A moose, a freakin’ moose.
The car kept sliding on the wet dirt, closer and closer to the moose. Too fast too close, he was going to hit it. His tires threw up rock and dirt behind them.
Damn, moose, move.
His forehead tingled, his eyesight grew dim and his TK practically exploded from him, flinging the moose aside. The Honda skidded to a stop. He looked right, to where he’d flung the moose. The moose swayed, almost fell, and regained its balance. It turned that big head at him, snorted as if to say, “What the hell was that?” and loped off, moving faster than an animal that size had any right to move.
Alec put the car in park and dropped his head, his forehead resting on the sweaty steering wheel. Okay, so maybe driving isn’t so easy. He slowed his breathing. A TK move that big always left him a little drained.
A TK move that big.
That had been more than a trick. That had been more conscious than melting the rock too. Moving over a thousand pounds had been his limit, especially with something alive that pushed back. That’s why he’d had trouble with that sniper. The moose had felt like child’s play. The TK had exploded from him with more energy than ever before.
Maybe he was all the way back.
He looked down, grabbed the empty paper bag that had held the apple turnover and concentrated.
Flames exploded from the bag. He coughed from the sudden smoke and put the fire out. He punched the dashboard and raised his fist.
“Yes!”
Relaxation and sex, that was the ticket. Beth really did turn him on.
Wait. The first time that he’d kissed Beth, he’d burned the papers on his table without thinking. He’d shrugged it off as carelessness and distraction at the time. But during the op, his fire had been so powerful that he’d lost control entirely. Daz said he’d hit a new power level.
Maybe Beth had turned him up.
Thinking on it, every time that they’d touched these last few days, his gift had come back a little bit. Look at what had happened when they’d made love. He’d melted the rock around him without even noticing.
Now his fire was back.
No wonder it felt special between them. His gifts were sometimes unconscious, Beth said. They reacted to her because he felt so strongly about her.
But if it worked that way, then why had his fire disappeared when she’d kidnapped him? He was missing something. She’d have answers or know the right questions to ask.
He put the car in drive again, his heart pounding, and turned it around, back to the house. The rain fell in buckets now. No one was out here. She’d probably just heard the damn moose.
He drove only a few feet before he slammed on the brakes a second time at an obstacle in the road.
Daz.
In battle gear, holding out his hand in a “stop” gesture. Fuck. Alec rolled down the window. It hadn’t been his imagination in the parking lot, then. They’d been following him.
“Firefly.” Daz walked toward the Honda, blinking away the rain falling over his helmet. “We got a problem. You’ve been dealing with a telepath.”
“What?”
Beth stared out the window, wishing Alec would return right this second. She should’ve stopped him but her mind seemed stuck in slow gear. She could hardly think through this headache. One minute, she’d been quietly in Alec’s arms. The next minute, the voices had practically screamed inside her head.
She sat on the couch and rubbed her temples again. The crazed, insane, wonderful euphoria from making love to Alec had faded completely. Face it. Her telepathy was back. And it was out of control.
She had realized on the drive home that she hadn’t screamed out loud when he’d taken her virginity. No, Alec had heard her mental scream. She’d unconsciously hooked them together, mind to mind. His gifts and her telepathy had created some sort of perfect storm. That was the intense connection between them, the lightning, when they touched.
And somehow, his power had flipped the switch on her telepathy too.
She had no idea how to control it or how to even interpret it. She didn’t know, for instance, if the voices her telepathy had picked up were nearby or miles away. Alec had run off on what was probably a wild goose chase. If she had any idea how to use the telepathy, she could listen and try to find out, do something useful. But not through this headache.
Yes, good job, counselor, you have a client who’s been brainwashed all his life and what did you do for him? First, you break all the rules and make love to him. To top it off, you unconsciously reach out and play inside his head.
