by JANIE CROUGH
“I’m just going to rest for a few minutes,” she said as her eyes began to close.
Conner couldn’t stop himself from reaching over to stroke her cheek. “That’s fine, sweetheart. No one will disturb you here.”
By the depth of her breathing, he doubted she even heard him.
Two hours later Conner and Seth had thoroughly revetted the Josie Paton file, adding and cross-referencing all the information Adrienne had provided. Although it didn’t give them any immediate leads, it did provide a better overall understanding of who—and what—they were dealing with.
For the first time in ten months Conner felt a sense of hope. They were going to catch this psycho. Adrienne’s help was going to be key.
After going through the file, Seth showed Conner the video footage of Adrienne opening Simon’s package. Conner watched in barely concealed horror at the physical reaction the package had on Adrienne. There was no way something like that could be faked. He looked on as her muscles seemed to lock up. All color left her face. Touching the lock of hair in Simon’s package seemed to almost hurl her across the room.
Conner watched as Adrienne tried to control it, closing her eyes and breathing.
He looked over at Seth who studied the screen, blankly shaking his head. “She scared the hell out of me, man. I am not kidding. I couldn’t get her to come out of it. That’s when I called you.”
Conner turned back to the screen as Adrienne fought with what she was seeing and feeling for a long time to determine who would get control. It was almost as if she were in a trance. Then her eyes jerked open, and she started walking for the door.
If walking is what you could call it. It was more like dragging her own body.
“That’s when she headed for the elevator,” Seth whispered.
They both watched in horror as it took her minutes to figure out what a three-year-old child could do in two seconds: turn the handle of the door. She opened it as far as she seemed able, then squeezed through. And out of the sight of the camera.
Seth and Conner both sat back in their chairs, exhausted from just having viewed that. Neither spoke. What could be said?
Conner knew he had to get her out of this building. Whether he blocked—he mentally scoffed at that term—her abilities or not, he did not want her here one more minute.
He turned to Seth. “I’m taking her back to the hotel. I can’t stand the thought of her here anymore.”
“I totally agree. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Conner went back into the conference room where Adrienne still slept. She had curled both legs under his jacket and had one arm tucked under her cheek on the armrest. Dark circles still framed her eyes. Conner hated to wake her up but knew she would be more comfortable sleeping back at the hotel.
“Hey, Sleeping Beauty, ready to wake up?” He touched her shoulder gently.
Her eyes fluttered open, then she sat straight up on the couch. Conner could tell she was trying to get her bearings. She brought her hands to her head, almost as a reflex, then slowly lowered them.
“How long have I been asleep?” she finally asked.
“A couple hours. Not long. I’m done here for the day and thought I would take you to the hotel.”
Adrienne stood and stretched. “Okay, that sounds good. I don’t usually fall asleep in busy places—too much buzzing. But I’m still tired anyway.”
They returned to the interrogation room to grab Adrienne’s purse and were soon in the parking garage, getting into Conner’s car.
“I’ve been thinking about me blocking your abilities,” Conner started as they pulled out of the garage.
“I’d be more comfortable if you’d call them my freakishly awesome crime-fighting superpowers. But please continue.”
Conner chuckled. If Adrienne was back to wisecracking, then she was feeling much better. “Why do you think I block your superpowers? Does that happen often?”
It took Adrienne so long to answer, Conner wasn’t sure she was going to. “Honestly, I don’t know why you block them. The only other time this has happened is with my sisters...” She faded off.
“You have sisters?”
“Yes. One older, one younger. But I don’t see them very often.”
“Why not?”
“Our parents died when I was twelve. There wasn’t any other family to take us in, and we ended up in the foster system. Trying to find a family to take three traumatized preteen girls with special needs became impossible. So we wound up in different homes.” Adrienne shrugged.
Conner grimaced. First she’d lost her parents, then her sisters. Not easy. But he caught an interesting turn of phrase.
“Special needs? As in ‘freakishly awesome crime-fighting superpowers’ special needs?”
“Sort of.”
“Do they have abilities like you do?”
“Yeah, but not exactly the same.”
Conner waited for Adrienne to say more, but it became apparent that discussing her sisters’ special needs/freakishly awesome abilities was not on the table. “But they block your ability, too?”
“Yes, when the three of us are together, we block each other out. But we don’t really know why.”
Adrienne obviously didn’t want to talk about her sisters, so Conner changed the subject. “Was using your superpowers always this painful when you worked for the FBI before? Seth showed me the footage from this afternoon when you opened the package.”
“Well, I have to admit, I’m out of practice. I was mentally tougher back then, better able to focus and protect myself. But I’m not sure that anything could’ve prepared me for that package today. The evil was so immediate. So close.” Adrienne shuddered. “But, yeah, it always hurt.”
Conner shook his head. “Why didn’t you tell someone about the physical pain? You were a teenager, for heaven’s sake. Somebody could’ve helped you. Done something.”
“Conner, I did tell people. Including Chief Kelly. It’s not like I could hide it. Half the time I was vomiting my guts out or walking around with a bloody nose.”
