by Anna Durand
"I tell you this not as an excuse, but merely an explanation."
"Save it. I'm not interested." Except a part of her was, for reasons she too confusing to examine, for fear he might lure her into forgetting his abuse of Cari. Maybe he'd injected her with more of the anti-willpower drug, or maybe she'd lost her mind.
Or else her intuition was speaking to her again. Urging her to, if not trust him, at least understand his mindset. Know your enemy, right?
A yawn overtook her, and she shook herself to cast off the fatigue, but to no avail. Her eyelids had morphed into lead aprons, drifting ever downward.
Images streaked through her mind, half dream, half memory. David standing rigid as a statue in front of her, as she bid him goodbye. His blond hair glowing in the moonlight. The stoic expression on his face. Nothing revealed, nothing shared. Her warrior angel.
David. In the woods. With Tesler hot on his trail. Just like in her vision.
She jerked awake. Her heart hammered, her breaths gasped, and she gripped the cushioned arms of her chair so tightly her knuckles ached. A cone of lamplight enveloped her. A padded seat cradled her buttocks, and the chair's back supported her head and neck with equal cushiness. As she uncurled her fingers from the chair arms, the velvety fabric caressed her skin. She dragged in a deep breath, letting it out in one long, ragged sigh. Her pulse slowed, though it still raced.
Where the hell was she?
Not in the car. She blinked away the bleariness of sleep, rotating her head back and forth to absorb her surroundings. She sat in a chair bolted to the floor, beside a small window. Outside, she spied clouds scudding by in the milky glow of the moon. A jet engine whined, muted by the insulation of the aircraft.
She must be in Amador's jet.
Her suspicion solidified into certainty when Gabriel Amador strode out of a curtained doorway to her left and took a seat in the chair across from her. He cupped a bottle of water in one hand. A small table, fashioned from what looked like polished cherry wood, separated them. She straightened, smoothed her shirt, and tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear. Her heart no longer raced, but anxiety rippled through her like an electrical current.
"Why are you here?" she said. "I told you to stay away from me."
Ramrod straight in his chair, he studied her without expression. Why did men love to give her the stoic treatment? "You were in no condition to travel alone. I couldn't wake you, and I will not abandon you on this plane without knowing you will awaken at some point."
"You could've called a doctor."
He shrugged one shoulder. "No physician can heal psychic wounds. Whatever you did to save David, it drained you with devastating effect." He offered the water bottle to her. "Drink this. You should replenish your fluids."
She stared at the bottle, her anxiety surging. Drugged? Ah hell. If he wanted to drug her, he could've done it while she was unconscious. And her mouth was dry. Snatching the bottle from him, she unscrewed the cap and swigged several mouthfuls. "Thank you. For the water, and for the ride." She watched a slender cloud slip past the window. "Where are we headed?"
"You said Montana, so I instructed the pilot to chart a course for a private airstrip owned by a trusted ally. It's located near Bozeman."
"Close enough." She didn't understand how she knew David's location, and she couldn't recite the coordinates, but she sensed his whereabouts. She'd given up understanding what the Golden Power did to her. At least for the moment. Once she had David back, and Tesler was dealt with, she'd examine her brushes with limitless power.
Brushes? Maybe that word applied to the first instance. This time, however, she succumbed to the power completely.
The old anxiety buzzed in her veins, electrifying her skin. The sour taste of acid infiltrated her mouth. She gulped down another mouthful of water. The acrid flavor lingered.
For David, she would risk anything. Even if it creeped her out big time and made her long for a nice dark corner to hide in.
No hiding. With David in the woods, like in her vision, the premonition still might come true. Tesler sought David, and he would stop at nothing to capture him and use him for leverage, to draw her into the open. It might work too. She knew it. Confronted with a choice to save herself or David, she'd choose him.
Amador leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. Hands clasped, he fixed his dark eyes on her. The lamplight ignited paler specks in his irises she'd never noticed before. Dark caramel dribbled onto coffee, that's what his eyes resembled. A silly image, but somehow it suited him.
"How long was I out?" she asked.
"Two hours. We've nearly reached Bozeman."
Her stomach sank as the jet pitched into a descent. She sipped the water, but her insides refused to calm. "When we land, I go alone. You stay here."
"Please, Grace, allow me to help you." He scooted forward to the edge of his seat and eased a hand down onto her knee. "I wish no harm to David. I will do whatever I can to protect you both."
What about Sean and David's new friend? She bit back the question, unwilling to reveal any more just yet. Then again, if she intended for the lot of them to flee on Amador's jet, he'd find out soon enough. She grumbled out a sigh. "David isn't alone. He has two others with him."
"They are all welcome on my jet." He swept his arm through the air in an expansive gesture. "As you can see, I have plenty of room."
She counted the empty seats aligned in rows and the pair flanking a sofa. A dozen chairs. Yeah, he had room all right.
Goose bumps prickled her arms, as the hairs on her neck stiffened. Amador's attention, riveted to her, triggered a physical response. She folded her hands on her lap. "Why did you drug me?"
