by Mary Wine
Grace was a proven psychic tracker. Even in her third trimester of pregnancy, she could take off like a doe. She sat poised on the edge of their bed, her coal-black hair streaming down her back as the open window allowed the night breeze to ruffle the edge of her sleeveless chemise. She knew he liked the vintage garment and often wore it to bed. At the moment, she was locked into a link with something, completely unaware of anything else. He began to step into his jeans and boots in case she tried to follow the link.
There was a soft step on the hallway floor and Major Jason Jacobs peered into the room over his drawn weapon. Once he was satisfied there wasn’t an immediate threat, he holstered the gun and considered his Operative.
A few moments later, she slumped, landing on her bottom and blinking as she lost her link. It took a moment for her to recognize where she was. She drew in a deep breath and stood but her legs shook. Brice reached for her arm and lowered her to the bed.
“That was a solid connection,” Jacobs observed. “Why? You didn’t have anything to pull a tracking link from.”
“This was empathic,” she answered, still distracted and peering into the night like she could see something neither of them could. “Someone else initiated it.”
“Someone was trying to contact you?” Brice asked, his tone defensive. He’d almost lost her once when someone had tried to sell her on the black market. He’d agreed to let her entire Ranger unit move onto his property just to make sure she never faced that sort of threat again.
“I’m not sure,” she muttered before drawing in a deep breath and trying to withdraw from the world of her sixth sense. “I have never been as good with empathy as Devon was.”
She crawled back up the bed and lay down. Jacobs left but Brice watched his wife for a long time after the lights were out.
“You didn’t have to push the com link. I know my unit frustrates you.”
He moved up close behind her, wrapped his arms around her and inhaled the scent of her hair. “Only sometimes, and it’s a condition I’m happy to accept so long as it ensures you are right here.”
She tried to look at him but he tucked her head beneath his chin and rubbed the swollen mound of her belly.
Devon was gone when Kalin opened her eyes.
The motorhome had a gray light filling it from the rising sun’s rays reaching out to touch the canvas fabric covering the windows.
Pain stabbed into her, leaving her vulnerable to a wave of despair that threatened to send tears down her cheeks.
You have to be kidding.
They barely knew each other. When she factored in that Devon still didn’t know who he was, it was absurd to be upset over waking up to an empty bed. They’d given in to red-hot lust, that was all. It had been mind-blowing, but that wasn’t a relationship.
As much as she might wish for it to begin one.
You’re crazy. The guy carries a gun around.
She rolled over and picked up her clothing. Her nose wrinkled as she caught a whiff, but she wasn’t sure she was willing to steal anything else from the owners of the motorhome. Sure, she and Devon were on the run from serious bad guys, but it still struck her as wrong to search for clean clothing. Even when she tried to rationalize it by saying the owners obviously didn’t use it very much if the foot of dead leaves by the door was any indication.
Stealing was wrong. Period. She could hear her grandmother reminding her to keep her spirit pure.
If she lived through her adventure, she was going to have to pay for the motorhome to be cleaned.
“You’re going to what?”
She jumped, swinging around to find Devon looking at her like she’d lost her mind.
Oh hell, she had lost her mind by sleeping with him.
Her cheeks burned as the morning light illuminated him and set off a tingle of awareness in her clit.
“I thought you were gone,” she groaned softly when she realized she’d spoken out loud.
Way to go, Kalin, just pin your heart to your sleeve.
His face had darkened but then he heard her thoughts and he raised one eyebrow. She shook her head, doing her damnedest to shove him out of her mind. Anger flashed in his eyes a moment before he reached across the space between them and hooked her forearms. He tugged her forward and she stumbled into him.
“Devon—”
He cut her off with a kiss. This time, it wasn’t a tender touch of lips. It was a demand for surrender. She resisted, trying to pull her head back, but he followed her. She could feel him pressing against her mental walls, seeking entrance into her mind just as firmly as he was pressing her lips apart so he might deepen the kiss.
The problem was, she didn’t want to be alone either. Her resolve crumbled as she kissed him back, reached for his neck to hold him steady while she took a bold taste of his mouth. He had hard, demanding edges that intoxicated her as much as they frustrated her.
They were both breathless when he broke off the kiss and leaned his forehead against hers. The intimacy wasn’t gone though. For long moments, she felt him connected to her mind, their thoughts mingling as completely as their bodies had the night before.
Maybe more so.
“I hate it when you block me, Kalin.”
He drew in a deep breath, filling his lungs with the scent of her skin. She heard his thoughts as clearly as her own and wiggled away.
He chuckled at her. “You smell sexy.”
Her cheeks remained pink, but now it was because she was self-conscious.
“But we have to go.” He sighed. “Get dressed.”
He moved to the bed and began to make it, erasing all evidence that they’d been there.
I’ll always remember.
He glanced over at her, his lips curving into a grin. A twist of excitement went through her belly and his gaze settled on her nipples as they tightened. He pulled the coverlet back down in suggestion.
