“Ladies.” Rhodes extended his hand and indicated toward the two chairs in front of him, as he walked behind his giant oak desk.
Sparing her aunt a warning glance that she hoped told the older woman this really wasn’t the time to lose their cool, she sat in the chair to the left.
“Thank you for seeing us, Mr. Rhodes.” Addison schooled her features into an agreeable mien, the one she usually reserved for boardrooms and charity events. Jeanne used to call it her “professional Addison” look. The expression promised the world they wanted to do whatever it was she asked of them.
“It’s not every day that Wade Corporation requests a visit with us. I have to admit I was intrigued. What can I do for you?” He glanced briefly at her aunt. Addison was impressed by how quickly Rhodes assessed the situation and turned his attention to her. Most people took a little longer to realize the pecking order, which was mostly because Morgan had forty years on her niece.
“We’re not here today on behalf of Wade Corporation, but for the Wade family itself.” Addison crossed her legs and hoped her strange new habit of foot tapping wouldn’t plague her.
“You have my attention.”
“I’ll cut right to the point.” There was no conceivable reason to make small talk with the man or deal in double-speak. After the incident in the hall, Addison was becoming more and more convinced her aunt hadn’t been wrong when she’d suggested the Conditioned could take the thoughts right out of her head. That meant she would say exactly what she wanted them to know and not think of her strangeness at all, lest the thought be ripped from her mind. Except, of course, she’d just done it again. Damn it.
“Please do.” His voice was like velvet. How many people had underestimated him because of it?
“Almost a month ago, my nephew, Jeremy Wade, was kidnapped from his bedroom sometime between one and six in the morning. We can’t be more specific than that because we simply don’t know.”
“I assume you’ve contacted the authorities.”
Addison nodded. “Yes. The police are trying to handle this quietly, but it’s not going well. They haven’t been able to find a single piece of evidence. Not a fiber they can run in their labs, no sign of forced entry, nothing. It was as if one second Jeremy was in his bedroom and then—poof—he was gone.”
The sound of tapping on the floor made Addison realize she’d started again. She sighed as she pushed down on her knee, hoping she could keep her foot steady with some pressure on the top of her leg.
“So, you’ve come to us.” It wasn’t a question. “How old is Jeremy?”
“Four. He’s the only child of my older sister, Jeanne, who died during a ski vacation three years ago.” The word didn’t begin to describe what had happened.
Silence. Then the sounds of sirens traveling up the mountain. Addison bit the inside of her cheek to force the memories away. This was neither the time nor the place to revisit them.
“And the boy’s father?”
“We have no idea who his father is. Jeanne always refused to name him. We're the only family Jeremy knows.”
“And it’s taken you a month to come to us?” Was that anger flaring in his eyes before it quickly vanished?
Her aunt harrumphed. “It’s just not the way things are done.” Addison wished her aunt had stayed quiet. She needed to do damage control.
“What my aunt means, Mr. Rhodes, is that the Wade family has certain obligations to our shareholders. Those duties, if you will, require us as a family to behave in a certain way. Not to make problems that might affect the company’s stock value. There have been a series of unfortunate accidents over the last few years. My grandfather discussed the situation with the Chief of Police, and decided it should be handled quietly.” Despite her screaming and yelling at her grandfather about it.
Every expert on child abduction stated clearly that children whose faces were plastered all over television and the internet were found more quickly, and more often, than children for whom that didn’t happen. Addison had spent hours researching the subject. Everything her grandfather had done from the beginning had been inherently wrong, and after weeks of trying it his way, she’d finally had enough. Hence her trip to Safe Dawn.
“I see.” Rhodes stood so abruptly that his chair flew backward. Morgan gasped, but Addison only allowed herself the briefest of glances at the now-broken chair, before regarding the man again. She was quite used to displays of temper. They didn’t impress her, not in the least. Men who screamed weren’t the problem; it was the quiet ones you had to worry about.
“I’m going to be honest with you, Ms. Wade. The last thing in the world I want to ask any of my people to do is help Wade Corporation or your grandfather. As far as I’m concerned, he is personally responsible for every bad thing that has ever happened to a Conditioned person.”
“I’m aware of that—”
He interrupted. “However, if you’d allow me to continue, I was going to say that there is a child involved here. An innocent child who hasn’t had the chance to be responsible for any of the wrongs in the world.” His icy glare told her she’d had plenty of time for the same responsibility to fall on her shoulders.
She returned his glare. There was nothing to hide—not on her part, anyway. Any decisions she’d made, she was comfortable with.
“So you’ll help us? You’ll send Spencer Lewis?” Excitement and something akin to relief surged through her veins. She could barely keep her composure. “Wade Corporation will, of course, make a large donation to any of the charitable organizations that help your people with their special needs.”
“So you read the news reports on Spencer.” He kept talking, which meant he hadn’t actually meant that as a question. “We will help you, but it’s not going to be Spencer Lewis. I’m sorry. After what happened last time, he’s earned a vacation. And there were some complications.”
“His partner. Yes, I remember.” She gasped and covered her mouth. Had she just admitted to Rhodes they’d had a private report commissioned on them? Why couldn’t she maintain her professional mask with this man?
