by JANIE CROUGH
Calm. Down. What in the world was the matter with him?
“I’m sure you’ve heard rumors. I have a special talent. I can profile evil very well.”
Seth nodded. “Exactly how did you use your talent to help the Bureau?”
“The closer I am to a person with malicious intent, the more clearly I can sense what the person is thinking. And I don’t have to be near the actual person. I can be around something he or she has touched or been near and be able to ‘read’ the evil.”
“Bloodhound,” Conner muttered under his breath, shaking his head. He still didn’t believe any of it.
“Yes, it’s an accurate description, I suppose.” Adrienne’s smile was rueful. “Although I was glad nobody ever called me that to my face. Teenage girls don’t respond well to being told they’re like a dog.”
Conner still did not like this teenager talk. He planned to have a discussion about Adrienne with Chief Kelly as soon as possible.
“So you’re a psychic? Or an empath or something like that?” Harrington asked gently, although his doubts crept into his tone.
“No, not really. I don’t have superpowers. I can’t read people’s minds or anything. I don’t feel what other people are feeling. Like, if you were sad right now, I wouldn’t feel your sadness. Really it’s just evil I feel, malicious intent. It’s kind of like they draw me into their thoughts.”
“Why? How?” Conner didn’t attempt to hide his incredulity at all.
“I don’t know. Some people are terribly sensitive to heat or light. My brain is just sensitive to negative energy.”
“Do you feel it about everybody?”
“No. Most people aren’t menacing. They can be catty and rude, but usually it’s due to their own insecurity rather than actual malevolence.”
“So how do you ‘sense’ it? Do you see images? Have visions?” Seth asked.
“Hear little voices in your head?” Conner tagged on.
Adrienne ignored Conner. “The closer I am to the person—in terms of physical proximity—the clearer I can sense everything. From far away it’s like seeing and hearing through multiple panes of glass—difficult to make out the details. If I am close, it’s like being inside someone’s head. I can see and hear everything.”
Conner didn’t believe any of this. “So what if I want you to demonstrate your ‘powers’? Can you do that?”
Adrienne’s irritated gaze swung around to Conner again. “Not really.”
“Well, that’s pretty convenient, isn’t it?” Conner snapped.
More glaring was shared between Adrienne and Conner. “It’s not a dog and pony show, Special Agent Jackass.”
That got a snicker from Seth.
“And no offense, but I don’t owe you anything.”
Conner stood up before he was even aware of what he was doing and took a step toward Adrienne. What was it about this one tiny woman that made him feel like he was about to jump out of his own skin?
Fortunately Seth waylaid him before he had a chance to... Conner had no idea what he would’ve done when he reached Adrienne.
“Adrienne, can you excuse us for a moment? I need to discuss a text I just received with Agent Perigo out on the porch.”
Seth grabbed Conner’s arm—hard—and began pushing him through the small living room and out the front door.
“What?” Conner barked at him the moment the door was closed.
“You’re asking me what?” There was obviously no text Seth wanted to show him. “I was just wondering if you wanted to arrest her. Maybe you’ve got her fingered as our killer.”
“What?” Conner felt like a parrot.
“Well, the way you’ve been treating her, Agent Jackass, is like she’s a perp, or at the very least some sort of hostile witness.”
Conner rubbed his hand over his face wearily. Everything Harrington was saying was true.
“I don’t know what the hell’s the matter with me, Seth.”
“I don’t know either, but you’ve got to get yourself under control. She’s not the bad guy here.”
“I know.”
“You think this is a waste of time, Con, I get that. And to be honest, I don’t know what to believe, either. But if what she’s saying—what Chief Kelly said—is true...”
“Then it could really be the break in the case we’ve been hoping for,” Conner finished for him.
“You don’t like her, for whatever reason. Fine. But let’s see what she can do.”
Conner almost corrected Seth but stopped. It wasn’t that he didn’t like Adrienne Jeffries—he hadn’t made up his mind whether he liked the little spitfire or not. But liking or disliking didn’t really seem to matter. He was affected by her. And it made him damn uncomfortable.
“All right, I’ll behave.”
Seth looked relieved. “Good.”
They walked back through the door and into the kitchen.
“Saving the world one text at a time?” Adrienne asked with one brow cocked. She had taken a seat at the table in the chair farthest away from where Conner had been sitting.
“Something like that.” Seth smiled.
Conner didn’t say anything. He figured opening his mouth would just get him in trouble.
“You two must be on some pretty big case for the FBI to put you at my doorstep after all these years.”
“We are. It’s gruesome,” Seth informed her.
“And you were told I could help.”
Both men nodded.
Adrienne continued. “And when they sent you out here to bring me back, did they warn you I would tell you to go screw yourselves?”
Chapter Three
Adrienne could not believe it was all happening again.
She would not let the FBI just walk in and take over her life. She was older now, wiser. And she knew the toll using her gift to help the FBI would take. She had lived through it before.
Barely.
She knew Special Agent Friendly and his sidekick Special Agent Hot-But-Annoying sitting at her kitchen table really had no idea what her gifts were or what her life had been like ten years ago when she had worked for the Bureau.