“I thought you were in a hurry,” she argued before turning around and grabbing her dirty clothing.
“I am, but you tempt me to ignore everything I’ve been taught.”
She heard him smoothing the coverlet into place. She breathed a sigh of relief before realizing she was wasting the opportunity to help him recall his life.
“Teaching about what?” She sat to put her boots on.
She felt his mood shift. The light, good-natured teasing air vanished as he tightened his focus. When she finished tying her boot laces and looked up, his expression was hard and unreadable. He looked like the man she’d watched grip a pistol with the very last bits of his strength.
“About how to survive and stay out of sight.” He looked around the motorhome before picking up her backpack. “I know how to look for cameras, license-plate scanners and a hundred other things used to track people. It’s all here.”
He tapped his forehead before moving out of the motorhome. She followed him and the crisp morning air nipped at her nose.
“What does it mean, Devon?” she questioned softly.
“For the moment, it means I know how to avoid being detected.” He began threading his way through the draped RVs. His attention was on where he was going, his head turning constantly as he checked all directions to make sure no one spotted them. It made her apprehensive because it was just so military. Devon Ross lived in a drastically different world than she did.
He stopped next to a car, looked around before opening the door and climbing behind the wheel. A moment later, the engine turned over.
“Get in, Kalin.”
She jumped as he put the instruction straight into her brain. She was already reaching for the door handle when she pulled her hand back and ordered herself to consider what she was doing.
Grand theft auto was no joke.
“Now, Kalin.”
She pulled the door open and landed in the seat with a growl on her lips. “Don
’t order me around.”
He piloted the car out of the parking space and onto the small dirt access road before answering. “Don’t hesitate when we have bad guys on our tails.”
The urge to argue was strong, but she bit her lip because she realized she was just in the mood to bicker. The real issue was dealing with her impulsive action from the night before. She looked out the window, reminding herself that she’d made her choices and needed to shoulder the responsibility for them.
Devon chuckled softly. They were creeping toward the main road and the sound of the interstate was growing.
“I think I’m really beginning to like you, Kalin.” He checked the cross traffic before pulling smoothly onto the black top.
“I like you way too much,” she groused.
“I think my head is swelling.”
“You’re the one who said we needed to get moving.”
He laughed out loud at the blatant sexual humor. “Don’t worry about the car.”
“Don’t worry?” she argued. “This is a classic Mustang. It’s somebody’s baby.”
“That they leave in a storage area for most of the year with the spare keys in the motorhome stored in front of it.” He cut her a firm look before returning his attention to the road. “It’s a spare car.”
“That doesn’t make it right to take it,” she said. “But since you have, do you know where we are going?”
They pulled up to a traffic signal. “I think so.”
His tone was cryptic. A shiver went down her back because he was very much on guard in spite of the teasing conversation. It was getting harder for her to remember that he was part of a dangerous world. One that had already tried to kill her. The signal changed and he drove the car toward the entrance ramp for the interstate.
Maybe he knew where he was going, but she was more concerned with what they’d find when they arrived. It just might be the end of the road for her.
“You’re getting on my nerves, Jacobs.”
Grace turned to stare at her commanding officer. Per the book, she was an Operative and didn’t have to call him her C.O., but that left her titling the man her bodyguard. Some of his predecessors she’d thought of as jailers.
Jason Jacobs tilted his head to the side, which was as close to a concession of guilt as she was likely to get from him. When it came to her safety, he never apologized for tightening the unit of Rangers assigned to her around her like a net. She’d be the one expected to adjust. For her own good of course.
“When you start linking with unknown sources so completely you aren’t aware of anything else, plan on having a shadow. I don’t want to have to run you down.”
“Getting slow in your old age?” she teased softly.
He smiled at her but the expression was nothing but pure promise. “Tackling pregnant women is ill advised. And it makes my wife cranky.” He sobered. “Any clue as to who it was connecting with you?”
Grace shook her head. “It was familiar.”
His expression tightened. “The last time you encountered a link you called familiar, I almost had to take you back to base in a body bag.”
“I remember,” she agreed softly. “Just secure a tracking band to my wrist.”
Surprise registered on his face.
“You heard correctly. I did ask for it. I feel like I’m being backed into a corner.” She raised her hand when he started to interrupt. “I’ve already tried to drop it, but this isn’t as simple as ending a phone conversation. I hear it in the distance, only inside my head so earplugs won’t work. When I fall asleep, there is nothing to stop me from listening and responding.”
“Empathy isn’t your department, Grace.”
She smiled at him. “You can’t departmentalize my senses, Jacobs. Band me so I can work through this without either of our blood pressures going through the roof.”
“I’m a little more concerned that this means someone is trying to get their hands on you again.”
“I agree,” she said. “You’re not the only one who learned a lesson when Fredricks did his best to make it look like I went rogue. I’ll wear the band.”