Taking a deep breath, she continued. “It has to be Spencer Lewis.”
“It can’t be. It’s complicated. With our people, it’s so much more than just a partnership. It’s much more… intimate, in a way I simply can’t describe. I’m not sure Spence can do what you want him to do anymore. We have other highly qualified people.”
Anger surged in her veins, and she fought for control. Highly intense emotions were likely to bring out her strangeness, and this was the last place on Earth where that could happen. Rhodes would likely haul her back into their facility, and have her entire family locked up while they investigated whether or not they’d known about her Condition. No, she needed to get control of herself right now.
A, my name is Addison, my mother’s name is April, we come from Albany, and we eat apples.
B, my name is Brenda, my mother’s name is Britta, we come from Boston, and we eat bananas.
C, my name is Caroline, my mother’s name is Christa, we come from Concord, and we eat chocolate.
Rhodes narrowed his eyes. Just then, the door slammed open.
A man strode in. Instantly, Addison knew she was in the presence of the most intense and possibly dangerous man she’d ever been around. Close to six feet five inches tall, he had a football player’s build. Broad-shouldered, he looked like he could be trampled by a herd of elephants and still get back up again without trouble. Power poured from his core, and Addison revised her opinion from football player to outlaw. In times past, he would have led a posse of thieves on horseback. The very sight of him would have had people giving over their prized possessions.
Blond hair covered his head and, even though it was cut short, displaced pieces of it hit the tops of his eyes. Addison imagined he would have to literally shave his head to keep it out of his eyes. On other men, the effect might have softened them. It only made him seem more provocative, like he didn’t even take
the time to brush his hair. He didn’t pretend to be civilized. Just being in the room with him made her survival instincts scream danger. Gripping the sides of her chair, she willed herself not to be afraid. Immediately, she failed.
He turned his head to stare at her. His eyes were a dark shade of blue, almost green in the office lighting. Silver circles floated in the centers, creating a hypnotic effect. Addison wondered if his odd powers included the ability to put someone in a trancelike state by just looking at them. She’d heard that some of these people had physical manifestations of their abilities, but she had never seen any before.
Shooting his attention back to Rhodes, he strode to the desk and slammed his hand down on it. “Who the hell is doing that? Did you bring an untrained juvenile here and let them loose on my senses just to make me crazy?”
Rhodes shook his head. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I suppose it’s possible one of the new ones is letting off some unknown signals, but I’m not feeling anything. Of course, I’m not as sensitive as you.” He motioned to Addison and her aunt. “I was just informing Addison and Morgan Wade here that you’re unavailable to search for their missing nephew. He’s four years old, and he’s vanished. Ladies.” Rhodes stood up. “This is Spencer Lewis.”
Addison gaped. Rhodes was right. They would need someone else. He was far too volatile for her senses, and she’d never be able to maintain her composure.
Someone else would have to find Jeremy.
Two
Spencer had nearly swallowed his tongue when he’d stormed into the room. He’d been in one of his too-common rages, when he’d stumbled on the blonde with the cold blue eyes sitting in the chair to the left. Stunning didn’t begin to describe her. She had made the world stop for a moment.
That she was a Wade didn’t surprise him, not in the least.
Despite the heat of attraction, he could almost feel a chill. Then again, the whole family was said to have ice instead of blood running through their veins. Addison Wade sat frigidly in her chair, her expression haughty and removed, as if she was more concerned with not wrinkling her skirt than noticing he was in the room. They’d come asking for help to find a missing boy? She looked like she was making a quick stop before some trendy lunch date.
Spencer had some experience with finding missing children. He was used to the families falling apart, not sitting calmly, looking like they’d just come from a day at a hair salon.
At least they had come.
Surprising as that was. Until then, Spencer would have sworn the Wade family would rather swallow their tongues, than come near one of the institutions. The whole thing was ironic, considering he was in the presence of two of the individuals responsible for the misery that plagued so many of his people and necessitated the continuing use of these places.
He should tell the Wades to go screw themselves. Why was it his problem that they couldn’t keep track of their own child?
Even as the thought crossed his mind, he dismissed it. In his life, he’d always helped a child if he could. In this case, the could would be the ultimate question. Spencer had no idea whether he was even capable of performing the functions they would need to locate their nephew.
Knowing that every eye in the room was focused on him, including Will’s, he turned around to regard the women who sat behind him. Leaning on the desk, he gave Addison a good long stare. If she already thought he was a savage, why not live up to the role? There would be hell to pay from Will later, but just watching her try not to squirm while she maintained her detached expression would be worth it.
“Your nephew has gone missing.” He made his statement sound like a question. He knew the kid was gone—Will had just said he was, and Will was, as far as Spencer could tell, never wrong.
“Yes, he disappeared from his bedroom a month ago.”
“Spencer, I told them you aren’t available for the assignment. I’m going to pull in someone else.” Will’s dark tones clearly expressed what he thought of Spencer’s presence in the room at that moment. “Your other issue, the one that had you storming in here like a lunatic, I’ll look into the matter later.”