He drooped in his seat, closing his eyes as he shook his head. "It was a terrible mistake. I'm sorry." He raked a hand through his hair, mussing it. "I hoped the serum would help you with your powers, yes, but mostly I wanted to make you more receptive." He covered his eyes with his hand. "To me."
"You were trying to seduce me?"
"No." He pulled himself up and met her gaze. "I needed you to believe me, to help me. The serum seemed my best option to make that happen. Time is running out, Grace. For all of us."
His words penetrated her soul, pins and needles jabbed into her core. "What do you mean time is running out?"
He exhaled, and his shoulders slumped again. "Tesler. He plans to capture you and mine your brain for the secrets to psychic power. He already knows how to shatter minds and bend them to his control. Once he has what he needs from you… " Amador grasped his knees. "He will create an army of psychics who obey his will and his will alone. The Golden Power will make it possible."
The world lurched around her, though the jet stayed level. She gripped the arms of her seat, hanging on until the spinning ceased. An army of brainwashed psychics. Tesler in command. Her breaths quickened, her pulse too. Heartbeats thundered in her ears, raged through her veins, and scorched out her thoughts. She'd seen what Tesler's methods did to psychics. Andrew Haley, coerced into reading minds, catapulted straight into insanity. And her own brushes with the Golden Power tainted her with a sourness she could not shake. If Tesler mined her for answers, unlocking the secrets to imbuing anyone with psychic abilities and to controlling those subjects, then he could rule the world. Literally. Plant a damn jeweled crown on his head and genuflect before the master.
Hell no.
Grace shot to her feet, hands clenched at her sides. "We have to stop him."
Amador sighed. "It will not be easy. He'll fight and claw and destroy anything that gets in his way. Even you aren't strong enough to stop him." Amador eyed her, his lips compressed. "Unless… "
"I use the Golden Power again."
"Yes."
A shudder racked her body, knocking her off kilter. She dropped back onto her seat. She vowed to never ever use the Golden Power again. But
her sabotage of Tesler's facility wouldn't slow him down for long. He'd hunt down David. Punish him. Leverage him.
And she'd cave in to Tesler's demands.
Which left her one option.
Tap into the ultimate power, no matter the cost. If it meant insanity, fine. If it molded her into something else, something more and less than herself, then she'd swallow the consequences whole. Even if it choked her.
She glared out the window, into a night as thick and suffocating as a drenched wool blanket. "I'll do it. To stop Tesler, I will tap into the Golden Power."
And if it mutated her into a monster, heaven help the rest of the world. She squeezed her eyes shut and beamed a message out to David, praying he'd receive it.
Kill me, David. If it comes down to me or the world, kill me.
Chapter Twenty
David jolted awake. The back of his head smacked into the wall, radiating pains through his skull. The hammering of his heart shattered the quiet inside the cabin, though only inside his head. Christ. He'd fallen asleep, despite his promise to Sean and Nkosi that he'd keep watch while they slept.
Burning wood crackled in the stone fireplace a dozen feet away. Tongues of flame licked the air and spilled flickering light into the living room, drowning out the pale moonlight beyond the windows above his head. Nkosi dozed on the sofa. Sean, curled up in an overstuffed armchair, watched David through half-closed lids.
Kill me.
A voice begged him, inside his mind. Kill me, David.
He jerked forward, palms on his outstretched legs, nails digging in. Grace was calling to him. Her energy coursed down their connection, her words a despondent plea. Why the hell would she ask him to kill her?
Amador.
David ground his teeth. The bastard must've hurt Grace. Tortured her. Driven her to the brink of insanity. For no other reason would she beg to die.
With a flourish of power, he reached out to Grace. Her life essence burned like a fireball, blazing into him, around him, through him. He gasped and pulled back from the link, from her. The withdrawal carved out a hollow space nothing could fill. Except her. With him, for real this time, not as a manifested entity of shocking power, but as the sweet and passionate woman he cherished.
He snaked out a tendril of energy, testing the waters. Grace, are you all right? Her love beamed into him — incandescent, gentle, endless — wringing tears from his eyes. Tears? God almighty, he had never cried before. Never. But bathed in her reverence, he could not stem the flow, because beneath the love simmered a darker energy that clawed for control of Grace. The Golden Power squatted within her, a ghost of limitless power, and it craved more.
Let it go, Grace, please let it go.
"What's the matter?"
Sean's voice, tight with anxiety, shattered the connection, yanking David back to the here and now. Gasping for breaths, he swiped at his eyes. Sean did not need to see him weeping. Aside from the macho reasons for hiding his tears, he knew the sight of them would ratchet up Sean's nervousness. David cleared his throat, straightened, and said, "I'm fine. Go back to sleep."
Sean slid off the chair and crawled across the bare wood floor to David — crawled because he'd admonished Sean to keep a low profile in the vicinity of the windows. "I can take over so you can rest."
"No thanks." As if he could take a nap knowing Grace was in trouble. Perhaps not physical danger, but the psychic variety might prove equally dangerous. The knowledge of her state, of the threat lurking in her own mind, grated on his last nerve. "I'd rather sit up a little longer."
"Me too." Sean scooted backward into the wall. "Can't sleep. Keep thinking about — stuff."