Conner ground his teeth. How could Chief Kelly—hell, how could anybody at the Bureau—allow a teenager to be abused in such a way?
“The FBI weren’t monsters. I realize that now,” Adrienne responded as if Conner had spoken the thought aloud. “There just was always a critical case. Always one more case that needed the abilities of the Bloodhound, before I took a break.”
Conner grimaced. He didn’t like it, but he at least understood. How much pain would he be willing to allow someone to go through if it meant saving the lives of the women Simon Says was killing?
Even worse, what if you were the one who had to choose how much agony you would endure in order to help people in dire situations? How did an eighteen-year-old make a decision like that?
“So you quit?” Conner asked. He didn’t blame her.
“No, I finally had a complete breakdown and ended up in the hospital for six weeks. Then I quit.”
Yep, that would do it. Conner drove in silence as Adrienne stared out the window.
“I just couldn’t take it anymore after that,” Adrienne whispered. “I was afraid working for the Bureau would end up killing me.”
Conner could hear the regret in her voice; she obviously considered herself a coward for the choice she had made. He reached over and linked his fingers with hers.
“Hey, no one could blame you for making the choice you did. It doesn’t do any good to have you help others if you barely live through it yourself.”
She looked down at their linked hands then smiled sadly at him. “Maybe.” Her voice was still small.
Conner pulled into a parking spot at her hotel. He turned off the engine but didn’t get out of the car. He released his seat belt and turned toward her.
&n
bsp; “Adrienne, you were so young. Someone—Chief Kelly, or, hell, any of the agents—should’ve seen what was happening to you and done something about it.”
Adrienne shrugged and looked away. Conner let go of her hand and put his hands on either side of her cheeks, drawing her gaze back to him.
“After what I saw with you today, I would not blame you if you never set foot in a Bureau office again. Nobody would. You’re not a coward, Adrienne. The fact that you’re still here helping us proves that.”
She was stronger than she knew and more beautiful than he could stand. He bent his head down to hers and kissed her. The kiss was soft and almost sweet at first, but as Conner felt her respond, he deepened the kiss. Her hands slid up to his chest, and he pulled her closer.
They had kissed before, but this time Conner was aware of how fragile Adrienne really was. How tiny she was in his arms. When the tip of Conner’s tongue outlined Adrienne’s lips, she sighed very softly. The sound sent a shiver through him. Conner felt Adrienne’s fingers curling into his shirt and cursed the restricting confines of the car. Conner didn’t want to leave Adrienne’s lips even for the little time it would take to walk inside and up to her room.
The sudden ringing of Adrienne’s phone was jarring in the relative silence of the car. Breathing heavy, Conner pulled away from her lips slowly. Adrienne had a slightly dazed look.
“I think that’s your phone,” Conner finally said after the third ring.
Adrienne fished the phone out of the bag. “It’s Vince at the ranch. I have to take this. I’m sorry.” She answered the phone and told Vince to hold on for a moment.
Conner ran his fingers down Adrienne’s cheek. “It’s been a long day for us both. I’ll just see you tomorrow. I’ll come by and pick you up for breakfast.”
Adrienne turned her head to the side and kissed his palm then smiled and got out of the car. Conner watched until she was safely inside the hotel, then started the ignition and pulled away. It really had been a long day for both of them.
And Conner had a feeling the long days were just getting started.
Chapter Ten
The next morning Conner picked Adrienne up at the hotel, they had breakfast and went into work. As soon as they got in the Bureau office, Conner could tell something had happened. It didn’t take them long to find out what.
Another package had arrived from Simon Says.
It had already been vetted by security and held no threats to the FBI team in terms of its physical contents. All that was left to do now was open it.
Conner and Seth met in the conference room as well as Chief Kelly and a couple other agents working the case. Adrienne came in, too, but stayed as far away from the box as she could and yet still be in the room.
Donning latex gloves, Conner and Seth wasted no time in carefully opening the package. The outer packaging, as always, held nothing but the jeweler’s box. Conner pulled the box out and set it on the table. Seth took the lid off the box.
It was all so horribly familiar. A single lock of hair. A typed note on a folded sheet of plain paper. No one spoke as Conner unfolded the paper and read it.
Simon says, you’re still too slow.
There was no response. Everyone in the room knew that the note meant another woman was dead. It would just be a matter of time until the body was discovered. Sometimes it was hours; sometimes it was days.
The packages were almost anticlimactic at this point. But still frustrating as hell.
Stepping back from the box, he realized everyone was looking at Adrienne. Only a select few were aware of the affect Conner had on Adrienne’s abilities, so they obviously expected her to shed some sort of light on this newest arrival.
“Can I talk with you by my desk for a minute?” Conner asked Adrienne. She followed him out of the room. Seth wasn’t far behind.
“I guess I’m going to go get some coffee.” Conner grimaced. He knew he had to get away from the office in order for Adrienne to work. But he didn’t like it.
Seth sighed dramatically. “Good. That should buy us some time. Since it takes twenty minutes for you to get out all the words in your order.”