Her whole body felt battered, as if Alec had slammed her into that rock. It would feel worse after she told Alec. Whatever his reaction, she’d have to face it. Alec had taught her one thing. Don’t run, don’t hide. She’d wanted to change Alec’s life. Instead, he’d altered hers beyond recognition.
Her stomach rumbled. She ignored it and put her head in her hands and immediately felt dizzy. Her throat felt dry. Hunger, she could ignore. Thirst was harder. If she was dehydrated, that would explain part of the headache. She walked to the kitchen and pulled out the pitcher of water.
“Beth, we have to get the hell out of here. Now.”
She closed her eyes and sighed, her hands tightening around the pitcher. “Hello, Philip.”
Chapter Fourteen
Alec got out of the car. He extended his TK around him and it immediately bumped into several people, confirming Daz was not alone. Beth had been right. The Resource had sent an armed retrieval team. He sent out more TK feelers and counted twenty soldiers. Their moving around must have been what spooked the moose into the road.
Thanks a lot, Daz.
Daz stopped a few feet from him, illuminated by the headlights of the Honda. He didn’t seem bothered by the rain pouring down on him. His gun was holstered at his waist. No sign of a rifle.
Alec crossed his arms over his chest. Because he felt like it, he kept the rain off of him with his TK. He let Daz get soaked.
“So talk, Daz.”
“Firefly, you had us scared to death.”
“C’mon, you never ran off with a girl before?” The circle of men was tightening around him. If he took them down now, he might miss one. Let them get closer, it’d be easier.
“I’ve run off with a girl more than once,” Daz said. “But that’s me, not you. You wouldn’t, especially knowing we’re waiting for intel on Demeter. I know you want in on catching them after what happened with Jimmy.”
“Sure, I do.”
“So I don’t believe for a second that you forgot about someone who killed a team member and also happens to have a bomb with the power to poison a city.”
Given the armed men surrounding Daz, it was not a good time to admit the reason he hadn’t gone back was that his fire and TK had been near nil and he’d have been useless. “No, I didn’t forget.”
“Exactly. She snatched you.”
“No.” Daz took orders from Lansing. Lansing would say anything to get what he wanted. So Daz could be lying through his teeth and not even know it. “F-Team didn’t have to go to this trouble to stop me from having sex. Christ, Daz.”
“The assault team’s not for you, it’s for her. And it’s not F-Team.”
What? “Who? And, c’mon, they must have come for me.”
“It’s the Resource storm troopers. Lansing’s personal goons.”
“Twenty seems overkill for one shrink.”
Daz cocked his head. The rain fell sideways off his helmet. “There was concern that you might be under the telepath’s control and that you might attack us. She could be controlling you.”
“Well, I’m not and she hasn’t. She’s just a little thing. No threat to anyone.”
“She’s a telepath and could have made you do all sorts of things and make you think that you wanted to do them.” Daz stepped closer, studying his face. “How can you be so sure of what you’re doing?”
Daz was so close now that it wouldn’t be any effort f
or Alec to keep the rain off him. He didn’t bother.
“Let’s see, we came to a quiet home to relax, we went shopping, and, oh, she taught me to drive. It’s been sheer torture.”
“If she’s a telepath, she could make you say anything, make you do anything. Or remember what didn’t happen.”
“And you’ve encountered how many telepaths?”
Daz frowned.
“If you got the info from Lansing, how can you be sure you have the truth?”
“I saw documents. Hell, Beth Nakamora isn’t even her birth name. And she’s definitely connected to a CIA agent who’s so deep into black ops that he’s probably gone rogue.”
“Documents can be forged.”
“Shit, Firefly, she’s been with this black ops guy since she was eight. She could be so good that you’d never know she’s messing with you and she probably wouldn’t even need the telepathy for it.”
Alec took a step back. His TK field faltered and the rain lashed at him. Beth had been raised by a CIA agent. She’d admitted that.
“Go on,” he said through gritted teeth.
“I know you didn’t leave the Resource on your own. No way that you planted the car she used to get away that day. Think, Firefly. Use your head.”
