Hunting the Shadows

by Alexia Reed

  “Get your hands off me.” She leveled him with a stare when he didn’t move.

  Dare laughed, a full throated sound that brought light into his eyes. “I like you, Amy. I really do, but you’re becoming a pain in the ass.”

  Adrenaline and fear flooded her system, her palms itchy with nerves. She fingered the ends of the band, releasing the clasp. “Then you’re really going to think that now.”

  She caught the quirk of his brow, the flash of surprise in his eyes and then of pain when she shoved inside his mind. As he fell to his knees, she touched her fingertips to his forehead. Severing his mind’s contact with his body, she watched him slump to the ground, paralyzed.

  She leaned down beside him, knowing he fought the force of her mind. Knowing he tried to tell his body to move. Vulnerability. She could see it in his eyes. Maybe now he knew what it felt like to be a victim.

  There was so much violence in his head. Death occupied the majority of his memories—torture and humiliation a main theme. He didn’t care who he hurt. His main concern was getting what he wanted, however he had to. If he had to go behind the back of the Council to do so, he did. He had no qualms or fears about flexing his powers, perhaps because most people were too afraid to stand up to him. Although the living had some protection, in death, no one did.

  Amy loosened herself from his thoughts. Kneeling beside his prone form, she tugged his head up. “Next time I tell you not to touch me, don’t. This won’t last. You’ll be fine as soon as I let go, but I want you to remember something. I could kill you. Right now, I could end your life and you wouldn’t be able to fight back. But I’m not like you, Dare, and I’ll never be.”

  Clapping broke out behind her. Amy rose quickly, spinning around to face the man standing six feet away. Broderick.

  “Impressive.”

  Surprise cut her link with Dare. The moment his mind was free, he launched himself at her, his hands bruising as turned her around, shoving her back against the wall.

  “Enough. Let her go, Dare. You let your guard down and she overpowered you.”

  For one long moment Dare simply glared at her. When he finally let go, she stumbled and rubbed at the dark mark forming on her arm.

  “The bi—”

  “Really?” Broderick lifted a brow. “You want to argue? If she hurt your pride, that’s all on you for giving her a weakness to exploit. You can go through the Council if you’d like a second round with her, but I warn you, I’ll be making sure they know all the facts.”

  She didn’t realize she was holding in her breath—not until Dare stormed out of sight. The only problem was she didn’t know who was more dangerous. Dare…or Broderick. “I could have handled him.”

  “Today, yes. If he’d been prepared, it’s entirely debatable whether you could have taken him down. It’s something we won’t know unless I give him another try.” He studied her, a long sweep of a gaze over the length of her body until she felt violated. “I’d ask what you were doing down here, but it doesn’t really matter.”

  “What do you want?”

  He smiled then, a curl to his lips that let her know this wasn’t a coincidental meeting. “No need to worry. I don’t want anything from you.”

  Yet. He may not want anything from her, but he would. They always did. “I’m not going to let you turn me into a killer.”

  “I hate to burst that sunshine and rainbow bubble you’re living in, but you were born to be an assassin. Raised to kill with a thought. But be careful who you piss off in the future. I can’t guarantee I’ll always be watching.”

  She swallowed, hearing the unspoken threat. “I can take care of myself.” But she remembered J.C.’s words about how she shouldn’t draw attention to herself, and instantly regretted what she’d said.

  “Like I said—” Broderick’s tone was cool and even, giving her no indication what he was thinking, “—you handled yourself this time. I’m not entirely sure that on equal grounds you’d have any advantage. From what I’ve seen so far, you have raw potential but your training has been sorely lacking.”

  “If I hadn’t been—”

  “That’s no excuse. Don’t blame your weaknesses on your circumstances.” Although she didn’t physically react, she flinched on the inside. If he sensed her inner turmoil, he didn’t show it. “Instead of strengthening your abilities, you chose to fight them and your case holder. Rick was too lenient with you and as a result, stunted your growth.”

  She couldn’t believe what she was hearing. Rick was lenient with her?

  “I don’t have any inclinations of letting you have a free ride. You aren’t any more special than the other agents here. Everyone has worked hard to earn the respect they deserve. The fact you’re down here exploring instead of training is unacceptable.”

  “I—”

  “Another excuse. If you want to stick around, you’ll have to own up to your actions. You’re going to have to work to stay in the program.”

  What was stopping her from using her abilities right now? Nothing. They were all alone. All she had to do was kill him. She knew J.C. said it wouldn’t end things, but at least then he’d be gone. It wasn’t like he was innocent. He’d sent more than one psychic to their death because they didn’t fall under the “acceptable” range.

  He was responsible for the death of J.C.’s parents.

  “Nothing to say? Use your words. Surely you’re capable of at least forming a coherent sentence. I was led to believe you were intelligent.”

  She gritted her teeth. “Your threats don’t scare me.”

  “You look like you want to kill me. Try it. I guarantee you won’t have another chance.” He chuckled, a low, amused sound that scraped against any courage she had. “I haven’t gotten where I am because I’m afraid to die. You’ll learn that one of these days.”

