The burgers were starting to give off a mouthwatering aroma, making his stomach rumble with hunger. “Tanner, take a look at this. You recognize it?”
Tanner shook his head. “No, man, what is it?”
“If I knew that I wouldn’t be asking you.” He continued to Garrett who was off to the side now talking to Blake. “Garrett, Blake, you guys recognize this building?”
After a quick glance, Garrett shook his head. “Nope. Sorry.”
Caden looked to Blake who was staring off into space, watching something in the distance. “Blake?”
Blake looked at him with a blank stare. “Sorry, what did you say?”
“The picture. Do you recognize the building?” Caden asked, losing patience.
Blake looked down at the drawing seemingly unaffected. He brought his beer can up to his mouth, then lowered it. “You know, I think I do, actually. That’s St. Augustine’s Church. They turned that wing into a preschool last year.”
Excitement coursed through Caden’s veins, but he did his best to temper his expectations. “Are you sure?”
Blake nodded. “Yeah, your art skills are shit, but I’ve been driving past it for two years now, ever since I moved into my new place.”
“You’re telling me it’s here in Dallas?” Caden asked in surprise.
Blake nodded again, an annoyed look on his face. “What’s your point? Why are you drawing old churches, and poorly may I add?”
“I need your help.”
At that, Blake perked up. As did Garrett, who was still standing there watching the conversation unfold. “Help with what exactly?” Garrett asked.
“Let’s go sit and I’ll tell everyone,” Caden said.
The guys followed him to the picnic table where he took his place next to Hallie. He looked around as everyone but Tanner sat down. “They’ll be ready in five.” Tanner called out from the grill.
“Can you join us for a minute?” Caden asked.
All eyes were on Caden now, concern filling their gaze. It wasn’t often he went outside the bureau to ask his friends for help. In fact the last time he’d done anything outside the bureau was when they were trying to find Orly after she’d been kidnapped right out from under their noses.
As Tanner took his seat, Caden prepared himself for what he was about to say. He felt Hallie’s nerves emanating from her and he tried to reassure her by placing an arm around her in a show of support. He wasn’t worried his friends wouldn’t believe him. He was worried they would, and they still wouldn’t be able to stop it from happening.
“Okay, you all saw the drawing I showed you. Blake recognized it -”
Hallie gasped and he kissed her temple, but pressed on. Time was of the essence. Everyone turned to look at her for a moment until Blake spoke.
“It’s St. Augustine’s Church in Oak Lawn. My place is about a mile east of it. The drawing is of the west side of it. There’s a private preschool in that wing as of a few years ago,” Blake explained, then turned to Caden. “What is it with you and this church?”
