“Everything okay?”
The quiet sound of someone clearing their throat echoed behind her. Payton turned and Green Eyes was standing beside her.
“Hi.” The woman’s voice was just as soft. “Let’s get a booth, shall we?” She motioned to the back of the room. Payton hesitated. This was so not good. But they were in a public place in the middle of the day and she was so much stronger since her abduction. What if this was the only chance she had to find out the truth? She turned to Lainey, mouthing, “Don’t leave me alone,” then followed.
Payton took the chair with her back against the wall, sweeping her eyes around the room and then settling her gaze on the front door. She wasn’t sure if there was a rear exit, but she could only hope her panicked look at Lainey had that covered. Finally, she looked directly at the woman. It was time she returned her stare. The minute she met her eyes, Payton felt a jolt run through her. The woman’s eyes swirled with unimaginable depths, almost pulling out Payton’s very being, analyzing her, as if she could see everything.
“Do you know anything about me?” she asked.
“No.” Payton took the opportunity to dart her light forward and into the woman’s head, but there was nothing there—just blank space. Not dark evil like her attackers, just . . . nothing. That was extremely unsettling.
“My name is Emily. I know something happened to you, something that scared the crap out of you. It did to me, too.”
Payton sat stock-still, not breaking eye contact. She’d be damned if she was giving anything away.
“I don’t know what you can do, or whether you know you can do anything at all, but I do know you’re one of us.”
What the fuck?
“Why are you here?”
“Somebody is trying to hunt us down, to hurt us. I wanted to make sure you were safe.”
Too late, Sunshine.
Payton crossed her arms in front of her. “That’s nice. I’m fine.”
“Whoever they are, they’ll find you eventually. You’re safer if you come with me.”
How could this woman sit there and lie right to her face? Did it have something to do with why her head was empty?
“What’s your power?” Emily leaned in. “Are you using it right now?”
Oh, hell no.
Payton had only just discovered her secret weapon herself. There was no way she was giving anyone else a preview, especially anyone who was in league with the freaks who kidnapped her. This was ending here. Her eyes locked onto Emily’s. It was time for all of them to leave her the hell alone.
“Listen, Lady. I don’t want anything to do with this. This is not my problem. You are not going to drag me back into your fucked-up mess.”
Emily raised her gaze and stared back, her green eyes swirling. If she didn’t know any better, Payton would swear Emily was able to reach out and rummage around inside her head just as easily as Payton could in others’.
“You’re already a part of it.”
“No, you assholes kidnapped me and now you think you’re just gonna storm in and tear my life apart again, spouting some stupid fucking bullshit about powers. You truly are a moron if you think I’m going to go with you.”
Emily leaned forward again and placed her hand over hers. Payton jerked back at the touch. If she’d thought the woman’s eyes sparked at her. . . .
No, there’s nothing there. All that shit with Cole has you on edge, that’s all.
Emily spoke again. “You don’t want to take this risk. Trust me, I know better than most, and I know you do, too.
“My friend knows, too.” Emily motioned over to Payton’s right. Payton turned around and nearly jumped out of her chair. Could she make it to the door before they caught her? Shit, was there a back entrance? No! That would mean leaving Lainey. She’d only known her for a little more than a month, but she was already the best friend Payton had ever had. There was no fucking way she was leaving her behind to face these assholes alone.
But that meant this was it. It was happening. She hadn’t been paranoid; she’d predicted the damn future. If they’d followed her halfway across the country, then they’d do it again halfway across the world, dragging her nightmares along with them. Payton was never going to escape this. She had to fight.
Now.
Payton stood, pushing the chair behind her with a loud scraping noise. She didn’t flinch, just tensed every muscle in her body and sent a burst of blinding light slamming into Keila’s head.
“What if she rejects you again, Keila?” Emily spoke first.
“She has no choice. They’re going after all of us and I can’t protect her when we’re apart like this.”
Keila’s thoughts morphed and Payton saw the giant bald man. She knew it!
No, wait.
They were in a bar of some sort, but not here in San Diego. The man struck out at Keila, sending her limp body crashing to the floor. Payton heard a roar as Keila crashed to the ground. Just before Keila’s eyes closed, she caught a glimpse of a tall man swinging a large piece of steel at her attacker’s head.
“Jason. . . .”
Keila whispered the name and it echoed through Payton’s mind.
Payton snapped back. She was still standing in the juice bar. Emily was still seated, and now curiosity mingled in her intense stare. Keila took a step toward her. No! She had to get out of there, had to wipe their minds. Had either of them seen Lainey? Fuck, could she even wipe the memories of someone else entirely? She had to try. These women had violated her home, her sanctuary.
Keila spoke. “You have to come with us. You’re in danger, Payton.”
Payton cocked her head to the side. “How the fuck did you even know my name?” She pushed past Emily and stopped just short of Keila, just close enough for a short-range Krav Maga attack.
Go on, try it.