Conner ignored him as Adrienne put her hand on his arm. “I’m sorry. I know this has to be hard for you.”
“I can take it as long as we catch this guy soon.”
“You will.” She squeezed his arm gently. “Don’t go to the coffee shop in the lobby. You’re still too close.”
Conner rolled his eyes. “I know when I’m not wanted. I’m going. I’m going.”
Adrienne released his arm. “But don’t go far. I have a bad feeling about this one.”
Conner nodded and left. Once outside he was overwhelmed with frustration again. There had to be something more he could do. Is this really what he had been reduced to at this point in his career—coffee boy?
This feeling of uselessness sucked. It went against everything in Conner’s nature to sit on the sidelines while someone—anyone—else did the hard work. And knowing it was Adrienne suffering, and that he could stop it, left a bitter taste in his mouth. His every instinct was to protect her.
So, yes, Conner was pissed that he was four blocks away from his building getting coffee when Adrienne was back at the office fighting for her mental survival.
Conner gave his order to the cashier and paid. Yes, sugar-free vanilla in his latte. He couldn’t tell if the ladies behind him were smirking at his order or not. Why did everyone find his drink choice so amusing?
Conner walked back outside. No matter how useless he felt, he was still glad he was able to help Adrienne. He didn’t know why he blocked her powers, and he didn’t care. He had no idea how she had survived her work with the FBI before.
Conner felt the phone buzz in his pocket, signaling a text message. It was too soon to hear from Seth or Adrienne; he’d only been gone about ten minutes. But the text was from Seth.
Come now.
Conner frowned at the phone. Another text appeared.
Hurry!
The exclamation point had Conner dropping his drink in the nearby trash can and taking off at a dead run. If Seth was telling him to hurry, something was wrong.
Within minutes Conner was back at the building. The elevator was too slow in arriving so he bolted up the stairs, fear burning through his brain.
Conner tore into the conference room. Adrienne was lying on the ground, unconscious, blood dripping from both nostrils.
“What the hell? Seth, what happened?” Conner dropped on his knees beside her.
“Con, I have no idea. You left, and she got that pinched look like she always does. Then we came in here. She touched the box and went really still for a minute—that’s not unusual. She said something about a hotel. Then she reached for the note, and it was like she had been electrocuted. She couldn’t even get any words out. It looked like she was trying to scream, but there was no sound.”
Conner checked Adrienne’s pulse. It was thready and weak. There was no color to her face at all, causing the blood from her nose to stand out in the most garish way.
Seth continued, shaking his head. “Then she fell to the ground. It was like she was having some sort of seizure. I texted you immediately. Thank God you weren’t far, man.”
Conner continued to stare at Adrienne. Her breathing was not quite so shallow any longer, but she still wasn’t waking up. He stroked her cheek gently.
“I think we should take her to the hospital,” Conner said, looking up at Seth for the first time. Seth nodded.
“No,” Adrienne’s weak voice responded, and Conner jerked his gaze back to her. Her eyes didn’t open. “I’ll be okay in a minute. Just don’t leave me.” She felt blindly for Conner’s hand with hers. Conner grabbed it and laced his fingers through hers.
“No, sweetheart.
I won’t leave you.”
Seth ushered out the other people in the room and closed the door behind them. It seemed to Conner that some of Adrienne’s color was returning. He felt her pulse again at her wrist. Stronger.
Seth came over with a tissue and handed it to Conner. Conner gently wiped the blood from her nose and applied a bit of pressure to stop the rest of the bleeding.
“Thanks,” Adrienne whispered, opening her eyes.
“Hey.” Conner smiled at her. “You know, if you want me to come back sooner, just ask. You don’t have to go to all this drama.”
Adrienne smiled at him. “Busted.”
“You want to try to sit up or do you prefer lying down?”
“I think I’m okay to sit up. I’m feeling better.”
Conner helped her, and they scooted over until they were leaning back against the couch with their legs stretched out in front of them. Seth sat in a chair at the table.
“So, that was not awesome,” Adrienne finally said.
“What the hell happened, Adrienne?” Seth asked. “That was worse than anything I’ve seen.”
“Believe me, it was worse than anything I’ve felt.” Conner was close enough to feel her shudder. “The feeling was so strong. It was like he was in the room with us. He was laughing this horrible mocking laugh.”
Adrienne drew her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs. “And then he reached out to touch me, and I just lost it. I felt like my body was burning. I was screaming.”
“It looked like you were trying to scream,” Seth corrected her. “But no sound came out of your mouth.”
“I don’t know why I had such a huge reaction. Maybe because he touched it so recently? I don’t know. Maybe that’s why the feelings are so strong.”
There was a brief knock on the conference room door. An agent stuck his head in.
“There’s been a call, guys. Woman’s body found at a hotel on Harrison Street. Locals called it in. Pretty sure it’s Simon.”
Seth looked at Adrienne. “You said something about a hotel before you fell.”
Adrienne nodded and looked up sadly. “Yes. It’s definitely her. Simon’s latest victim.”