  Was this a joke? She stared at him, trying to figure out what his plan was.

  “Come now, Amy,” he taunted, “try to attack me. Or are you weak like Stefan? He used to be the same way. Do you need me to let my guard down first? Is that the only way you’ll attack?”

  Squaring her shoulders, she sized him up. He was nothing but a man. There were no hidden bells and whistles, just brute strength in the large frame of his body.

  “Coward,” he whispered. “I was right, you don’t have what’s needed to be an agent. You’d be better off with your brain hooked up to a machine. At least then I wouldn’t have to waste resources on you.”

  When she tried to slip into his head, there was a block, a wall that refused to budge. She concentrated, biting her lip as she focused her abilities on him. The barrier stayed in place and weakened her with each attempt, until it felt like she was pounding her head against the wall.

  His lips curved and there was nothing warm about them.

  She couldn’t get in. Her mind went frantic with the thoughts of repercussion, of what it would mean. Why couldn’t she get into his head?

  He backhanded her. The hit knocked her down, shocking her as she stared up at him.

  “Oh don’t look at me like that. Just because you’re a woman doesn’t mean I’m going to treat you any differently. You’re pathetic.” He laughed in quiet disbelief, shaking his head. “J.C. believes you are the key to catching this killer, but so far, I haven’t seen evidence of your importance. You can’t even get through a simple telepathy-blocking wrist band. That should be one of the first things you learn because once the enemy realizes what you can do, they’ll do whatever they can to stop you from invading their minds.”

  She should have known he’d be wearing one. Stupid. But then what? It wasn’t as though she could physically take him.

  “The human mind doesn’t need constant reassurance of its identity. The killer isn’t sitting there, repeating his name over and over again,” she said defensively. “I’m do
ing everything I can.”

  “You aren’t doing enough.” His words were sharp, his tone quiet with disapproval. “You’ve failed your second test, Amy, and have received another black mark. Do it again and I’ll give you to Dare.”

  * * *

  J.C. didn’t know what he expected when he stepped into his room, but it wasn’t to find Amy asleep in his bed, wearing nothing but one of his old, ratty T-shirts that bared the long length of her leg. He wanted to run his hand along her smooth skin, to feel her legs wrapped tight around his waist.

  He took a step forward and lowered himself onto the bed, the mattress shifting beneath his weight. She rolled toward him, making a soft sound as her body made contact with his, and her eyes opened. “Hi.”

  There was something in her dreamy gaze that made him grit his teeth, even as he rearranged his jeans and settled himself more comfortably.

  “Where’ve you been?” Her voice was soft, sleepy. He watched her lift her head, only to settle it on her hand. Unaware of her affect on him, she shifted onto her stomach, the shirt drawing up higher.

  J.C. groaned inwardly at the sight of the firm curve of her bottom beneath black underwear. The blood dropped into his groin. “Around. I was trying to figure out when someone could have had access to the children. I haven’t come up with anything conclusive. Have you eaten?”

  He brushed his thumb along her jaw at a darkening mark, his brows furrowing at the sight of it.

  “Mackenzie brought food when she came to check on my leg.” She turned her cheek into his palm. “How many teachers are here?”

  “Not many. I’ve started to run their backgrounds and whereabouts, but so far we haven’t found anything suspicious. It’s taking Darilynn some time. We’re far from finished, but it’s looking like a dead end.”

  She yawned and stretched her arms over her head.

  “I’d like to bring you to a team meeting tomorrow. Think you can scan for the killer’s signature?”

  “Yeah, sure.” She rubbed a hand over her arm and his attention was drawn to the bruise covering half of her forearm. He caught her wrist before she could evade him, turning her arm gently to get a better look.

  A string of curses leaped onto the tip of his tongue. “What happened? Who did this to you?”

  “I ran into Dare earlier and he got a bit physical.”

  “Why?” His eyes narrowed at the thought of what Dare could have done. Had he hit her? “Amy, what’d he do?”

  “I was drawn down to the Crypt by a memory, but got lost. Someone died recently in one of the cells. It still had the touch of death.” She rolled until she lay over his hips, her body hanging upside down as she reached beneath the bed.

  Amy looked up, the bruise on her jaw more and more apparent. She held something gold that sparkled, but he could barely think past the fact that someone had hit her.

  “I found this.” She swallowed convulsively. “I believe it belongs to one of the victims. The memory was badly fragmented, but…I’m sure of it.”

  He couldn’t think straight. Not when she was covered in bruises that hadn’t been there before. Anger tinted his gaze, his blood heating with the demand for justice.

  He grabbed the necklace from her fingers and flipped over the locket.

  “Look familiar to you?”

  He shook his head. “No, but I don’t pay much attention to women’s jewelry. You found it in the prison cell? What does it have to do with your bruises?”

  She shrugged off his last question. “The killer’s signature is on it, J.C. I think I found the murder site. He’s bringing his victims to the Crypt. If we can confirm this th—”

  “Tell me what Dare did to you,” he demanded.

  “He was just there in the Crypt. Claimed he was looking for a soul. He wouldn’t let me go and I panicked. I didn’t know what else to do so I used my abilities.”

