Silver Tongue (a PowerUp! story)

by Marie Harte

  SILVER TONGUE

  (A PowerUp! Story)

  Marie Harte

  www.loose-id.com

  Silver Tongue (A PowerUp! Story)

  Copyright © August 2012 by Marie Harte

  All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from Loose Id LLC. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  eISBN 978-1-61118-732-8

  Editor: Ann M. Curtis

  Cover Artist: Anne Cain

  Printed in the United States of America

  Published by

  Loose Id LLC

  PO Box 809

  San Francisco CA 94104-0809

  www.loose-id.com

  This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning

  This e-book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. Loose Id LLC’s e-books are for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

  * * * *

  DISCLAIMER: Please do not try any new sexual practice, especially those that might be found in our BDSM/fetish titles without the guidance of an experienced practitioner. Neither Loose Id LLC nor its authors will be responsible for any loss, harm, injury or death resulting from use of the information contained in any of its titles.

  Chapter One

  March

  Bend, Oregon

  Kitty Nelson rubbed her temples and did her best to make peace between the hostile pair getting ready to fight over a StairMaster. After recently returning from an investigative case in Tacoma that she’d solved with little effort, she’d been on top of the world. She’d sidestepped danger to retrieve an ornamental picture frame that had a weird impact on its owners. Using her government-honed skills, she’d performed well, again proving herself more than a competent member of the PowerUp! team.

  So why did a pair of bitchy women have to ruin her good mood? She pushed a psychic tendril of calm into the anger brewing between the women, trying to settle the straining emotion by doing what she did best—employing empathy, her special sixth sense, and what made her a vital asset to Jack’s team of psychics.

  “Look, you little twit, I’ve been waiting for this machine for over an hour.” The older of the two women pointed to the clearly visible stand holding a sign-up sheet for the treadmill and elliptical equipment.

  “Don’t call me a twit, lady. I didn’t see the sign, so back off.”

  Kitty focused harder. After dealing with the idiots downstairs trying to pound the life out of each another, she’d worn down. So she boosted her energy and blanketed the women with a heavier dose of psychic power than she’d normally use.

  At once she saw them relax. Finally.

  “I…I’m sorry. It’s been a long, stressful day at work.” The older woman sighed and smoothed back her hair, then planted a hand on her trim hip. She wore the latest in trendy workout gear, from her leotard to her snappy sneakers, clothing that had probably cost more than Kitty had spent on an entire week’s worth of gear. The woman continued. “Look, why don’t you take the next thirty minutes. I’ll squeeze in after. But next time, make sure you sign up on the sheet first.”

  The younger woman nodded. “I’m sorry too. Thanks, and I’ll make sure I sign in next time.”

  They smiled at one another; then the girl hopped on the machine and started climbing stairs like nobody’s business. The other woman returned to the free weights, more than happy to have James, one of the PowerUp! gym’s more popular personal trainers, standing by to assist her.

  James winked at Kitty before turning the full wattage of his killer smile on the woman.

  Kitty took the opportunity to head back down the hallway toward the other gym, the one only Jack’s hand-selected employees used.

  As much as she loved this place, lately it had been aggravating her to no end. God, I need a drink. She entered an employees-only dressing room, locked the door behind her, and checked the clock on the wall. Only an hour to go before she could have the weekend to herself. She accessed the hidden panel, which allowed entry into the downstairs gym. After punching in the correct code, Kitty headed downstairs, in need of a workout to burn off her stress.

  Yet she knew she couldn’t stay in denial. It wasn’t bitchy gym-goers or her coworkers getting on her last nerve.

  It was him. Dane Hanson. Memories swarmed her of his dark brown eyes glittering with intensity, and for some stupid reason, her entire libido tripped over itself, wanting to see more.

  Gritting her teeth and pushing the idiot’s image out of her mind, or at least trying to, Kitty stalked past a few of her friends and did her best to return their greetings. She paused when she reached her boss’s office, having caught a lick of extreme emotion, a powerful swelling of feeling that exacerbated her headache.

  I so don’t need this today.

  But she couldn’t ignore the raging anger swirling like a tornado in Jack’s office. She couldn’t see it, but she could feel it. A rush of power and rage that made the hair on her body stand on end. So incredibly seductive, that power. And so deadly.

  She drew in a deep breath, then let it out and knocked on the door.

  “What?” he snapped from within, the deep growl of a wounded animal at its most lethal. Typical Jack.

  “It’s me.”

  A pause. “What do you need?” came the barely less antagonistic response.

  “Don’t be an ass. I need to talk to you. And not through a door.”

  In seconds, the door swung back to reveal a man bigger than big and meaner than mean. She’d rarely seen men larger than her boss, though Dane came close. Her coworker Keegan matched her boss in size, but Jack had a lethality to him Keegan couldn’t match. And Jack’s stare had cut many a body off at the knees. His eyes were a mix of light-gray and ice-blue. Definitely a wolf in man’s clothing.

  “Yes?” he asked in a superpolite voice.

