Seven Psychics

by J. C. Diem

  Mark was in the coms room when I emerged from the hallway and he hurried over as soon as he saw me. “You look better. How are you feeling?” His concern was touching and I nearly had to sniff back a tear. My emotions were strangely out of whack. I’d never been much of a weeper before, yet I was close to tears now.

  “I’m fine. Thanks for keeping me alive,” I said with a tiny smile.

  “Wow, we’re gone for three days and Lexi almost dies,” Kala called from her seat on the couch. “What did we miss?” Flynn was making breakfast in the kitchen and he paused to listen in. The clang of metal halted as Reece stopped pumping weights while he waited for an answer as well.

  “Alexis had a fever for a few days, but she seems to be on the mend,” Mark called down the stairs to his team.

  Wincing away from his too loud response, I slowly descended to the ground floor. I forced myself to cast a glance at Garrett. The look he gave me was intense, but I saw no shame or self-loathing in his eyes. My legs were shaky with relief, or possibly from the aftermath of fever, as I joined Bailey in the kitchen.

  “Do you want coffee?” he asked.

  Wrinkling my nose, I shook my head. “I’m not in a coffee mood. Do we have any tea?”

  “Tea?” Walker said with distaste, as if I was speaking about a disfiguring disease. She turned on the couch to grin at me. “You really must have been ill.”

  Flynn sent her a disapproving frown. “She looks like hell, Kala.”

  Leaving the living room, Walker strode over to inspect me. “He’s not wrong,” she declared. “You look awful.”

  Did she have to sound so cheery about that, I wondered grumpily. “You should have seen me yesterday,” I joked. “I looked like I belonged in a coffin.”

  Bailey searched the pantry and produced teabags. Kala gave them a look of extreme loathing, but made me a cup while replenishing her empty mug of coffee.

  I allowed the pair to fuss over me, conversely enjoying the attention and feeling irritated by it at the same time. Flynn carried a bowl of cereal into the dining room for me and Walker carried the drinks. I managed to eat all of my cereal, which felt like quite an accomplishment after eating practically nothing for the past couple of days.

  Bailey took my bowl to the kitchen when I was done and Kala slipped her arm through mine and helped me over to the couch. She carried both of our mugs in one hand, clearly not trusting me to carry my own. She handed it over when I sank down onto the soft, comfortable leather seat. I held the hot mug in both hands, letting it warm me.

  Kala watched me carefully and noticed that I wasn’t sending any lovesick glances towards Reece. “Don’t tell me you’ve gotten over your crush on the eye candy?” she asked quietly.

  I shrugged, coming close to sloshing tea on my lap. “I decided it was time to grow up and act like an adult instead of a pathetic little girl,” I said just as quietly.

  “Since when?” Walker demanded.

  “I guess since I turned eighteen three nights ago,” I responded.

  Stunned and appalled that she’d missed such an important date, Kala twisted around to glare up at Agent Steel through the window of the coms room. “Mark! How could you let us forget about Lexi’s eighteenth birthday!”

  Mark moved closer to the window to stare down at us. He was just as appalled as she was at his lapse. “I forgot,” he called back. “There was a lot going on and it slipped my mind.” He hurried down the stairs, apparently intent on righting his wrong.

  I was laughing by the time everyone but Reece had gathered around the couch. “Don’t worry about it,” I said. “It’s not like I was going to have a party to celebrate the milestone anyway.”

  Kala was astounded and gave me a look of incomprehension. “What are you talking about? Everyone has an eighteenth birthday party!”

  “Not me,” I argued. “You can’t have a party if you don’t have anyone to party with. My Dad is overseas and I don’t have any friends.” Walker was saddened by that, judging from her downcast expression. “I would have just stayed home and read a book,” I explained.

  Instead of my boring, forgettable plan, I’d been initiated into the wonders of sex by the man that I had a useless crush on. Heat flooded into my cheeks and I took a sip of tea to try to hide my embarrassment. Hopefully, they’d think the blush was a residual symptom of my fever.

