They put Troy in a bedroom on the ground floor and they each took turns guarding him. Jess took the first shift, allowing his colleagues to eat. The boy never stirred. It seemed as if he hadn’t slept in years. His feet hung off the bottom of the full-size bed, but in spite of his size, he appeared young and innocent at least in sleep.
He came awake only when Rain brought food and forced him to take some soup or herbal tea. She had a knack for getting him to eat even in his drugged exhaustion.
On the second day in Adianca’s home, Jess woke from a few hours of sleep and made his way toward the kitchen. Joshua and Rain were sitting at the table. Jess had to make an effort not to use his psi senses to find out what they were talking about.
Joshua’s voice carried throughout the room. “I think that’s an excellent idea, Rain. I’ll make arrangements as soon as possible.”
Rain noticed Jess’ approach, turned and beamed at him. His heartbeat sped up. Pull yourself together, McMean.
Returning the smile, he made his way into the kitchen and poured a cup of coffee. “What are you two planning?”
It was Joshua who spoke. “Evidently you pointed out that most Alliance agents have had military or paramilitary training. Rain asked if something could be arranged for her.”
Jess turned and stared at her. She shrugged. “I thought I might be able to go through a police academy.”
He wanted to say that he would train her. He wanted to keep her with him all the time. Yet he couldn’t help the bubble of pride her request started inside him. “I agree with Josh. It’s a great idea.”
“It will take me out of action for six months, but I think it will be worth it.”
“I have a friend in New Jersey who can help. You’ll have to take the exam, but I don’t think you’ll have much trouble. You can probably get into the July class and be done in December.” Joshua stood up. “In the meantime, we have work to do. Tessa and I are heading home to sort out a few things. We’ll be back tonight. Do either of you need anything?”
They both said they were fine and Joshua left the cabin.
“You’re upset with me.” She looked down into her teacup.
Jess sat down, cradled his coffee mug between both hands and let the aroma wake him. “No, cher. I really do think it’s a great idea. You’ll feel more confident after you’ve gone through the academy.”
“But?”
He smiled at how perceptive she was. “But I’m going to miss you. You’ll be in New Jersey for six months and I’ll have to work. It will be difficult to see each other and I’m a selfish bastard.”
A musical bubble of laughter tumbled from her lips and hit him square in the heart. He leaned across the corner of the table and captured her lips in a long kiss.
Rain sighed softly. “I’m going to miss you too.”
Kane stepped out of Troy’s bedroom. “Rain, he’s stirring.”
She got up from the table and headed for the bedroom.
“What are you doing?” Jess had that tightness in his gut again. It was the same feeling he had every time she put herself in danger.
She was halfway across the room by the time she spoke. “I’m going to try to heal his mind.”
The knot tightened and he rushed across the room to cut her off. He took hold of her arm. “Wait a damn minute. You are not going poking around in a damaged kid whom we know nothing about.”
The sadness that filled her expression was completely unfair. He was trying to protect her. Couldn’t she see that? The way she looked at him made him feel like an asshole for doing what he was meant to do.
“He’s in pain and I can help. I won’t put myself in danger, Jess. I’m a healer. It’s what I do.”
“What if the cause of his pain is too much for you?”
She touched his cheek. “Then I’ll back away.”
He had to take three deep breaths before he was able to force himself to say the right thing. “Fine, but I’m coming in there with you.”
“It would be better if you stayed out here.”
“This is not negotiable, Rain. I’m coming in or you’re not going in.”
“All right, but no mind bending. He’s been manipulated enough.”
“I will only use force of any kind as a last resort.”
Kane stayed in the room too. Both men watched helplessly while Rain’s face twisted and the color drained from her cheeks.
It was unfair. She’d made him promise not to probe inside her mind and now he’d sworn not to manipulate this kid. She’d taken all his weapons away and left him helpless.
He looked over at Kane. A small smile lit his face. Kane was a talented telepath and a healer in his own right.
Without speaking a word an agreement was struck and Kane’s focus turned toward the healing. Jess was able to relax if only slightly. He knew if things went bad, Kane would sever her connection.
An hour later, she stood up on rickety legs. “I think he’s going to be okay. I need to sleep for a while.”
She stopped between the two men standing sentinel at the door. “I know you were there on the fringes and I know it was your doing.”
Rain didn’t really sound angry. Maybe annoyed, but not angry. That was a good sign. “I didn’t break my word and we only want to keep you safe. We are a team and you are going to have to get used to that. You don’t work alone anymore, Rain.”
After a few hours of sleep, she felt more herself. She wanted to be angry with Jess for stretching the terms of his promise, but how could she when he only wanted to protect her? It was dangerous to heal a person when you didn’t know the cause of their injury. She had taken a risk.
Troy Breckenridge’s injuries would take time to heal. She had mended what she could, but the things his father had inflicted upon him were monstrous. It would take a lifetime to heal all the damage that had been done. She prayed to the Great Spirit that Troy was strong enough to overcome his past.
She had done all she could do and now, sitting by his bed she was helpless. All she could do was wait.