“That’s what I’ve been doing. More than at any time in my whole life.” The men surrounding them closed in another foot. Alec let go of the rain so he could use the TK to keep track of all of them. One thing to bump them to see if they were there. It took more power to keep his TK on them constantly.
“It’s illegal to grab private citizens with a commando team.” It had to be against the law.
“She could be a rogue. She could be a player with people we don’t even know about. She’s not an innocent bystander.”
No. This didn’t fit Beth. She’d been a virgin, dammit. You don’t send a virgin out to seduce someone. Hell, she was the reason he’d left the house. She’d heard something and worried. Why do that if she controlled him?
“Firefly, she lied to you, she kidnapped you. You’re better off out of it. Stand aside and let the retrieval team move in.”
Alec swept his arms and dumped every single soldier out there on his ass. The curses could even be heard over the thunder.
“She doesn’t deserve this. And she’s not controlling me.”
A soldier stomped up to them, his rifle at the ready. Alec looked closer. A tranq gun. A fucking tranq gun. Never again. He waved a finger and the tranq gun flew out of the soldier’s hands and up into a tree.
“Back the fuck off, sergeant.” Daz chopped his hand in front of him.
“Commander—” the storm trooper sneered at the rank, “—you ain’t in charge here. If he doesn’t stand down, then it’s up to us.” He looked up at the tree. “And he sure as hell isn’t standing down.”
“And he sure as hell could reduce you to a cinder if you don’t shut up,” Alec said.
Daz put his hands on Alec’s chest and pushed him back several steps. Startled, Alec let him.
“Firefly, stand down. I don’t want you hurt.”
“Get out of the way, Commander,” the sergeant said.
Daz turned and drew his handgun. “You fucking back off, sergeant, or I’ll be fighting with him, you got that? Take a step back and give me room.” He held the gun steady on the soldier.
All right, Daz!
The sergeant backed up, cursing. Daz lowered his gun.
Alec stepped up to Daz.
“Thanks.”
“That’ll only buy us a few minutes.” Daz shook his head. “If she’s controlling you, she deserves whatever they’re going to do to her. If not—” Daz stepped closer, whispering. “You really okay in there, Firefly?”
Alec tapped his head. “Yeah.” He extended the TK to keep the rain off Daz too. The storm swirled around them both now. That should keep anyone from overhearing even if they talked in normal voices. “Daz, you can’t let them go in there. She’ll be terrified. This is wrong.”
“If she’s running an op on you, she’s fair game.”
“You on my side, Daz?”
“Always,” Daz said. “But how do I know that you are really you?”
“You know me. You figure it out.”
Daz nodded. “It seems like you. Your power seems in damn fine form.”
And just in time too. “They plan to grab her no matter what I say.”
Daz nodded. “That’s why I came, to keep you out of the crossfire. I don’t trust them.”
Neither do I. Fuck. “I’ll talk to her. She’ll come out willingly with me.” No, she wouldn’t. It didn’t matter. Stall these guys, get the truth from her. That’s all he needed, the truth. Then if they had to fight, they’d fight.
“Negative. No getting in the middle of this. That’s what I came here to avoid,” Daz said.
“You don’t let me go and get the truth from her, I’m going to fight. Now.”
“Shit.”
“We’ll come out together.” Yeah, that made sense. If Beth came quietly, there would be no chance she’d get hurt. He’d keep her close, protect her. He wouldn’t let them be separated.
Unless she’d done what Daz said.
“You’d get her to come out without a fight?” Daz asked.
“Yep. Give me thirty minutes to talk her into it.”
“Thirty minutes?” Daz lowered his voice to a hoarse whisper. “I don’t know if I can stall them that long.”
“Try, Daz. Please.”
Daz nodded. “I can’t promise. I’ll try. Make it quick.”
Alec nodded. “Thanks.”