“I don’t want anything to do with any of this shit—not you or your demented friends. Get the fuck out of my life and don’t ever come back.” She closed her eyes to focus. She had to let the light grow to the level she needed and so Payton braced herself for the inevitable physical attack. She only hoped that she could hold them off as well as Cole in the melee and keep her focus on her light.
There was no blow, no attack.
Instead she heard Emily whisper, “Keila, now! We have to leave now or we’ll never find her again. I just saw it.”
Payton’s eyes flew open. They were already gone.
17
Cole was sore as shit after hours of cardio and lifting weights. He felt like two hundred pounds of raw, bruised beef and his body was aching for a place to lie down and lose reality. His duplex was still three blocks away, and there was no place for him to sit down until he got there. It hadn’t been his demons that he was trying to outrun this time. No, it was something else entirely.
He still had that piece of paper stuck to his refrigerator, staring at him every time he walked into the kitchen. He could have his old life back tomorrow. If that was what he wanted.
Cole had thought everything he’d been through after the basement had been the hardest thing he’d done in his life. This was harder. As he had fought his way back, grown out of an emaciated shell of a person who could only dream of ever taking his life back, he never thought that in the end he’d want something else. Something entirely different but which could be just as amazing. He was never going to be the same person, not entirely. Maybe he needed a new reality, too.
The one constant was change, and all that shit. The thing was, Cole wasn’t sure he could handle any more of that right about now. Being a cop was familiar, almost comfortable, but was that enough?
Payton was something else again entirely. He saw her every day, their morning smoothies almost becoming a habit, and being in class with her, too. They’d sit and talk afterward, sometimes forgetting everything and everyone else around them. She was captivating, beautiful, and strong. And yet she kept her secrets, still.
More than once, he’d caught her survei
lling the streets, looking through windows before walking out any door, watching for something. She always took the back wall at their booth at the bar, clearly a defensive position. She may not have been diagnosed like he, but that didn’t mean she was doing okay. Her fear was taking her over, pulling her farther into that macabre dreamland, and she wasn’t telling him about it. As much as he understood, it hurt.
They supported one another and shared their struggles together. That had been the foundation of the relationship between them, and the connection they shared that he’d never found with anyone else. Her secret was like a wall between them. It was there every time her eyes darted around when he was talking to her and it was creeping up behind them when they walked on the beach. It was getting harder and harder for Cole to stop himself from grabbing her and begging her to tell him what the hell was going on.
Lost in thought, Cole walked up his newly weeded lawn and into the side door that led into his kitchen. He jogged to his bedroom and set his gym bag in place, then grabbed a water bottle from the fridge. That damn piece of paper had to go somewhere else. Every time Cole saw it, it was pulling him farther away, back into his old job. It would be so easy to just fall back into his old routine, but if he did, then he’d never find out what was going on with Payton. That bothered him more than he would admit out loud.
His ass was an inch away from sitting in his favorite armchair when someone rapped at his front door. Great, it was someone from work. All law enforcement knock the same way—quick and loud. Couldn’t they just leave him to figure this out in peace? At this rate, he was sure to come to a decision sometime in the next century.
He lumbered over and opened the door, but instead of the face of one of his squad mates, some very official-looking ID was staring him in the face.
“Cole Davis? Special Agent Reece Knight, FBI.”
Okay. This could not be good.
He didn’t say a word.
“Mr. Davis?” the man’s tone softened. “You’re not in any trouble. I just want to ask you a few questions.”
Yeah, that’s how they all started.
“Let me see that ID.”
Special Agent Knight passed it over and Cole turned the badge around in his hand, looking for any common inconsistencies. Huh, it looked like this guy might actually be legit. Which then immediately raised the question, what the hell was going on?
Cole backed up and opened the door. The FBI agent walked inside and Cole motioned him toward the couch before sitting in his armchair. The man sat on the edge of the couch, looking less than comfortable. That was new. Usually any fed he dealt with acted like they owned the entire room.
“Cole, do you know why I’m here?” Special Agent Knight shifted around on the black leather.
“Not a clue.”
“Honestly, I’m not here on official business.”
Cole stood. “Okay, this was fun. You should leave now.”
“Wait! I’m here because of Payton.”
Cole’s trigger finger itched, as if it was trying to decide where to put the first bullet. “The fuck you want with her?”
“Just hear me out. She’s in trouble, and she won’t listen to my friends.”
His eyes narrowed. “Better-avoid-the-feds trouble or actual trouble?”
“The kind of trouble that will see her wind up dead.”
Cole sat. “Talk. Now.”
“Just over a month ago, Payton was kidnapped by an organization. We’re not sure who it is, but they’re hunting down women like her.” Reece took a deep breath. “She’s special, Cole. She can do things, unique things.”
“She told me that’s all a bunch of bullshit.”
“Jesus,” Reece sighed, “I wish it was. Listen, I’m not your typical conspiracytheory nut. In fact, until last year, I was your regular runof-the-mill federal agent. Keep that in mind.”
Yeah, he knew the type. “Go on.”
“If I was making all this shit up, if it wasn’t real, I wouldn’t have lasted long at the bureau.” Reece paused again. “What I’m trying to say, and I want you to listen carefully, these women, they’re psychic.”