His eyes popped open as if he’d been awake for a while. The light blue was ringed with midnight and even with his pupils dilated from sleep, the contrast was startling.
“Where am I?”
“Nevada.”
“Bullshit.”
She laughed. “No. You’re in Nevada, not far from Las Vegas.”
“You don’t look like a doctor. Who are you?”
“Rain Silver, I’m not a doctor. I’m a medicine woman and I’m the same as you.”
“No one is like me.”
“Do you remember the hospital, Troy?”
He sat up and moved to the edge of the bed. “Where’s my father?”
The door opened. Rain didn’t need to turn around to know that Jess had come in. She could feel his presence as if he was an extension of herself. Strange how their connection had grown.
Troy’s eyes widened. He stood up and crouched as if to defend himself.
“No one is going to hurt you here, Troy.”
His eyes narrowed. “If that were true, you wouldn’t have called in the muscle. Who is he, an orderly with a needle behind his back? I know the drill. Where’s my father? What does he want to know?”
In spite of Troy towering over her, Rain stayed in the chair and looked up at him. He’d been through so much it was no wonder he was filled with fear and doubt. “Your father is not here. If you want to be returned to him, I will arrange it. All I ask is that you give me a chance to explain who we are and why we pulled you out of the hospital. After that, if you want to go back to Virginia, we can have you back there this afternoon. I understand you’re a dowser. I’m sure you can tell that my friend and I are psychic.”
Troy looked from Rain to Jess and kept his gaze fixed on the other man. Jess moved his hands from behind his back and opened the palms toward the younger man, showing that they were free of hypodermic needles or anything else. Troy sat on the edge of the bed. “If I want to walk out that
door, you won’t stop me?”
“You’re not a prisoner. I would prefer it if you stayed and talked to me, but if you feel you must leave…” Rain stood up and moved to one side. Jess opened the door, revealing the living area of Adianca’s log cabin. Dark wood and homey furnishings painted a picture of comfort. It must not have been what Troy expected, his face registered the shock.
Adianca’s heavily wrinkled face peeked around the doorway. The rest of her followed and she grinned. “You look much better, son.” She held out her hand. “Come. I have food for you. You must want something to eat. I don’t know what they fed you back east, but I have steak and potatoes cooking in the kitchen.”
Rain had wanted to talk to Troy. They needed information and they had been waiting days for him to wake up. Yet she saw the wisdom of Adianca’s approach. Her mentor’s methods were gentler where needed. This boy had been abused. He deserved a bit of coddling.
With only a slight hesitation, Troy wrapped his enormous hand around the healer’s frail one and walked into the main part of the cabin. The warm smells of home cooking filled the air and even Rain’s stomach was not immune. She smiled at Jess and they followed the pair out of the bedroom.
Kane stood by the front door with his arms crossed over his chest, looking annoyed. “Shaman, we don’t have time for this.”
Adianca’s expression remained impassive. “When you are imprisoned for the better part of your life, we shall see if you want to talk before you’ve had a good meal, little Lakeland.”
He grumbled something about wishing she wouldn’t call him that and leaned against the wall silently.
The amount of food consumed by Troy Breckenridge had to be some kind of record. Rain and Jess ate with him but then sat and watched while he continued to devour every morsel of food for the next hour and a half.
Finally, he leaned back in the chair and looked up from the table. He looked down at his clothes. The hospital attire was basically pajamas, green-and-white-striped bottoms and a light-green tee-shirt. “Do you have any clothes that would fit me?”
“Jon has gone to find you some.” Adianca sat next to him.
Jess stood and started to clear the table so Rain followed suit and helped him.
Troy asked, “Who is Jon?”
“Jon is a friend who lives here on the reservation.”
“I’m on a reservation?”
“You are on the Shoshone Reservation. You are safe here for the time being.”
“What do you want from me?”
“There is much you need to know, son. These people can help you.”
“Why would they want to help me? They don’t even know me. Who are you? How did I get here?”
Adianca smiled. “It would be better if they explained. You should listen very carefully. They will tell you things that you will not want to hear, but it is information you will need so you can decide the course of the rest of your life.”
Chapter Twelve
“Let me see if I’ve got this right, you are all psychic and work as a law enforcement agency. You are some of the same people my father has been having me locate for the last year. Some of your friends have died because of the information I provided. Yet you came to the hospital and rescued me out of the goodness of your hearts.”
The team sat around the living room. Rain and Jess explained everything to Troy and he had remained silent while they told the full story. Joshua and Tessa walked in halfway through the telling and took seats. Kane continued to stand guard. Jon showed up with the clothes for Troy and now waited next to Kane.
Rain smiled. “I know it’s a lot to take in.”
“Um, I think you’re all nuts.”
“Why?”
“Didn’t my father tell you what I am?” His eyes narrowed on a point somewhere over her left shoulder. She heard a crack and turned.
Adianca had tourist shop souvenir nesting dolls lining a shelf. They had been painted to resemble squaws. The largest one crumbled into a dozen pieces.