David eyed him sideways. "Tesler won't find us yet. Grace made sure of that. She'll come for us before any bad guys track us down."
"Yeah… " Sean drew his knees to his chest and folded his arms over them. "That's what I keep thinking about. Grace."
"What do you mean?"
"Her power. She's… scary strong." Sean flinched, as if in expectation of a slap. "I like her, you know I do, she's really cool."
But he was afraid of her. Who wouldn't be? David propped one elbow on his bent knee and cradled his forehead in his palm. "I know she was different the last time we saw her, but she's still the same old Grace." He prayed he wasn't lying. "She needs a little time to recover from using the Golden Power, that's all."
Sean stiffened. "She used it? Again? I thought she hated it. Why would she use it knowing what it does to her?"
David sighed, a long and wistful breath. Sean knew nothing about what transpired in the room with Tesler. About the deaths. About Grace's appearance. He scratched his scalp, his still braced on his palm. "She had to do it to save my life." Which made all of this his fault. He must right the wrong before Grace lost her humanity, her sanity, to the ultimate power. "Tesler killed me and Nkosi. Grace brought us both back."
Sean's mouth rounded into an O, his eyes widening. "Whoa. I didn't know she could pull that off, even with the Golden Power."
"Yes you do." David lifted his head to look at Sean. "She did it six months ago."
"Noooo, that was way different. We were injured, not dead."
Shit. Sean was right. The last thread of David's hope snapped. Grace had gone too far this time, too deep into the psychic realm. How on earth could he bring her back?
An ember of hope hid beneath the ashes. Earlier tonight, he coaxed her back from the depths. He could do it again.
How many times would his failures push her to take measures no one should have to resort to? He let her down in so many ways. Taking off on Tesler hunts. Abandoning her. Refusing to answer her questions. Ignoring her fears because it suited his needs, his quest for…
What? Protecting Grace, yes. If he was man enough to admit the whole truth, though, he had another reason for his obsession with Tesler. He sought redemption.
Did he deserve it? His betrayal loomed between them, a monolithic impediment, one she knew nothing about — because he was terrified to tell her.
Sean coughed and rubbed his neck. "You know, since my mom died, you guys are like my family." He fiddled with his shoelace. "So try not to get killed, okay?"
David leaned his head against the wall. "I won't let anything happen to you or Grace."
"Wish I could heal the dead. Can't even heal myself. Is the Golden Power really so awful?"
"You don't want it. Trust me."
Energy rushed through him, hot and sweet and oh-so-familiar. She was here.
David leaped up, tore the cabin door open, and barreled out into the night, toward the one thing in this world that mattered more to him than his own life.
Grace.
She spotted the cabin up ahead, through a screen of trees. Her heartbeat quickened. Her skin tingled with awareness. David. Their connection swung wide open, her mind welcoming his without reservation. The energy of him flooded into her, stealing her breath. She stumbled.
Amador seized her arm, steadying her.
She jerked free of him. "Thanks. But remember, the only reason you're here is because I need backup in case Tesler's men find us." She tapped the grip of the handgun strapped to his belt. "You sure you've got the stomach for shooting somebody?"
He bristled. "Yes. If you can do it, so can I."
"It's not a contest. Shooting people is… unpleasant." Memories flashed through her mind, sharp and blinding, but she cast them aside. "If it comes down to us or them, I need to know you can do whatever it takes."
Amador nodded. "I can. I will."
His expression gave away nothing, and a thought flitted through her brain. Maybe he likes hurting people. He tortured an innocent girl. Yet harming a helpless child was far different from firing on well-armed, well-trained muscle men. Would he cower in the face of real danger?
She let Amador tag along strictly because she real
ized he planned on trailing behind her if she rejected his offer to accompany her. Men. Psychotic or sane, they all had macho streaks laced with pigheadedness.
"Shall we continue?" Amador asked.
"Yes." She faced toward the clearing, and the cabin nestled on the opposite side. "When we get there, you do not speak or do anything unless I say so. Got it?"
"Of course." He grunted. "David will not be pleased to see me."
So naturally, Amador sounded quite pleased with himself for the future irritation he'd inflict on David.
Grace marched out into the clearing.
The cabin door banged open, the sound echoing off the trees. A figure rocketed outside, headed straight for them. Her heart pounded. Tears spilled down her cheeks.
She bolted toward David.
He swept her up into an embrace so tight it squeezed the breath out of her. She flung her arms around his neck, burying her face in his shoulder. Her feet dangled in midair, but she cared about nothing except losing herself in the feel of his hard, warm body. Life surged through his veins, down their psychic link, pouring into her. She sealed her mouth over his, her fingers in his hair, his hands stroking her back. She savored the spicy taste of him, the delicious friction of his mouth on hers, the unique and irresistible scent of him.
"Oh man," Sean hollered, "you guys need a room so bad."
His taunt barely registered through the fog of desire. David had kissed her hours ago, in her manifested form, but this…
No comparison.
He set her down. His flavor infused her mouth, and she licked her lips. Though she yearned for more, she sensed his mood had shifted.
His hands settled on her hips. "'I'd like to finish that conversation we started yesterday."
"Oh, you mean when you tried to dump me?"