He drew in a deep breath and nodded, a look of respect entering his eyes. The band in question had been a source of stress between them before because she could not remove it. Her last C.O. had shackled her with it like an animal, but today was different. There were people in the world who viewed her as a commodity. Even if she was willing to risk her own freedom, she would never risk her unborn son’s future.
So she agreed to something she’d once thought of as a shackle. Because the empathic link had left something behind in her mind she was desperate to identify.
Burgos knelt down and patted a large hound dog on the head.
“Nature can still triumph over technological advances.” The new team had arrived with a bloodhound. The dog’s master was an Asian man whose accent was thick enough to cut.
“Yeah.” Burgos straightened up and looked at the storage lot for motorhomes. He wasn’t in the mood to admit that he’d lost the trail. But Dresner had clearly realized it was a possibility. The dog had picked up the scent and followed it for an entire mile to where Devon Ross had come out of the water.
“Let’s go.”
They made their way down the hillside. A small dirt road connected the storage area with the rows of recreational vehicles. The dog stopped, looking toward the motorhomes and then along the road.
“They’re gone,” Burgos decided. “They must have got a car from here.” He retrieved his phone and punched in a quick text message. “Let’s get mobile.”
They moved toward the road. A pair of Hummers pulled up within moments, giving them a chance to get out of sight. Burgos utilized the onboard computer and searched the satellite photos.
“There.” He pointed at a screen. “Faded black Mustang. Get on the interstate.”
He sent their location back to Dresner. A team of internet trackers started sending him updated photos within the hour. Burgos grinned. They were closing the gap and Devon Ross didn’t even realize it.
By the time he did, Burgos planned to have him bagged for delivery.
“Time to refuel,” Devon announced sometime near dusk.
“The car’s not the only one hungry.”
The remaining food in her backpack hadn’t lasted very long. Devon hadn’t stopped, hadn’t even hinted that he was interested in pulling in for a burger. He’d consumed his share of the crackers and kept driving, moving around slower traffic but never drawing attention to them by speeding too much over the posted limit. They’d crossed the state line into Washington at noon.
Her butt was numb.
“Mine too.”
She offered him a dry laugh. “You must lead the life of a chameleon.”
He aimed the car at the next exit ramp. “Why do you say that?”
“Because I feel like I’ve spent the day in a silent car while you’ve been able to listen in on my thoughts anytime you like. So when you don’t comment, people get the notion you’re being a loner but you’re actually the opposite.”
“My empathic skill doesn’t work quite like that. A good portion of the time, all I get is the feeling, not the exact words. If I were stronger at linking with targets, I wouldn’t be working as a tracker. I’d be in interrogation.”
He pulled into a service station and up to a pump.
“So you remember what you do for a living?”
His knuckles were white from gripping the steering wheel too hard. She reached up and rubbed his right hand. He jumped and sent her hand away with another martial-arts-style motion.
The contact stung and a sharp slapping sound bounced around inside the car.
“Shit,” he cussed before reaching for her hand, but she withdrew against the door.
“I’m fine.” She unlatched her seat
belt. “It’s a good sign, you know. I think you’re going to make a full recovery. But you really should consider going to a hospital.”
He shook his head and the sting of rejection filled her mind. “I can sense how strongly you feel about that. Ask yourself why.”
He turned his head and locked gazes with her. Once again, his pupils were dilated slightly.
“I’ll get the gas.” She reached for her backpack and pulled out her wallet. It looked like Devon was lost in thought, but the moment she pulled her bank card out, he reached over and plucked it from her fingers.
“Use cash. Don’t leave a trail. Ever.”
His tone was short and sharp again. She really wanted to downgrade his concern to something that didn’t scare her, but Gold Tooth surfaced from her memory with crystal clear clarity.
She was going to see the smirk on his lips as she swallowed those pills until the day she died.
“Most civilians don’t understand, Kalin.” He pulled her hand to his lips and pressed a soft kiss against the back of it. “I’m sorry you do.”
He got out of the car, but she felt like she was stuck to the seat. The sense of lament coming from him filled her thoughts, colliding with the memory of the past night. It was stupid, she knew that, had known from the moment she let herself get caught up that there was no future in it.
But it stung to feel him regretting it.
Regretting ever meeting her.
She heard him pulling the gas cap off and fumbled with the door handle. He was watching her with an unreadable expression when she made it out of the car.
“I’m going to the bathroom.”
She made it two steps before she felt him aiming a thought into her mind. This time, it wasn’t coming through as words, just the unmistakable sight of Gold Tooth.
She resisted the urge to turn around and comment. People passed by, all of them intent on their own problems. A black and white drove by, drawing her attention. Tempting her, actually.
Loose end.
That’s all she was, at least to everyone except Devon. It was a strange sort of trust, but she finished and walked back to the car. It felt right about as much as it felt like she was on the edge of a cliff just waiting for something to knock her over the edge.