Worked. Adrienne barely restrained a bark of laughter. More like duped and manipulated.
She knew Agent Hot, excuse me, Agent Perigo was particularly skeptical. Adrienne wasn’t offended by that. But there was something about him that made her slightly crazy. She had spent the past twenty minutes itching to slap the alternating smug and hostile looks off his face. Either that or jump his bones.
Adrienne had been downright shocked when she had returned Ruby Tuesday to the barn and found the two men standing there with Vincent. Whenever someone unfamiliar was around, Adrienne could always sense it.
Unless they had some sort of malevolent side, she couldn’t see their thoughts, but everyone—good or bad—gave off some sort of buzz that she picked up on in her brain. With familiar people she had learned to ignore it, the way someone ignores the slight sound a computer or TV makes when it’s on but has no volume. Just the slightest buzz. The more people that were around, the louder the buzz.
But Adrienne had heard nothing when she had walked into the barn. That’s why she had been so shocked to see the agents—she hadn’t heard their buzz.
Nothing. As a matter of fact, she still couldn’t hear it.
But they were here, and they wanted her help. She couldn’t afford to help them. The best thing she could do, she knew, was be cold and turn them away. But looking at Agent Perigo, she knew turning them away would not be easy.
“Guys, I appreciate that you’ve come all the way out here. But Chief Kelly shouldn’t have sent you. Whatever your case is, I can’t help you.”
“Adrienne...” Agent Harrington began in a cajoli
ng tone.
“Can’t or won’t?” Perigo interrupted Harrington and got right to the point.
The urge to slap Perigo was itching its way through Adrienne’s palm again. “I have responsibilities here.”
“The FBI would more than compensate you for your time. Plus, don’t you have Vincent to run things for you if you’re gone?” Perigo continued.
“It’s not just that,” Adrienne backpedaled.
“Then what is it, Adrienne?” Seth asked in a concerned voice. He sounded completely sincere. Adrienne wondered for a moment if he practiced that voice.
“There’s a discomfort that comes with using my gift.” That was putting it ridiculously mildly. “Plus, like I said, I can’t—or am not willing to—uproot my life. I’m needed here.”
Adrienne watched as the two men looked at each other across the table, communicating without speaking. Obviously there was a plan B, although it looked as though both of them found the thought of it distasteful.
“Adrienne, we were sent here by our superiors with a directive to obtain your cooperation in our case.” Agent Harrington paused, but she knew his statement wasn’t finished. She didn’t have long to wait. “By any means available to us.”
Adrienne looked at Harrington, then Agent Perigo, confused. “‘Any means available?’ Are you planning on making me leave the ranch at gunpoint?”
“No. Nothing so drastic, I assure you,” Harrington responded with a smile. “But our instructions are to either bring you back with us or bring in your ranch manager, Mr. Vincent.”
“Why Vince? What does he have to do with this?”
Agent Perigo interjected, “Do you make a practice of hiring and cohabiting with convicted felons or fugitives on your ranch?”
“What?” Adrienne expressed her shock before she could help herself. Not a good logistical move.
“So you’re unaware of Mr. Vincent’s past history and that he is currently wanted in the state of Nevada for parole violation?”
Adrienne shook her head. “I knew he had some trouble with the law a while ago. But he never offered much information about it, and I never asked.”
Harrington leaned toward her. “Isn’t it dangerous to work and live with a man you know so little about?”
Adrienne smiled grimly. She had never been concerned about her safety with Vince—she had known from the beginning he meant her no harm. That was one of the few good things about her gift. “Let’s just say that my talent makes me an excellent judge of character. Vince would never harm me.”
Agent Perigo sighed. “Regardless. Our instructions are clear. We’re either to bring you in or bring Rick Vincent in. You choose.”
Adrienne could feel temper rising up through her body. Obviously nobody in the FBI had changed in the past decade. They still didn’t care who they used—or used up—to get what they wanted.
“Common blackmail? Is that what the FBI has resorted to?” It was all she could do to keep her fist from banging down on the table.
Harrington reached a hand out toward her, but she jerked back in her seat. “Ms. Jeffries.”
At least he had the sense to revert to last names if they were going to use blackmail.
“We have to uphold the law. There is a warrant out for Mr. Vincent’s arrest.”
“That you will conveniently overlook if I agree to help the FBI on the case.”
Agent Harrington cleared his throat. “Let’s just say, if we had your help on the case, we would probably be so busy, we may totally forget we even saw Rick Vincent here.”
Adrienne was too angry to say anything. She did not want to be forced back into helping the FBI but couldn’t stand the thought of Vincent going to prison. The older man had no evil in him whatsoever. Whatever crime he had committed, it was in a past far behind him. Now he was kind and helpful and wonderful with the horses, if a little gruff with people.
They sat in silence for long moments. Adrienne had no idea what the FBI agents were thinking, but they wisely did not give voice to their thoughts. She glanced at Harrington first but found him looking down at his hands. She then glanced over at Agent Perigo with hesitation, unsure of what she would find.