Rain couldn’t help smiling, she’d always hated those dolls. Other than her smile, none of the team reacted. “He told us.”
“I’m a monster.”
“No. You’re a man who had the bad luck to have a father with a narrow mind and a cold heart. We’re not afraid of you, Troy, because most of us have been called monsters too. You can use your ability any way you want. You are free to walk out of here and start a new life. You can try to kill all of us, go back to your father and the hospital or stay here and maybe do some good.”
His expression changed from doubt to something that looked similar to hope. “You want me to help you?”
Rain turned to Joshua who stood and began pacing before he spoke. “Look, if you were interested in joining the Psi Alliance, you’d need training and you’d have to go through a probe. I’m not just letting anyone have access to my people.”
It was not exactly the warm invitation Rain had been hoping Troy would get, but it didn’t seem to faze him. If anything, he seemed comforted by the lack of enthusiasm. “I’ll give it some thought.”
“We understand. You’d have to fight a battle where the enemy is your father. It’s totally understandable to shy away from that.” Joshua faced Troy with his hands on his hips.
“It’s not him. I’d like nothing better than to see him ruined. If you knew half the things he’s done to me… Just for my mother’s sake, I want to see him pay.”
“What is it then?”
Troy stood up and everyone tensed. He opened his arms wide as he spoke. “Look. I’ve been in one hospital after another since I was eight years old. I don’t even know who I am. I’ve been doped up, beaten down, and it all started with my mother’s death. I’m not willing to enter another prison in a trade for the old one.”
The lights in the house shimmered. Joshua was getting angry. “This is not a prison.”
Troy looked at his surroundings. His gaze lingered on Adianca who sat at the long kitchen table watching and listening. “No, I know it’s not. I appreciate you bringing me here and getting me away from my father. I want to help you. I just need some time.”
Kane, Jess, Joshua and Tessa all started talking. Kane said the boy was ungrateful. Jess said to give him a break. Tessa and Joshua were arguing about the fact that they didn’t have any time and now what where they going to do. They had to find Will.
Again the lights flickered and the one over the kitchen sink blinked out.
Adianca’s voice was soft yet somehow she cut through the din. “Lakeland, calm yourself. He has not said he wouldn’t help, only that he cannot right now. It is a sensible response. Did you only save him for your own gain?”
Joshua’s face reddened. “No, shaman. We did it because it was the right thing to do. I only hoped to gain an advantage.”
“And so you have, he no longer tracks for those who want you dead.”
Rain tried to hide her smile. It was amazing how powerful men were quelled in the presence of one old woman.
“So what are we going to do now?” Rain and Jess walked along a dirt path that twisted through the desert scrub. The sun was setting and the desert glowed a hundred shades of orange and red. She loved the evening here.
“We’ll wait for word from Piper and go find Will. In the meantime you and I will work on improving your psychic control until you enter the police academy.”
“Do you really think Will is still alive?” Her gut tightened. She liked the sharpshooter. He was a puzzle, but there was something about him she trusted.
They were making their way back toward the house and Jess pulled her behind the shed where an ATV and other equipment were stored. His arms banded around her and his lips pressed against her neck. For a long minute he just held her close and she breathed in his warm, masculine scent.
“I think he’s still alive.”
“I agree.” Troy stepped around the corner. He had changed into the jeans and button-down flannel that Jon had brought him. He looked as if he w
as a normal guy in his early twenties, though his eyes still had a haunted quality that made Rain’s heart ache.
Jess instantly put himself between her and the intruder.
Troy put his hands up in surrender. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. I have a habit of doing that. It may even be a psi gift. People rarely hear me approach.” He shrugged as if it didn’t amount to anything.
Rain forced her way around Jess. “What makes you think our friend is still alive?”
“I heard Joshua say he’s not psi. The only reason my father would have taken a non-psychic is to lure some of you out into the open.”
“And?”
“I was thinking that it was a bit too easy for you to get to me.”
“We’re pretty good at what we do.” Jess sounded defensive, but Rain could see his mind working. There was merit in what Troy said. It had been particularly easy to get in and out of the hospital.
“Maybe, but I think my father might have let you take me, so he could attack and claim I was the reason. Who would blame a father for trying to protect his son?” Bitterness dripped from every word.
Rain didn’t like the sound of this. “But he’d be putting you in danger. You could get killed in the crossfire.”
If a smile could be filled with rage, that was the expression spreading across Troy Breckenridge’s face. “My father would consider that a bonus.”
“How would they find you? We checked you for hardware before we brought you here.”
Jess groaned. “Have you had any surgeries? Deep cuts that required stitches, anything like that?”
Troy cast his eyes at the ground. She could practically see his mind trying to remember something. “I’ve been pretty well drugged up for the past few months, even more than usual.”
Rain had a really bad feeling.
“Maybe we should go inside and check. They could have put a homing device under your skin and you might not even know it.”
“There is this.” Troy pulled up the back of his shirt and exposed a section of his lower back. There was a space about the size of a pea that was scarred.
Training Rain Page 17
