“Get the fuck in,” she shouted over gunfire coming from near the house.
The enemy feared him. It was the only explanation as to why they didn’t come forward. He didn’t know if he had enough energy for one more blast. Deciding in an instant it would be safer for the Flacks if they were gone, he jumped in the back of the ATV and nearly tumbled back out when she hit the gas and headed toward the woods.
Joshua was in the little storage bed behind the seats. Tessa barreled through the woods at a dangerous speed, tossing him around as if he were a sack of potatoes. He kept a death grip on the roll bar as his body was battered against the steel bed.
A bullet struck the bar just below his hand. They both ducked at the sound. He could hear men shouting and multiple shots being fired in their direction.
“To the left, Tessa!”
She didn’t question him. She jerked the wheel to the left and sent him flying to the side of the ATV. He hooked one arm around the bar and braced the other on the steel side of the storage bed to keep from flying out.
It was the same way his brother and Lena had come, though they had been on horseback. He hadn’t been with them, but he’d tracked their path once the danger had passed. He wanted to make sure they’d gotten away. Unfortunately their escape had been short-lived and they had eventually been captured.
He had a bad feeling if he and Tessa were captured they would not come to as satisfactory an end. Joshua didn’t know what this was all about, but it was obvious someone wanted them dead.
He had to yell to be heard over the noise of the ATV and gunfire. “The woods are about to clear. Head for the barn. We’re going to borrow a car.”
She nodded and kept her hands on the wheel and her focus on the break in the trees.
Joshua had to admit the woman could drive.
They wouldn’t have much time once they cleared the trees.
Tessa gunned the engine as soon as they were out of the rough terrain. The small vehicle, pushed to its limits, sped toward the red-and-white barn. She careened around the front and Joshua jumped to the ground before she had fully stopped. He rolled open the barn doors.
The gunfire had stopped for the moment. The enemy was likely just getting into position.
Keys in the ignition, Max’s black, hardtop ‘71 Corvette sat there as if waiting for them to arrive. “You drive,” Joshua said.
She didn’t argue. He had one magazine in his handgun and he had a feeling he was going to need it when they cleared the barn door.
The engine roared into action and with the windows rolled down Tessa spun the tires and rocketed out of the barn.
Three men dressed in black BDUs were a blur. She clipped one with the side-view mirror and he went down. Joshua emptied the clip at the other two, who ducked for cover. One tried to fire on them, but he went down when one of Joshua’s bullets ripped through his right side.
“Take a left and then head north on 206.”
“Where are we going?”
“We need a better means of transportation.”
Joshua could practically hear all the questions going through her mind. But instead of asking them she trusted him. He knew she really had little choice, but he loved the idea she had even the tiniest amount of faith in him.
He watched the road. Two black SUVs pulled out behind them.
“This is not going to work. We need to lose these guys and wait for dark.”
“You want me to lose them? I hope you know your way around these country roads, Lakeland.”
She gunned the engine and turned down the next street. It wound through woods and over bridges. She was pulling away from the slower vehicles. Another turn and they were on a narrow road. Joshua wondered if there was any way out. He saw a flash of the other car before the road turned again.
Tessa was doing eighty-five on a road with a dozen S turns and she barely broke a sweat. The road turned left and a dirt road continued straight. She slowed and pulled down the dirt road.
She cut the engine.
Fifteen seconds later the two SUVs sped down the paved road and disappeared from sight.
“Nice job,” Joshua said. He leaned back in the bucket seat.
Tessa smiled. “We should wait ten minutes, backtrack a short way and then find a place to stay out of sight until dark.”
Her driving was extraordinary and the plan was textbook.
He nodded. “Where did you learn to drive like that?”
“Ohio. My brother loved hot rods. I wanted to spend time with him and his friends, so I learned to drive.”
“He must have been impressed.” It was a hint about her past and he wanted to dig for a bit more.
“I suppose he was for a while.”
“What happened?”
“Jamie wrapped his ‘64 around a telephone pole when he was twenty-two.”
“I’m sorry.”
“It was a long time ago. What I didn’t know at the time was my driving is part of my psi abilities. I can sense the space ahead of me. I know what the road will do before I get to it. Unfortunately Jamie didn’t have the same gift.”
“It’s an amazing talent.”
She didn’t say any more and he didn’t push. They stayed on the hunting road for the requisite ten minutes and then Tessa pulled out and backtracked several miles before taking another road.
An hour later they tucked the Corvette into an abandoned barn on the outskirts of Princeton and waited in the woods nearby. Even though it felt as if they were miles from civilization the sound of cars rushing down Route 206 assured him they were within walking distance of acquirable transportation.
* * * * *
“I’ve got to go and find a clean phone,” Joshua said.
He was leaving her. It took all of her will to push down the surge of panic flooding her gut.
Tessa was crouched down with her back against an old oak tree. Joshua took a similar stance facing her. He took her chin with his fingers and forced her to look up at him. “I want to check on the Flacks and send someone to help them. That’s all. I’ll be back.”