  “We should have done something for you,” Walker said. “We didn’t even get you a cake.”

  “Make one now,” Flynn suggested with a grin. I’d never seen Kala cook anything more complicated than toast before, but miracles could happen. We generally had frozen pizza when it was her turn to cook dinner. I’d never be a master chef, but compared to her I was an expert in the kitchen.

  Seizing the idea, Kala bounced to her feet. “That’s a great idea!” She took two steps towards the kitchen then stopped. “Does anyone have any idea how to make a cake?”

  Her utterly helpless expression sent me into a fit of giggles. Even Reece chuckled, although he was trying hard to pretend that he wasn’t listening.

  “We need a recipe first,” I told her. “Then we need to see if we have all the ingredients.”

  “What sort of a cake do you want?” Bailey asked. His incongruous eyes sparkled merrily. He was clearly happy with his cake idea.

  “Chocolate,” I replied and he grinned in approval.

  “Good choice,” he stated. “I’ll find a recipe online.” He darted for the stairs and Mark followed him. He was probably hoping to escape before he could be roped into helping out with the baking.

  Flynn was back several minutes later with a printout of a simple cake recipe. He handed it to Kala and she marched into the kitchen. Reading the list, her brow furrowed at what were probably foreign ingredients to her.

  I took a seat on one of the bar stools and rested my elbows on the bench. “Do you need any help?”

  Tawny eyes flashed at me in insult at the offer. “Of course not!” Looking at the list again, she smiled sheepishly. “What’s baking powder?”

  “Why don’t I gather the ingredients and you can mix them together?” I suggested.

  “I guess this can be a team effort,” Walker conceded. She wanted to bake the cake herself, but she knew when she was out of her depth.

  “Thank God,” Flynn muttered with profound relief and retreated to the couch. “The cake now has a chance of being edible.”

  Three hours later, the finished product was almost done and I was fairly certain Flynn’s hopes that the cake would be edible were going to be dashed. Kala had impatiently waited for the cake to cool and was just finishing off the icing. Cracks ran along the top of the cake and were too deep for the icing to reach all the way to the bottom. Sitting on my stool again, I desperately tried to keep my face straight.

  I kept it together right up until Reece ambled over and stared at the misshapen brown lump. “What is that?” Shirtless as always, beads of sweat made his skin glisten. I had to force myself not to stare at him longingly. He’d far surpassed my childish fantasies of what he’d be like in bed. I now knew that his touch was even more intoxicating than I’d ever imagined.

  “It’s a cake,” Kala said flatly. “What does it look like?”

  I grimaced inwardly, thinking that she really shouldn’t have asked him that.

  Studying the concoction critically, Garrett gave her his honest opinion. “It kind of looks like a dog turd with icing on the top.”

  My lips trembled then I howled with laughter. Bailey’s deep laugh joined mine. Walker’s miffed expression made us laugh even harder.

  “Don’t knock yourself out, Levine,” Reece said gruffly and reached for me when I started to slide sideways off the stool. The touch of his hand on my shoulder killed my amusement as effectively as a dash of icy water to the face.

  “Sorry,” I said to Kala. “It’s not bad for a first try and I’m sure it’ll taste fine.” That was a flat out lie. I was sure it would taste even worse than it looked.

&nbs
p; Slightly mollified, Kala crooked her finger at me. “Time to cut the cake, birthday girl.”

  Mark appeared as if by magic and handed out plates. He was fastidious about keeping the kitchen clean. Rounding the bench, I took the knife that Walker offered and cut into the cake. I didn’t even need to taste it to know that it would be one of the worst cakes that had ever been created. Kala had baked it for too long and I was pretty sure the temperature had been set too high as well. I was kicking myself for not checking the oven. As a result, the cake was burnt on the bottom and sides. It felt hard on the inside as well when I cut into it. The only saving grace might be the icing, but I wouldn’t know that for sure until I’d tasted it.