Ahuh. Yeah, Payton had these guys nailed already.
“Okay, I’m with her. Time to go.”
Reece stood. “This isn’t some tarot-reading parlor bullshit, Cole. The stuff I’ve seen would stop your heart. It almost killed my girl, and it’ll kill yours if we don’t stop them.”
A memory flashed into Cole’s mind, just a glimpse from his and Payton’s first night together. She’d known his pain, what he’d been through, intimately. He’d thought it had been only their shared experiences, but had something more linked them together?
“What can she do?”
Reece paused. “The M. O. for each of them is different. I’ve seen premonitions and long-distance communication. We don’t know what Payton can do yet.”
“She told me some of what happened, you know—that she was kidnapped. She left out any mention of psychic powers, but she’s hiding something from me. That much is obvious.”
Reece nodded. “This woman has abducted and killed at least ten other women, probably more, and we’re certain that she’s after Payton.”
“What woman? Payton was abducted by a big dude.”
“He’s dead. The other couple we’re traveling with killed him—Jason and Keila. They rescued Payton the first time, but she didn’t trust them enough to go with them then, either.”
So Payton had known about all this the whole time? Cole slumped down in his chair. “I know. That night haunts her. I think she has PTSD.”
“Well, shit. That’s helpful.”
“These other women, are they dangerous?” Reece Knight might be in with them, but he was also a fellow law-enforcement officer. Hopefully he wouldn’t be a complete asshole with the truth.
“No.” Reece’s tone was firm. “They’re good people. I firmly believe Payton is safer with them. Both of you, meet them with me, just give us a chance. Trust your instincts here, Cole.”
Cole shook his head. “No way Payton’s going for that. She needs help, but she’s still scared out of her mind.”
“Just meet with us, that’s all,” Reece implored. “The girls already tried with Payton, but she didn’t want to hear it. We thought you and I might have enough in common that you’d listen to me.”
Cole looked him over, taking in Reece’s firm eye contact and body language. His breathing was even and his hands lay lightly on the couch, his feet still. He wasn’t lying. “I think, just for the moment, I will take you at your word. Payton’s a different story. She’s not going to trust you. All she remembers was a blonde woman and the giant man. She’s blaming you all.”
“Damn it.” Reece sat straight up. “Her life is in danger.” He sat back and let out a deep sigh. “I didn’t believe my own girl at first, either, and it nearly got her killed. Don’t either of you make the same mistake.”
Cole reached in his pocket to pull out his cell phone. “Give me your number. I’ll talk to her and then be in touch, maybe.”
“Thank you. That’s a start.”
Reece gave Cole his information and he let himself out, leaving Cole sitting in his chair, unable to think or move as Reece’s story caught up with him. Images of Payton burdened by metaphysical secrets and danger swirled through his mind. Payton probably already knew what was happening. That’s why she’d been so damn determined to learn how to hold her own. Pushing herself so hard, strengthening her body—that was all part of whatever the hell this was. Cole respected the hell out of her for it, but it wouldn’t be enough. Not if Reece was right.
He could get up right now, walk to her apartment, and tell her that he knew her secret. Shit, she could be in trouble this very second and he wasn’t there to help. He’d looked into her eyes, tasted her lips, and now she might die just because of who she was? Whatever she could do, it must be extraordinary.
No, he was speculating too much. None of that mattered. What mattered was
whether or not he could help her, save her from what was coming. Cole pushed himself out of his chair, changed quickly, and then reached into his closet, bending down and opening an old wooden box that his father had made when Cole was just a kid.
The irony of the situation stabbed into Cole’s psyche. The gun was still heavy and cold, just as it had been that first night home, when he’d pulled it out and placed it, cocked, against his own head. Now he was going to use it to save a girl, and save himself, too.
18
Ever since that first night at the bar, when the man had tried to feel her up—and then worse outside in the parking lot—Payton had been afraid. She didn’t let it show, not to others or to herself, but it had been there, quietly simmering away. Ever since the attack, her emotions felt like they were on a tilt-a-whirl, flipping and changing every minute. Then she’d been approached by Emily and Keila, and something had shifted again, but this time permanently into place. She’d faced them and survived it. Okay, they’d run away, but it was a start. She’d been scared of her kidnappers, then the parking lot asshole, followed swiftly by Green Eyes and even by her own burgeoning power. But when it came down to it, what she’d really been scared of was being her; finding herself all alone in the world again.
But then she’d met Rita, who’d seen a hell of a lot more than Payton had realized. Lainey, her friend who always brought the sunshine in. And then there was Cole. Payton still had no idea how to define what was happening with him, but she knew it could be good. Damn good. She was done being afraid of letting someone else in. If he wanted to see what this “whatever” between them could become, she was all for it. She was going to be herself—physic powers and all—and just live. Despite everything flying at her the past month, she’d been happier than she could ever remember being. There was no way she was letting some invisible monster and his psychotic psychic friends fuck it up.
Payton (Dreamcatchers Romantic Suspense Series Book 3) Page 12