Daz smacked his shoulder. “As long as you’re not under the shrink’s control, you’re team. We stick together. I told you that. Now get in the car and get moving before they realize what’s going on.”
Alec rushed to the car, mixing dirt with the rain and covering his movements. He shut the door quietly.
Daz stepped out of the road. He signaled to the sergeant who came stomping up to him. Alec put the car in gear and zipped forward. He gripped the wheel tight, expecting any moment to be shot at, but nothing happened.
Daz had bought him some time. He’d better make damn good use of it.
A telepath. That could explain a hell of a lot about Beth. And about why his power went crazy around her, like the melted rock.
Alec lost control on the slippery road and practically slid into the driveway. Rain battered down on the car. He had no idea what to say to Beth to convince her to go with him. Hell, she should be the one talking. Her story had a lot of gaps. If he found out she’d controlled him, he’d feed her to the Resource himself.
He saw a light around the back of the house, near the patio. The kitchen. He ran around the back, to check if the soldiers had gotten back there. Empty. He could try to take Beth out this way, down the hills and into the woods. There was a lot of clear ground, no cover, before the woods, though. It’d be easier to surrender and wait for a better opportunity.
Alec froze when he heard an unfamiliar male voice coming from inside the house. He crept up to the back door. The storm should muffle his footsteps. The man was talking to Beth. She sounded firm, decisive and seriously pissed. The man had a quieter voice, low and dangerous, like Lansing. Shit. They’d already gotten to Beth. Daz had either lied or not known about this. Alec crouched low, his finger on the door handle. The voices grew clearer.
“Do you have any idea of the danger that you’ve put yourself in? We have to go, now.”
That didn’t sound like the man worked for the Resource.
“I’m not leaving without Alec.”
Thanks, counselor.
“The boy’s already with them. He’s made his choice.”
“He’s not a boy.”
Alec wiped rain off his face. Who the hell was this guy?
“It doesn’t matter. Forget him. We’re leaving.”
“I won’t abandon Alec.”
Alec swallowed. That didn’t sound like she’d be
en using him or controlling him. It sounded like she cared about him.
“He’s abandoned you.”
“Let go of my arm.”
That was enough.
Alec slammed through the door. The man and Beth broke apart. The man aimed a handgun at him. Alec flicked his wrist, casually knocking the gun out of the man’s hand.
“Alec!” Beth said.
The man started to rush him. Alec smacked him into the wall. The man grimaced and fell to his knees but said nothing. He didn’t even groan.
“Stay back from her,” Alec said. “If you don’t, I’ll burn you alive.”
“No, don’t!” Beth said, her voice hoarse. “Alec, you can’t.”
“You all right, Beth?”
He kept staring at the intruder. The man stared back at him, not blinking, showing nothing in his face. His hair and eyebrows were gray but he didn’t look old or frail or scared of being burned to death. This man had seen combat.
“I’ll be fine if you stand down,” Beth said. “Let him go.”
“Let him go?”
She stepped between them, her arms wide. “Alec, this is Philip Drake. My father.”
Her father!? “The black ops CIA agent who had you set me up?”
“If I’d set you up, you’d be dead,” Drake said. “And we really don’t have time for this, not with the assault team outside. Unless you intend to do their work for them.”
“You threatened her,” Alec said.
“I grabbed her to get her out of here. And you’re delaying her escape.”
“No, I didn’t—I came back to talk to Beth.” Alec took a deep breath. “I need to know. Are you a telepath?”
Her face went pale. “I used to be. Not anymore, not until—”
“Until we kissed.” Yes! Their powers were affecting each other. That’s why his gift had jumped up a level so fast.
“That’s all very nice.” Philip scowled. “Sort it out when there aren’t armed men surrounding my house.”
Alec ignored him. He focused on Beth. “I got them to delay an assault. I need to talk to you.”
“Alec, you’d—” She looked frantically toward the window, her eyes wide. “You’d give me to them?”
Phoenix Rising Page 15