  “You’re giving me a headache, you know that?” Though a smarter woman would have headed for the exit and not looked back, Kitty stepped past Jack into his office and sat down. She’d never been afraid of Jack Keiser. Not when she’d first met him four years ago during her work with the government’s Psychic Warfare Program—PWP—and not now.

  He slammed the door shut and rounded his desk to sit behind it, facing her with an intensity that never seemed to fade. “What’s your problem?”

  “You.”

  He blinked. Immediately, the fury that had been riding him eased off. “I’m sorry. Better now?”

  “Actually, yeah.” She studied him, noting the haggard lines on his face, the dark shadows under his eyes. She saw the fatigue he couldn’t hide from her, as well as the worry. “What’s wrong? And don’t bullshit me.”

  He opened his mouth and closed it again. Then he sighed. “Sometimes I hate working with psychics.”

  “Join the club.”

  He snorted. “It’s nothing I can’t handle, Red.”

  She self-consciously touched her dark red ponytail and glared at him. “Jack, spill it.” Only she could get away with holding his feet to the fire
, and it was a good thing, because someone needed to.

  Kitty felt Jack’s history as keenly as she knew her own. He had deep wounds, and he knew she’d long ago tapped into his emotions, unable to help herself. But she kept her mouth shut about it, and she did her job to the best of her ability. They’d built a deep respect for each other, and Kitty would do whatever Jack needed her to. She trusted him, and she didn’t trust easily, not when she could sense the lies under the pretense of affability most people wore.

  “Hell,” Jack swore when she refused to look away from him. “I have a big problem—namely, Stallbridge and that book Aidan and Gavin retrieved.”

  The PWP might have ended when the government shut it down, but not all their psychics had stayed with Uncle Sam. Jack had created the PowerUp! gym as a refuge, a place where a few ex-PWP agents could put down roots while continuing to train their bodies and minds. Few locals knew of their abilities, although a family of powerful psychics lived nearby. Though not a part of the ex-PWP, the Cannon family occasionally worked along with them on the investigative cases Kitty and her friends did when not working topside in the gym. Thus far, multimillionaire Owen Stallbridge remained their number one and only client. Though Kitty thought Jack might have gotten them a few government jobs from the comments he’d made.

  Owen could well afford their services. He employed them to help retrieve a number of items stolen from his family over a year ago. And there was a twist to the whole deal—the items stolen weren’t normal. To date, the PowerUp! team had recovered an enchanted locket, a haunted painting, a pocket watch that did strange things to time, a cursed blade, a haunted picture, and a book—Jack’s current problem. Chronicles supposedly recounted the Stallbridge family’s sexual proclivities throughout the ages. Bizarre, but it seemed to Kitty the book was much less dangerous than the blade and painting they’d recovered.

  Then again, Aidan and Gavin had nearly died two weeks ago bringing back the book.

  “Okay, so Chronicles,” she prodded. “What about it?” From what she knew, Aidan and Gavin had gone undercover at some criminal’s perverted idea of a party to find and bring back the book. In the course of the recovery, Aidan had been tortured and Gavin drugged, the pair nearly killed by a raging psychopath.

  Though the team had quit working PWP cases, these “unofficial PWP cases,” as she liked to think of them, provided as much jeopardy as the government jobs had, a fact she could have done without.

  She continued when Jack remained mute. “Chronicles is a biography about the Stallbridges, right? With some dirty pictures thrown in for fun, or so I hear.”

  The thought of dirty pictures and fun once again brought an image of her latest trouble to mind. Six feet four inches of muscle, testosterone, and an annoying tendency to dominate the conversation. Nothing like his sweet, loveable sister.

  “Hello? Earth to Kitty. Come in.”

  She flushed. “Sorry.”

  “You okay? You had a funny look on your face just now.”

  “Uh-uh. Forget it. You’re not changing the subject until I get some answers. The book. What’s the problem?”

  He let out a frustrated breath. “The problem is Owen’s sister reappeared, read the book, and left with it. Now he can’t find her.”

  “And?”

  “And he wants me to track her down,” Jack muttered.

  She stared at him, intrigued by the concern and nerves she sensed him trying to suppress. That he tried to hide it from her at all gave cause for concern. Was he interested in the book or Owen’s sister? Or perhaps Owen made him all tingly and unsure of himself. Jack and Owen had recently begun spending a lot of time together, and though Kitty thought she knew Jack well, the man had his secrets.

  “Quit looking at me like that,” he grumbled.

  “Then quit trying to throw me off. You’re interested. In the girl, the book, or Owen?”

  “Owen?” He looked confused, then flushed. “Fuck, Kitty. I’m not gay.”

  “Oh? So that constant argumentative thing you have going with Keegan isn’t a cover for deep-seated longing?”

  His horrified expression made her laugh. Jack and Keegan fought constantly, even though Keegan was Jack’s employee. Their tension amused the entire team, because Jack’s inability to control Keegan Price brought him down a peg from his godlike dominion over their tight-knit group. Even among psychics, Jack was a powerful SOB. Kitty knew better than to question his authority just for kicks.

