Mind Over Matter

by C. J. England

  One of the other cops shook his head angrily. “You’ve gone rogue? They must have brainwashed you!”

  Bryan tried to make them understand. “Damn it! I made my own decision. I’m telling you guys, I’ve seen the evidence. The whole agency is a lie. They want to kill all the psychics.”

  “For Christ’s sake, Bryan,” his friend growled at him. “No more lies. Give it up. There are too many of us. None of you are going to get out of here.”

  “That’s where you’re wrong.”

  The leader growled. “You had your chance.” He turned to the others. “Take ’em down.”

  Bryan raised his stun gun and shot a single shot at the closest PAPcop. When the man dropped to the ground, he turned and ran towards Shanna and her brothers. He saw her hands lift as she tossed things at the men behind him.

  Adam concentrated, using his mind to confuse the PAPcops. Some of them screamed and held their heads, while others turned their guns on each other.

  Ethan, whose power of communicating with the dead wasn’t helpful here, used his own stunner to take out some of their enemies.

  After several minutes of fighting, the cops were joined by several more from one of the outside guardhouses. Bryan saw Shanna whirl, pick up a metal bench, and throw it towards them. Almost instinctively he added his power to hers.

  Shanna felt the extra punch of his power. It gave her the added strength to hurl the bench across the yard. She grinned. She could get used to that. Her eyes widened as over Bryan’s shoulder, she could see all the men still standing turn and aim their guns his way. Her heart pounded. That many guns would kill him.

  With a scream of anger she thrust out her hands at the men. Seeing her, Bryan dropped, rolled and their combined talents hit the PAPcops with the power of a freight train. All of them were lifted up and tossed across the courtyard as easily as leaves tossed by the wind.

  Sirens began to wail as more men poured from the building. Bryan staggered over and pulled a weakening Shanna into his arms.

  “Time to go,” Ethan muttered. “I think we’ve worn out our welcome.”

  They all ran to where they’d left the car, quickly piled in, and sped off.

  “A little help, sister?” Adam commented when a few minutes later a car pulled in behind them, lights flashing.

  Shanna nodded and looked over at Bryan. Watching her face carefully, he pulled her into his arms. Blending their powers, they lifted the car and gently set it on top of a nearby building. The PAPcops jumped out of the car and futilely fired their stunners at them.

  Shanna collapsed against Bryan’s chest as the car whipped around a corner and away from any danger that followed. He shakily brushed back her hair. “That took a lot out of you.”

  “You too,” she whispered. “We’ll have to be careful how we use our powers in the future.”

  Adam looked at Bryan in the rear view mirror. “Did you get it?”

  Bryan nodded. He pulled the tiny chip out of his sleeve. “And I uploaded it to that address you told me to.”

  “Good.”

  “What about that mind you felt try to touch mine? Was it PAPcops?” Bryan could see the worry in Adam’s face.

  He shook his head. “I don’t think so. Signature felt different.”

  Ethan grinned at them both. “Who cares who it was? We got the list! We just struck the first blow against PAPRA.”

  An answering smile lit Bryan’s face. “Damn straight!”

  “It’s the beginning of the war,” Adam said and his look was feral. “And this time, we’re the ones they need to be afraid of.”

  Epilogue

  “Not so tight, Thea. I can’t breathe.”

  “Don’t whine,” her sister muttered. “You want to look good on your wedding day, don’t you?”

  “I’ll look like a corpse if I don’t get any air.”

  Althea giggled. “Okay, I’m done. Slip it off before Bryan sees you in it.”

  Shanna groaned and allowed her sister to help her out of the basted wedding gown. “He’s off with the boys going over that list he smuggled out of the agency. They’re deciding the best way to make use of it.”

  “I still can’t believe you went without me,” Althea grumbled.

  “You were working at the hospital, Thea. That’s where you’re needed. You can’t fight. It’s too hard on you.”

  “You have all the fun.”

  Shanna snorted. “Some fun.” Her brow furrowed. “We still haven’t figured out who it was that tried to touch Bryan’s mind. It wasn’t the PAPcops. The Psy energy was totally different.”