She pulled her head back and out of his grasp. “I can take care of myself, Lakeland. Stay or go, it won’t matter to me.”
He shook his head and stood up. “I’ll be right back.”
From the moment he was out of sight pressure built up in her chest. She had training. She was a government agent. She could take care of herself. So why was she so distressed by his leaving her?
Less than thirty minutes later he skulked back through the wooded area and took up a stance ten feet way. Tessa relaxed.
She’d expected him to ask her dozens of questions about Jamie, but somehow he knew she wouldn’t want to talk about it. The past would cloud her focus and they couldn’t afford that. There was something very intimate about sitting silently in those woods for hours.
It wasn’t that she didn’t want to know everything there was to know about Joshua Lakeland, because she most definitely did. The fact was, just sitting in companionable silence had told her a great deal about him. He was introspective and kind. He could likely sense her need for privacy and he gave it to her.
As to what the plan was to get out of New Jersey she trusted him. That was probably the most shocking thing of all.
Tessa imagined with another man, she would have been embarrassed about her wanton behavior the night before. Even though it had been in a dream state, they both knew she had offered herself to him, a man she barely knew. She spent the time in the woods thinking about why she’d done it and the only answer was the obvious one. She wanted him.
Once the sun set they made their way to a small strip mall on the edge of the woods. Joshua easily started a car and they drove for five minutes before turning into a small airfield in Princeton, New Jersey.
Chapter Three
The place was abandoned. He made his way to the small office and jotted down a note.
She read it when he was done. Joe, I took her. Be in touch. J.
; “Who is Joe and what does he know about me?”
“Don’t freak out. The ‘her’ in the note is a plane, not you.”
He sensed her relief and moved quickly back through the tiny airport. He ran a preflight check as quickly as possible. Once they were in the air she started to relax a little more. It amazed him that in so short a time he had become in tune to every nuance of her emotional state. Generally he detected something from everyone in his vicinity, most of the time he ignored the input unless there was a sudden change from someone. Quick mood swings were always a bad sign. With Tessa the link was clearer, more specific. If and when he had time he’d have to examine the connection more closely.
“Where are we going?” she asked.
It was a good question. He had no idea what the answer was. Legally he was required to file a flight plan. Of course if he did they would be found right away and he needed to buy them a little time. Someone was trying to get rid of her—and him too if he wasn’t mistaken. He turned south and made an effort to stay off the grid of any major airports. “Key West.”
“What’s there?”
“I have some friends, a safe house and resources.”
“It sounded to me as though the FBI agent back in New Jersey was your friend and look how that turned out.” Accusation dripped from her words.
He shrugged and imagined the horizon in the darkness. He would have to fly by his instruments and stay off the radar. “Blake is not my friend. He helped my brother out of a jam last year. And you can think whatever you want, but for whatever reason he probably saved our lives. He told me how to get us out of the safe house.”
“He called you ‘old friend’.”
“That was my clue that whatever he was about to say was important. We are not old friends.”
“He lied to get your attention.”
The dashboard instruments illuminated her with a kind of soft glow he found very sexy. Actually everything about Tessa sent his thoughts in a very erotic direction. “How long were you in custody?”
“Three weeks.”
“How long had they had you in the shore house?”
“A few hours.”
“When was the last time you slept? Last night doesn’t count.”
There was a long pause. He wondered if she was blushing, but he sensed no embarrassment from her. He liked that.
“A while,” she said.
“I know it’s hard for you to let your guard down with me near. Trust takes time that we don’t have. You’ve been in my head. You have a small idea of what I am. You can also feel how attractive I find you. I wouldn’t trust me either. But if you don’t get some rest you won’t be of any use to me or yourself. Go in the back and sleep a while. I’ll wake you when we’re close to landing.”
A myriad of emotions rushed through her mind. He wondered if she intentionally let him feel her trepidation or if she was just too exhausted to shield herself. Either way he loved the feel of her near him and it was dangerous for both of them.
* * * * *
As she started to wake, his voice cut through her haziness. “Good, you’re awake. I don’t think I could take much more of your dreaming.”
She pushed herself out of the comfortable seat and moved forward to the cockpit. She ignored his comment and only felt her cheeks heat slightly. “Tell me about your psi abilities.”
“What do you want to know?”
She looked out the window and saw nothing but blackness below. They were likely over the ocean. “I can only read general impression of a person’s thoughts. Can you actually read minds?”
“Sometimes. It depends on how strong the thought is, how weak the mind, conscious or not, a lot of factors.”
She’d sat down in the copilot’s chair and turned toward him. She dreaded knowing the answer, but she had to ask. “Then let me be more specific, Mr. Lakeland. Can you read my mind?”
“Not without making an effort though I think the probe left a thread linking us. I sense more from you than most people I’ve just met. I get your general mood, feelings and the erotic nature of your dreams. Normally I would need to establish a link or focus my energy on a subject. With you it feels natural to be connected. I don’t have an explanation for it.”