  Keegan had the art of rebellion down to a science. And on some level, she thought Jack respected him for it, though he’d sooner cut out his own tongue than admit it.

  “Okay. So it’s the book or the girl.” At his continued silence, she nodded. “Or maybe both. I’ve never met Heather. What’s she like?”

  Kitty lied. Owen’s sister had popped into the gym once a few months ago to see the place. She’d projected a sense of strength and, surprisingly, psychic ability. More than that, though, the woman felt real. An honestly contented person—a rare find. She resembled Owen—drop-dead gorgeous but female. Ash-blonde hair, deep green eyes, and a body women paid a fortune at the gym to achieve. Kitty could think of worse women to pair up with her boss.

  Jack frowned. “I don’t know Heather. Never met her. Owen gave me a picture of her and a location to start from. That’s it.”

  “So what’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know. Something’s off about her disappearance. I can feel it.”

  “So can I.” She studied Jack, searching for a reason for his disquiet. Sometimes emotions camouflaged truth, and with the right mental touch, she could weed through clouded judgment to get to the facts. Unfortunately, Jack’s natural mental shields made it hard to ferret out much. She was surprised to feel his fascination at all, which made her that much more curious to learn why her boss had a fixation.

  “Kitty, cut it out.” He rubbed his temple and glared at her.

  “Sorry.” To her embarrassment, she’d automatically started to soothe his worry. “I’m used to dealing with the other nimrods around here. And speaking of which, you need to talk to Nathan and Aidan. I had to ease them away from killing each other earlier. Though it was more like I had to stop Aidan from strangling Nathan with his own gym socks.”

  Jack groaned. “Don’t tell me. Nathan is needling him. Again.”

  “Yep. I love the guy, but a happy Nathan is worse than a Nathan on edge. He’s positively joyful while he screws with the others. And Aidan isn’t someone to mess with on a good day.”

  “True. I’ll have a talk with him.”

  “Talk to Avery instead. He’s due back in a few days, isn’t he?”

  “Yeah. Probably why Nathan is bugging the shit out of Aidan and me.”

  Nathan missed Avery, his partner and lover. And Kitty missed him too, wishing Avery was here to keep Nathan in line.

  Kitty envied the many couples around the place. It seemed like everyone but her, Jack, and Ian had paired up. And as much as she liked Jack, she didn’t feel romantically tied to him in any way. Ian, that pretty, smart-mouthed troublemaker, was gay and proud of it. No sense even looking in his direction. Not that he was her type. Not like…

  “There you go again. You get the oddest expressions lately. Like you ate something bad.”

  A good analogy. Thinking about Dane Hanson gave her indigestion. “I’m fine.”

  “It’s that guy who’s been bugging you, isn’t it?”

  “No.”

  “I thought he was gone.” Jack apparently didn’t believe her. “Want me to talk to him?”

  “No! No.” She cleared her throat. That was all she needed. Big bad Jack to fight her battles. She could take care of herself. Always had, always would. “Though I appreciate the thought. I’m pretty sure he’s over his mad.” She felt the need to explain again. “He thinks I encouraged his sister to date some loser.”

  Jack sat back in his chair and placed his hands behind his head. “Did you?”

  “No. Karen is really
sweet and in love with Doug, who’s not a loser. He happens to be a man with genuine feelings for her. Okay, so I might have pushed them to talk to each other when they would have avoided contact. We kind of struck up a friendship, and the three of us have gone out a few times.” More than a few times, actually. To her surprise, she really liked Karen. And Doug suited the pretty woman to a T. The pair would be happy together. Kitty could feel it. “I simply encouraged Doug and Karen to let down their guards and be real with each other.” True love should never be squandered. She pursed her lips. “Screw her brother. It’s her life, not his.”

  Jack actually chuckled, a rare sight to behold. “Playing matchmaker. Tsk, tsk. You should know better. The love-doctor thing will bite you on the ass every time.”

  “Like you’d know?” She huffed. “I bet your idea of romance is not to bang your date’s head on the door while you zip up and throw her out of the car.”

  “You wound me.” His eyes twinkled.

  “Please.” She grinned at him, then lost her smile at thoughts of Karen and Doug being denied happiness because of something so trivial as a family grudge. “Karen’s a friend of mine. And that’s the only reason I haven’t kicked her brother’s ass.”

  “That, and he’s almost as big as I am.”

  “So what? You’re not that tough.” She ignored his raised brow. “In any case, her brother isn’t anything like you.”

  “Looks ex-military. Big, muscular, holds himself at the ready. He’s different, and I don’t like different.”

  “Funny. Because we’re all a ‘little different.’”

  Jack just looked at her.

  She stared back, trying to appear unaffected by it all, but she couldn’t outstare her boss and blinked. “Damn it. I was trying to calm Karen down that first time. She saw Doug in the gym, and the fireworks were already there. Not anger, but a huge case of affection and lust. So I just kind of helped them let down their safeguards.”

  “Empathically,” Jack added drily.

  “I talked to both of them too. Something any normal person might do. I like them as a couple. But now they think I’m responsible for them getting together.”