  J.C. caught her by her arms, setting her aside so that he could rise and walk the length of the room. “Are you crazy?”

  “I had no choice.” All trace of sleep was gone from her eyes as she sat up cross-legged, dragging a pillow into her lap. “Broderick was watching me, J.C. He told Dare to leave me alone.”

  For what price?

  “Damn it, you need to watch what you do. Broderick’s already tried to take me from your case. We don’t know his agenda.”

  “There’s more.” She took a deep breath. “He challenged me. He told me to attack him and when I tried, I couldn’t get into his head. I failed.”

  “You failed,” he repeated.

  She nodded sharply. “He said I need to start proving my worth. I think I’ve undone all of your work. He said I need to learn how to get through those bands that block me from entering the minds of others.”

  It’d been on his list, but he wanted to strengthen her shields before working on it. Fuck.

  “Don’t go down there again.” He lowered himself onto the bed. More shaky than he wanted to admit, he touched his forehead to hers briefly. “Is that understood?”

  “There you go, ordering me around again.” She shot out her chin, but all he saw was that dark spot. “It’s not like I wanted to go down there. I got lost. I didn’t know Broderick was watching or that he would challenge me.”

  What little control he had snapped.

  There was no way she could retreat any farther into the pillows than she already was. J.C. towered over her on the bed, his body practically covering hers. She lifted her hands, settling them on his chest.

  “You have to watch what you do from now on. You can’t just walk around by yourself. I’ll deal with Broderick and get him to ease off, but you don’t know what Dare’s capable of.”

  Not that Broderick wasn’t a threat, but Dare had his own form of punishments that went beyond the standards of the Council. Although usually reserved for those on death row, there were times when Dare had the chance to “play” with the others when Caleigh and Ashton were busy. Dare enjoyed bringing his prey to the brink of death, stopping their heart and then giving them a treat of what it was like in the astral plain under his domain before bringing them back to life. The stain of death would always mar the individual and change them. It was something a person never forgot.

  “Don’t tell me I don’t know.” Her eyes narrowed. “I know he has no feelings for anyone but himself. He shot a man in front of me because I didn’t want to mentally maim another.”

  That was tame for Dare, but J.C. hesitated to tell her that.

  “I know that he gets high on the fear and pain of others and that every day during my coma, he visited me. He gave me a close and personal view of what it was like to be dead and nothing I did could wake me from those nightmares. He could do whatever he wanted and I couldn’t fight him.”

  He swore softly.

  “So yes, I do know what he’s capable of. First hand. I know. Believe me, I’m plenty scared enough as is and I don’t ever want to be given to him again.” She trembled against him and all he wanted was to hold her. “I was weak then. I’m not now. I know what I’m capable of doing. Don’t tell me that I shouldn’t defend myself when I’m being threatened.”

  Hell. He dragged her forward so that he could hold her. Even if it didn’t comfort her, he needed to touch her. “I’m sorry,” he whispered in her hair.

  He didn’t want to see her hurt. It pained him, more than she would ever know that Dare had used her.

  No, it infuriated him.

  Dare could have claimed her again. He could have taken her and there would have been no way for anyone to save her. If it hadn’t been for Broderick, anything could have happened. As much as it killed him, he was grateful the Handler had interfered. Even if she failed the second test. At least she had a chance to redeem herself.

  He wanted to feel her, to know that she was fine. J.C. r
an his tongue along his teeth, even as he whispered that it would be okay.

  Her pulse bumped against his fingers, a rapid beat that reminded him that she was alive and here with him. “I don’t know how I’m supposed to feel around you. Just when I have myself under check, you blow my control to hell.”

  She wet her lips. “Was I supposed to sit in the room and do nothing? I can’t do that. I want to help you.”

  He traced his finger up her throat, leaning down until their faces were inches apart. “Who are you, Amy?”

  Her lips flipped up in the corners. “Only a shadow in your mind.”

  “And what have I said about staying out of my head?”

  “All’s fair…” Amy fluttered her lashes, “…as long as you don’t know that I’m in there.”

  He couldn’t help but be amused. “Brat.” He felt her shiver when he bent his head, nipping beneath her ear. Her thighs pressed together. He did it again, swirling his tongue in circles and she arched against him. He smiled and eased his knee between her legs, keeping her spread for him, open to his touch.

  Moving his fingers to her wrist, he undid the leather band and tossed it, unleashing her ability.

  “J.C., is that a good idea?”

  “Trust me. The sensors in the room are still active. Focus on me. I want you to use your abilities. We need to start practicing them in non-threatening environments to strengthen your mental muscles.” He reached between them, snagging a finger in the neck of the T-shirt. “Just don’t turn me into that paperweight you once threatened me with.”

  Pushing her fingers into his hair, Amy tugged his face down to hers. “I’m not in the mood for a lesson.”

  Her mouth brushed his then went back again. It was such an innocent touch that he groaned, giving in to her exploratory kiss. When her mouth settled fully on his, he opened up for her, giving her full rein until his lungs burned and he grew harder than he’d ever been before.