  Cutting enough pieces for everyone, I was forced to take the first bite when they all watched me expectantly. I tried to avoid the burnt outer layer and took a small bite of the center. It took a lot of chewing to get it down, but I finally managed it. Frankly, I was glad that I hadn’t broken a tooth.

  “It’s that bad, huh?” Bailey said, striving not to dissolve into laughter again.

  It took me a few seconds to think of a description that wouldn’t hurt Kala’s feelings any more than was necessary. “It’s…memorable.” It was far from glowing praise, but it was the best I could come up with.

  Peeved by my less than stellar rating, Kala picked up her slice. “It can’t be that bad!” Taking a huge bite, she chewed, choked and almost spat it out. “I admit that it could use some work,” she said with her mouth still full. Crumbs fell out and she caught them on her plate before they could mar the pristine bench top.

  “Not even God could resurrect that thing from death,” Flynn pronounced sadly and pushed his plate away.

  To be diplomatic, Mark took a small bite, chewed furiously and swallowed it down. “Thank you, ladies, that was, uh, lovely.” He took his plate with him up to the second floor. I was fairly certain he’d throw it away when we weren’t looking.

  “What about you, Garrett?” Kala challenged. “Aren’t you going to try the dog turd with icing?”

  Beneath her bluster, she was smarting that she’d failed so badly. With a shrug, Reece took a bite and winced at the burnt taste and hard texture. To our astonishment, he ate the whole piece and even licked his fingers when he was done.

  “It wasn’t as bad as it looked,” Garrett decided. “The icing was pretty good.”

  Kala stared after him as he ambled back to the gym. “He’s really not such a bad guy, you know,” she said softly. “He can be really sweet sometimes.”

  “I know,” I replied, keeping my eyes on the disastrous cake rather than on Reece. Even deep in the thrall of mind control, he hadn’t hurt me when he’d divested me of my innocence.

  Kala sent me a sharp glance, as if sensing a deeper meaning behind my words.

  ₪₪₪

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  A week passed with agonizing slowness and no new tales were reported of any strangeness happening anywhere in the city. My fever came and went periodically. Most of the time I felt fine then I’d suddenly be sweating and shivering again. I hid these episodes from the others as best I could. My time with them would be over soon and I didn’t want to waste any of it having tests done and being poked with needles.

  Kala and Flynn had decided to amuse themselves by attempting to teach me the basics of self-defense. They spent a few hours each day pummeling me mercilessly in the name of making sure I could get away from any future attackers. Reece pumped weights and tried to hide his annoyance at not being able to spar with Bailey as often as he’d like to. Being choked nearly unconscious had spurred me to learn as much as I could.

  Walking in a slow, menacing circle, Flynn stalked me. His eyes were strangely hypnotic and I only realized he was about to attack me when his shoulders tensed. He leaped at me with his hands outstretched, aiming for my throat. His teeth were bared in fake rage, but his eyes were alight with merriment.

  Refusing to give into panic, I sidestepped before he could touch me. The moment his feet hit the mat, I kicked him in the back of the leg to bring him to the ground. It would only disable him for a few seconds, but if this had been a real attack, it would give me time to flee.

  Kala clapped and gave me the thumbs up. “That was much better. You didn’t freeze this time.”

  Bailey rose to his feet and turned to comment. He looked behind me and his eyes went wide, prompting me to turn around as well. Garrett was approaching me with an intent stare that brought my panic rushing all the way to the surface this time. He wasn’t nearly as easy to read as the other two and I had no idea what his intentions were.

  “Hit him!” Kala shouted as Reece reached for my shoulders.

  My rudimentary training kicked in and my right hand shot out. It connected with Garrett’s nose with a crunching sound that made his head rock back. Blood trickled from one of his nostrils and he stared down at me expressionlessly. “Nice jab,” he said and sauntered off, leaving me staring after him.

  “What was that?” I asked Walker. She and Bailey were laughing so hard that they had to hold on to each other to stay on their feet.

  Wiping away tears of mirth, she fought to regain her breath. “I’m not sure. I think he wanted to see if any of your training is sinking in.”