He met her eyes directly. Instead of the hostility she had expected to see, she found sincerity and the slightest hint of compassion. No matter what he thought of her abilities, or her personally, he obviously found this stalemate distasteful.
And he had the most gorgeous green eyes she had ever seen. Just the slightest hint of gold in them. For the first time Adrienne wished she had met Agent Perigo under different circumstances. Wished he didn’t work for an organization that was sure to leave her broken by the time this was all over.
Adrienne looked away from Agent Perigo’s piercing eyes and down at her kitchen table. She couldn’t see any way out of this. She wasn’t going to let anything happen to Vincent, as long as there were any other options. Plus she was older now, wiser, more able to protect herself from the FBI. Because she had no doubt that what had happened before, ten years ago, would happen again if she wasn’t careful. The solution was making sure it didn’t repeat itself.
Of course she had no idea how to do that.
She looked up from the scarred kitchen table, hoping she didn’t resemble it by the time this was all over.
“Okay, fine. I’ll help you.”
An hour later, just before lunch, Adrienne watched Agents Perigo and Harrington drive away. She had been given instructions about where and when to report tomorrow, and had assured them she would be there. Then, just before leaving, Agent Perigo made a special trip out to the barn to say goodbye to Vincent. All for Adrienne’s benefit.
Jackass. Obviously, she had been mistaken about any compassion she had seen in him.
Vince immediately knew something was up.
“That FBI agent came out to the barn to say goodbye to me,” the older man stated as he washed his hands for lunch. “Seemed a mite odd.”
Adrienne rolled her eyes. “Yeah, I know. If it helps, I think it was a gesture meant for me, not you.”
“We never really talked much about you working for the FBI.”
Adrienne began making each of them a sandwich. “I worked for them briefly years ago. It wasn’t a pleasant experience. Not something I discuss much.”
“I’ve found, in my general experience, that anything having to do with law enforcement is not a pleasant experience.”
Adrienne smiled at that. Although her and Vince’s experiences with law enforcement were different, the resulting feelings were the same.
“And now they want you to come back and work for them again?” the older man asked.
Adrienne slapped mustard onto the sandwich and rubbed it around with more force than necessary. “That pretty much sums it up.”
“But you don’t want to go back to work for them.”
“My life is here. My responsibilities are here.” More mustard was slapped on the other piece of bread.
“Well now, you know I can handle everything around here if you needed to go off somewhere. This place isn’t so big that one person can’t hold down the fort for a while. You did it for long enough before I came along.”
“I know you can handle it, Vince. I’m not sure what I would’ve done without you for the past year.” She smiled gently at him.
The older man blushed and looked away. Nothing thrilled Vince less than talking about feelings, Adrienne knew.
“Vince, I know you had trouble with the law in your past, but I’ve known from the beginning that you were someone I could trust. Whatever happened in the past isn’t important to me. You’ve been a godsend.” She handed him a sandwich.
“Well, you know that goes both ways.” Vince took a big bite of his sandwich and chewed thoughtfully. “Why do I get the feeling all of this conv
ersation has to do with those FBI agents?”
Adrienne sighed. “It looks like I’m going to need you to keep things afloat for me here for a little bit.”
“While you go help the FBI.”
“Yeah.”
“What exactly do you, or did you do, for them?”
Adrienne pushed her sandwich around on her plate. How was she supposed to explain this? “I guess I was kind of a profiler for them.”
Vince grunted in agreement the way he often did. He didn’t look at all surprised. “I figured it was something like that, given your...” He waved his hand in circles above his head.
Adrienne was shocked. She had no idea Vince was aware of her gift. They had never talked about it. “You knew?”
“Not at first. As a matter of fact, when you initially hired me, I thought you were a little reckless. What woman hires someone completely unknown, then invites him a few weeks later to move into the house with her?”
“Vince, you were sleeping out in the barn!”
“I know, I know. Don’t get me wrong. I am grateful for your invite. But I could’ve been dangerous.” Vince shook his head.
“I knew you weren’t.”
Vince grunted in agreement again. “Then I saw over the next few months how patient you were with almost everybody. Even some of the brattiest or angriest kids who came out here to work. You were always kind and gentle, when I wanted to throw some of them out on their ears.”
Vince put down his sandwich and looked Adrienne right in the eye. “Then that blond guy showed up last July. He seemed polite and charming. All the college girls were sighing over him and his good looks. You came out of the house, glanced at him for five seconds, and asked him to leave and never come back.”
Adrienne remembered very clearly the appearance of the young man, probably twenty or twenty-one years old. Like Vince said, he had blond hair, blue eyes— all-American good looks. Seemed amiable and charismatic, at least on the outside.
But the thoughts in his mind were utterly sinister. A malevolence that only Adrienne could pick up on had permeated the air around the young man. The things he thought of doing to the female students who had worked at Adrienne’s ranch—to Adrienne herself, once he had seen her—made Adrienne’s stomach churn. She had immediately made him leave, much to the girls’ dismay, telling him there were no more internships available.