  “Some poor psychic being held prisoner?”

  Shanna chewed her lip. “Adam doesn’t know what it was. I think the possibility is eating at him.”

  “Ethan wants to start sending out messages to the public now that we have proof of what PAPRA really is.” Althea lifted the dress and slipped it into a bag.

  “Yes. We have to find a media station that will be open to helping us. And that won’t be easy.”

  “What won’t be easy?” Bryan asked as he came in the door. His pale blue eyes gleamed with appreciation as he took in Shanna’s half-naked form

  Althea giggled. “Never mind. By the look on your face, it’s time for me to go. I’ll bring the dress back when I’m done with it.”

  Shanna looped her arms around Bryan’s neck. “Bye, Thea.”

  Her sister giggled again as she scampered out the door.

  Bryan covered her mouth with his. “Ummm, I missed you.”

  She returned the kiss, loving the feel of his arms around her. “Did you get it figured out?”

  He shook his head. “Some of the data is encrypted, but Ethan knows someone who’s good with computers.”

  “So now what?”

  “Now we wait, get married, and have a baby.” Bryan grinned and kissed her again. “My parents finally got here. You ready to meet them?”

  Shanna bit her lip. “They’ll probably hate me for taking their life away.”

  Bryan frowned. “Baby, don’t worry. They’ve hated PAPRA ever since they took me away from them. Hell, they’ll probably join the resistance too!” He lifted her up and tossed her on the bed, following her down. “They’re getting settled in. We have some time to kill.”

  Shanna flushed. “Bryan! With your parents right next door?”

  He chuckled and released the clasp of her bra, giving him access to the soft mounds. “Anyone who can have sex in the back room of a bar or on a lakeside beach shouldn’t balk at making love with her man in their own bed.”

  Shanna ran her hand down his hard body and unbuttoned his jeans. She slid her hand into his pants to grasp his hard length and Bryan groaned. Quickly he wriggled out of his clothes and then pulled her panties off.

  Watching him, she nibbled on his ear. “You know, before I met you, I was so careful, but ever since you came into my life I’ve changed.”

  Bryan gave her a sexy smile. “I’ve turned rebel for you, baby. So we’ve both changed.”

  “I guess that’s what happens when you fall in love with such a dangerous woman.”

  He chuckled as he pulled her beneath him and fit his body to hers. “It was just mind over matter, Shanna. Once I understood that, I was done.”

  They both gasped as he slid slowly inside her. The electrical current zinged through their bodies.

  “I asked your dad about this.”

  Shanna goggled up at him. “What?” she squeaked.

  Brian laughed. “Not this.” He pulled out and then thrust back inside of her, grinning at her soft moan. “I mean the electricity we feel between us.”

  She nibbled on his collarbone as she tried to stay coherent during his lovemaking. “What ... what did he say?”

  “Some Psy partners have this energy between them. It’s rare, but it can happen. It can be used to either block or enhance different talents.” He bent and laved her nipple. “He said it happens only when there is a deep and true love. Your mom and dad ha
ve it.”

  “Really?” She sighed. “I always knew there was something special between them.”

  “There’s something special between us, too.”

  She purred and arched herself closer to him. “We were meant for each other, Bryan. You’re everything I ever wanted. If we’d discovered each other’s true identities too early, we might have never gotten the chance to fall in love.”

  Her words made his throat tight. “We had a rough start, but I’m not sorry for it. I fell in love with you before I knew who you were. I just let my job get in the way for a little while.”

  Shanna wrapped her legs around his strong thighs, bringing her even closer. At his low groan, she smiled. “I’m so glad I waited for you. You’re the man I dreamed of at night in my lonely bed.”

  “We’ve both been alone a long time, babe,” he growled hoarsely. “But I swear to you, I’m not ever leaving you again.” His mouth moved gently over hers as his body began its familiar loving dance. “You’re mine, and I’m yours. Forever. And you won’t be needing your Psy powers to keep me at your side.”

  The End