  “I’d say the answer is ‘yes’,” Flynn said with a wide grin. He clapped me on the shoulder hard enough to make me stagger forward a couple of steps. “Did you break anything? I’ve punched Garrett in the face a few times and it was like punching a rock.”

  I flexed my fingers, expecting pain and was glad when none of my bones grated together. “I’m fine.”

  Mark’s feet appeared on the stairs and the two agents snapped to attention. He was moving fast, which meant that something had happened.

  Seeing us grouped together, he jogged over. “I just received a call from my informant. Two disturbances have been reported that I believe might be attributed to both Wrath and Lust.” This was the first time that the telepaths had struck at the same time and I wondered if it was intentional. They might be teaming up to try to make things harder for us to find them and take them down. “Gear up and I’ll meet you in the garage in five minutes.”

  That sent us all running for the stairs and I was right behind Kala as she climbed upwards. Adrenalin kept me close on her heels as she darted into her room. I hurried to change into something that wasn’t drenched in sweat.

  Still feeling hot from my training session, I slung my jacket over my arm and snagged my sniper rifle out of the closet. I struggled into my holster during my mad dash back downstairs. Bailey was impatiently waiting beside the SUV when I arrived. I slid inside and shivered when a blast of cold air hit me. Trying not to elbow either Kala or Flynn, I struggled into the jacket as Reece took off. It was a bad time for my fever to return and I received concerned glances from Kala a couple of times during the drive when I shivered a little too hard.

  Garrett was moving far quicker than was even usual for him. Other cars were just a blur as he sped past them. Mark waited until we hit a straight stretch of highway before turning to speak to us. “My informant received a report that a man ran down several pedestrians before losing control and crashing his car into a building. He then began attacking bystanders with his bare hands. He was shot dead by a police officer a few minutes ago.

  “At the same time that this was happening, a woman approached a local news reporter while he was covering a story on the far side of the city. She stripped naked and attempted to entice him into having intercourse with her. Onlookers heard her telling him that she was his biggest fan.”

  I kept my face as neutral as possible and tried not to shudder in reaction. Reece hadn’t tried to entice me into having sex with him, he’d simply had his way with me. There had been no talking between us at all. Not until he’d snapped out of his hypnosis and had realized what we’d done. Then he’d been stricken with horror and remorse.

  “We’re going to have to split into two teams,” Mark conti
nued. “Reece and Kala will search the area where the naked woman was taken into custody. Flynn and Lexi will accompany me to the second scene.”

  No one complained about their assignments. Garrett and Walker might squabble frequently, but they were mature enough to be professional when they were on a mission. Bailey gave me a friendly smile and a companionable wink. “It’ll be fun to team up together,” he said. Hearing the remark, Garrett glanced into the rearview mirror and frowned. For a crazy moment, I toyed with the idea that he might be jealous. Then reality came crashing back. I’d just punched him in the face not long ago. He was probably still annoyed with me for giving him a nosebleed. If anything, he should be glad that he wouldn’t be lumped with me again.

  Reece drove to the area where the woman had tried to seduce the reporter. Being based so far away from the city meant that we usually arrived too late to catch the psychics red handed. It seemed strange that we couldn’t find a closer location instead of travelling such a long distance each time a new incident was reported.

  Garrett and Walker climbed out and we reshuffled around so Mark was driving and Bailey was in the front passenger seat. We were on the far side of the city a short while later. Our earbuds had a fairly good range, but they weren’t strong enough to stay in touch with Reece and Kala. They’d have to use their cell phones if they needed to speak to their boss.

  Mark parked just around the corner from where Wrath’s victim had crashed into an office building. The car had been towed away, leaving destruction behind in the form of smashed windows and displaced bricks. Shell-shocked witnesses were still being interviewed by police officers.

  Flynn climbed out and began to search for the target. Mark and I waited in the SUV as he circled the block. “I’ve got his trail,” he said and Agent Steel started the engine.