Ignoring Will, Spencer continued his long stare at Princess Addison. “And it took you a whole month to come here? What were you doing?”
“Why, we were too busy to come here, naturally. I had a ski vacation in Aspen, and my aunt needed to get her nails done every day.” Addison’s sarcasm spat from her mouth and Spencer nearly laughed out loud. So, the cat had claws. What was wrong with him that he liked it so much?
“Temper, temper, Ms. Wade.” Spencer ignored the tug in his groin that said he was more than just a little aware of how attractive she was.
“I don’t like your implication, Mr. Lewis. For your information, we have been working with the authorities and trying to handle this nightmare ourselves.” She looked down, and for a moment Spencer could have sworn she was biting the inside of her cheek. Her foot still tapped on the floor. When she looked up, her gaze was not on him, but on Will behind him. Spencer narrowed his eyes. He didn’t like that one bit.
“I realize this is the perfect opportunity to attack and humiliate us. We’re sitting here in your office, easy targets. But we’ve come here in good faith, to ask you for help in our most desperate situation. Can you help us, or should we leave?”
“We can help you. I’ll assign you someone.” Will walked around the desk to stand next to Spencer, placing a hand on his arm.
Spencer started. When was the last time the other man had touched him? A jolt of psychic awareness filled the room, although he was sure the two non-sensitives wouldn’t feel it. Why was Will pushing on his senses so hard?
“But it won’t be Spencer here helping you. As I said, he’s not capable of doing what you need him to do right now.”
Addison’s eyes showed relief. “That’s fine. We’ll be most grateful.”
Oh, hell no. “I can do it.”
“What?” Will and Addison spoke at the same time.
Spencer crossed his arms over his chest. “I said, I could do it. I’ll find the missing Wade child, your nephew.”
“No.” Addison stood up.
Looking left and right between Addison and Spencer, the older woman Will had called Morgan rose as well, a pained expression on her features showing her worry.
“No?”
“Mr. Rhodes says you’re not capable of doing the job. Therefore, we need someone else.”
“I said I would do it, and I’m the best there is. No one else can find your nephew as quickly as I can. You do care about that, don’t you, Ms. Wade? Or do people in your position, who wait a month to get the services of freaks like us, not care about things like the mental health of the missing child?”
Addison’s mouth gaped open, and he had the momentary pleasure of watching her do her best imitation of the number zero. Satisfaction crept up his spine. Let the spawn of all things evil feel lower than low for a while. Nothing he’d ever said had felt better.
Until he saw her hand shaking.
She quickly stuck the less-than-composed portion of her body into the pocket of her neat gray suit jacket.
He narrowed his eyes as he took a better look at the younger Wade woman. She was perfectly put together, and he’d fallen into a trap he wouldn’t have believed he still could. He knew better than anyone how deceiving appearances actually were.
Dark smudges hidden by makeup marred the skin under her eyes. Most people wouldn’t notice that. He should have recognized it immediately. Psychic ability alone hadn’t gotten him the reputation he had. He’d had to learn to be shrewd, cunning, and observant. When he’d heard the name Wade, it had made him momentarily careless. When he coupled that carelessness with the unfortunate sexual pull Addison caused on his nerves, he had gone completely off the deep end.
There was no excuse. He was going to have to do a better job of handling Addison Wade if he was going to find her nephew.
She’d composed herself, and
this time Spencer noted how much energy it seemed to have cost her. Addison’s eyes shot daggers of hate. His heartbeat picked up; he was more than a little turned on. The whole thing was strange. He liked nice women, and so far, Addison was not coming across as anything close to nice. He smirked. It probably didn’t help that he’d goaded her.
“I love my nephew.” Her voice broke, and he felt a pang of regret. “He’s all I have left of my sister.” She swallowed, and he opened his mouth to answer, only to have her raise her hand to stop him. Clearly, she was fighting tears. “If you really are the best, and you think you can do it, then I will take any insults you want to dish out without complaint. You can batter at me, and call me names. I don’t care. Can you really help us, Mr. Lewis?”
For the first time in more years than he cared to remember, he felt ashamed of himself. Not that he would tell her that. “I can try, Ms. Wade. There are never any guarantees.”
Rhodes interrupted. “I’m afraid this is more complicated than that. As much as I would love to send Spencer to you, I’m going to have to put a stop to this. Without his anchor”—at the mention of Priscilla, Spencer’s insides went cold—“Spencer can’t do more than a peripheral reading for you.”
Addison shook her head. “I’m afraid I don’t know what that means.”
“A surface reading from me is better than a deep one from anyone else.”
“You’ve never been short of ego.” Will’s voice was harsh.
“Am I wrong?”
“No.” Rhodes looked back at Addison. “Despite what movies and tabloids tell you, none of our psychics—not the ones who can do what Spencer does—can work alone. It’s too dangerous for them. They can get lost in the vision, in the otherness of it. I can’t explain it to you because I don’t understand it myself. I don’t have that talent. But it takes two people, who have complementary abilities, to navigate the experience. If Spencer were to let himself go too deep into the vision, he would lose himself. His body would be here, but his mind would never return.”
Illicit Senses: Illicit Minds #1 Page 2