Her gut tightened, but it was more excitement than dread over their strange connection. “What else can you do? You manipulated the locks back at the beach house, so you can move objects. Telekinesis can be handy. Can you see the future, the past, find objects?”
In the blue instrument lights she could see his mouth turn down. She could also feel his frustration growing. Was it because he didn’t like her asking him questions? Or was there something else?
“I’m not required to divulge that information to you, Ms. Clark. I strongly suggest you stop asking so many questions.”
“I probably won’t take your advice. I tend to be pretty inquisitive by nature.”
His mood lifted. She couldn’t help liking the feel of his mind, his emotions tickling the perimeter of hers. They were familiar and yet she’d never met him before. She closed off her mind. He had enough information about her and she knew nothing about him. Not really. She knew he had killed more than his share. She had seen it in his mind. Though the recollection of him gently pushing his way into her memories made her skin prickle with awareness, which was not unpleasant. He could have plundered her brain for what he needed. If he had told her the truth, he had the highest psi rating ever recorded. It would have been nothing for him to grab the information he wanted and get out. It would have hurt like hell and probably left her damaged, but it would have been quick and efficient.
Yet he hadn’t done that. He had asked her to let him in and when she’d struggled to pull down her barricades he had eased her into submission. He was a curiosity for her. Why had he helped her and why was she still with him? Obviously he needed to protect himself, but he didn’t have to keep her with him. He could have chained her back up to the table and saved himself. Why hadn’t he?
“We’ll be landing shortly.”
She looked out the window but didn’t see an airport. “Don’t you have to call in for clearance?”
“We’re not landing at Key West International.”
She didn’t ask where they would land. She had a feeling she wouldn’t like the answer. A few minutes later her suspicion was confirmed when he picked up the radio headset and put it on.
“Will908…J110 here. You got me?”
Tessa picked up the second headset and put it on. All she heard was light static for several moments.
“J? Really?”
“In the flesh and in your air, Will.”
“Give me three seconds…out.”
The line went dead. Joshua removed his headset and she did the same. She had no idea what or who Will908 was, but she watched out the window for some sign from below.
After what seemed an eternity of silence Joshua pointed. “There, eleven o’clock.”
She turned in the direction just left of the nose of the plane. A short double strip of lights showed the way to land.
Moments later they touched down between those runway lights. The space directly in front of them was pitch-black and Tessa suspected overshooting the runway meant driving headlong into the sea.
He ran a quick shutdown check on the plane and turned toward her, smiling. “We’re here.”
She couldn’t help the short laugh that escaped. “I guess we are.”
Before they’d made their way out of the cockpit something pounded on the door. “That will be Will.”
The door was barely unlocked when it was pulled open the rest of the way by a hulking man of at least six and a half feet with shaggy blond hair and hands the size of meat hooks. Instinctively Tessa crouched into a defensive position. He might be bigger, but she was still confident she could do some damage before he knew what hit him.
His actions were abrupt and perhaps her experience in the past few months had made her jumpy. Since waking, she’d kep
t her mind closed off to keep Joshua out of her head. She let her barriers down and pushed her sense toward this newcomer—she felt nothing but elation.
Further owing to this was the fact he wrapped Joshua in a bear hug that might have crushed a lesser man.
Joshua laughed and returned the death grip. “Good to see you, Will.”
“I couldn’t believe it when I heard the radio.” Will grabbed Joshua’s arms and held him away, giving him a thorough once-over.
“Sorry to wake you, buddy. I need a safe place where we can sort a few things out.” He jerked his chin in her direction.
Will released him and turned, seeing Tessa for the first time. “Oh, sorry.”
“Will Starkey, Tessa Clark.” Joshua made the introductions.
Will took a step forward and was so tall his head literally touched the roof of the fuselage as he held his hand out to her. “Nice to meet you.”
Will Starkey blushed as if he was a schoolboy. He was not exactly good-looking, at least not in Tessa’s opinion, but there was a quality in his eyes and his easy smile that immediately endeared him to her. He was big enough to crush a grown man, but when he took her hand there was startling gentleness within the giant. She detected no psi ability. In fact she detected very little anger at all, which surprised her. Most people were a mix of positive and negative emotions, but there was none within Will’s gray eyes.
She couldn’t help smiling up at him. Most men were at eye level with her, but both Joshua and Will consumed space and the small jet became very close. “The pleasure is mine, Mr. Starkey.”
“Oh no, just Will if you don’t mind.” He blushed deeper.
Joshua said, “Just Will, do you think we could get off the plane anytime soon?”
Will dropped her hand. “Yeah, of course. Come on. I’ve got some tuna steaks I caught today. I’ll throw them on the grill for you. You must be hungry.”
She watched as he sprinted down the steps and took off into the dark. “Is he for real?”
Joshua gave a short burst of laughter. “I’m afraid so.”
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