The barrier waivered as if it were liquid rather than solid. The wall slipped away and the light of her memories glowed brighter.
“Good girl. Well done.” Joshua navigated forward through the other barriers he knew she could not control. It was nothing that would damage her by pushing through, so he did.
As if a door were opening, Joshua stepped into Tessa’s memories.
The desert stretched out behind her. Three men were laughing together as she entered the tent. She liked them. They were her friends. The paper in her hand held their orders and she hid her excitement from them. She couldn’t wait to make a move. They’d been sitting in the tent for too long, waiting and watching.
The memory jerked forward to a long table covered with maps. The four of them stood planning their assignment. The fragment nicking her arm was the first indication they were in trouble. Pain and years of training crumbled her to the floor. The tent exploded in gunfire.
Crawling forward, she ignored the burning agony in her upper arm, her hand came up bloody as she clutched Peter’s hair. She rolled him over, but he was gone. Adrenaline and instinct were the only things driving her. On her belly she moved to Jake’s side. His leg was bleeding badly, but he was alert. She screamed the name of the fourth agent. Jake shook his head. The tent was still erupting with bullets, smoke and shrapnel. It all rained down on them.
Firing at nothing was also instinct, but she held back, waiting for a target. She turned from Jake, and his dead body fell against her, pinning her to the ground. It seemed as if hours had passed before the room was silent. Nothing left, but she and three dead friends.
Joshua pulled back from her mind. He knew everything he needed to know. She had not known the attack was coming and she had mourned for the loss of her team. Tessa was not a traitor.
When he opened his eyes, his right hand was wrapped around her head in an embrace. A tear pushed between her lids. He shook as badly as she did. Probing left a mark on both parties.
He released her. “I’m sorry.”
Her eyes opened. Any sign of tears was gone as if they had never been. “It’s not your fault.”
“You think you were set up?”
“Don’t you?”
“Why?”
“You tell me,” she said.
He could think of a few reasons why she and her team might have been a target. One thing he was sure of, unless she was the most skilled psychic he’d ever met, she was innocent. “I’ll give them my report.”
She put her hands back on the table, offering her wrists up to be chained back to the metal. “Thanks, but it won’t make a difference. Whoever set this up wants me out of the way. I wasn’t supposed to leave that tent. They made a mistake and now they’re trying to correct it.”
Joshua didn’t like the sound of that, though he couldn’t say it wasn’t true. “They called me in.”
Half a smile lit her face. “I’m glad they did. It’s good to know someone will know the truth.”
Tessa turned toward the door just as Joshua sensed a change in energy. Something was wrong. His senses were on fire. The group in the anteroom had just grown from four to fifteen and the newcomers were a psi team. He should have noted it sooner, but he’d been engrossed in the probe.
He kept his voice low. “Close your mind.”
She’d already done it before he made the command. She felt them too. “What’s going on?”
He noticed something familiar, but it was gone before he could figure out what it was.
Someone banged on the door. Blake’s voice came through the wall. “It’s time, Lakeland. The transport team is here. Whatever you got from her will have to be enough.”
“Funny, that doesn’t feel like a transport team, Special Agent. My senses tell me it’s an assassination team.”
Either Blake didn’t know and he was assessing the men in the room, or he did and he was deciding how to respond. When he spoke again his words were clear and slow as if very carefully chosen. “Sometimes a man has to do things he might not have expected, old friend. Onward and upward.”
Joshua looked at the ceiling. He could barely make out a panel in the drywall. He jumped up on the table and put his hand inside the rim of the can-light fixture, pulling down and opening a doorway. Decision time. Blake obviously thought he’d be better off taking the exit in the ceiling. It was doubtful the FBI Agent wanted him to create a fugitive situation and he’d move quicker on his own. Still—he looked into those bright, intelligent eyes and remembered how it had been to touch her mind.
He put one open hand down toward Tessa. “Time to go.”
“You sure about this?”
“Nice of you to ask, but we’ll have to discuss my choices at another time, beautiful.”
She smiled, took his hand and let him lift her up into the newly opened doorway. He shimmied up right behind her. It was an attic. One door, she turned the deadbolt and pushed. They found themselves on a roof ledge looking out over the Atlantic Ocean. White-sand beaches stretched in both directions and the early summer brought tourists and locals out.
Banging from below indicated they would have company shortly. It wouldn’t take long to break down the door and even less time for them to find the escape hatch. It was a short jump to the next rooftop. Joshua made the leap and turned back in time to watched Tessa’s long legs push off and follow him. He steadied her when she landed, though he suspected she didn’t need help. She smiled and raised her eyebrow.
On the other side of the house, they easily climbed down and crouched behind the garbage cans. The sound of boots on the sandy streets let them know they were not alone.
“Now what?” she asked.
Six men dressed in black SWAT battle-dress uniforms, or BDUs, crossed the far end of the alleyway. Joshua and Tessa moved silently toward the beach and crawled under the porch of a large house. Sand had blown up, creating a small embankment they could hide behind and remain in the shadows. They would need to keep moving. The search would be systematic and thorough. With the beach and dunes behind them they had a few moments to watch the assassination team spread out to canvas the area. Blake leaned against his car and watched the street. The agent never looked up toward the roofs or made any effort to aid the search. He lit a cigarette and shook his head when one of the assassins asked him something.
Tessa’s arm rested snug against Josh‘s shoulder. The day was warm, but he felt her shiver.
“My car is parked in front of the safe house. We’re going to have to borrow one.” He pointed toward the south. As the search drew closer they made their way out from under the porch, around the back of the next house to the garage. He turned the knob and found the door locked. With only a thought the tumblers clicked and the knob turned. He locked it behind them. Crouching down under the window, they waited until the sun cast shadows across the streets.
They ran south between the houses and the dunes until they came to a parking lot adjacent to the beach. He couldn’t help admiring her long legs and round little ass. Clad in formfitting jeans, she was delectable.
Turning his focus to the cars in the lot, he pulled a key fob out of his pocket and found a car with keyless entry and starter. The small computer in his hand found the code for the door and ignition. A shame someone’s day was going to be ruined, but there was no help for it. Moments later they were crossing the bay and driving west away from the Jersey Shore.
She was quiet though her mind was a whirl of emotions some of which were strong enough to punch into his awareness. As hard as he tried to allow her some privacy her mind was too sumptuous to resist.
They were all the way to Route 30 before she said a word. “Why are you doing this?”
“Why do you think they called me in?”
“To find out if I’m a traitor. So they could shoot me with a clear conscience.”
“I’m pretty sure whoever is behind all of this already knew the answer to that.”
He glanced over and her eyes were wide. “Th
ey want you gone too. But why? You’re Joshua Lakeland for God’s sake. You’re a fucking Psi Agency legend.”
“Well, you know what happens to legends, beautiful. They always come to a bad end. Besides, we don’t really know who ‘they’ are, do we?”
“What does that mean? I was picked up by the FBI.”
He shrugged. “That just means Blake was assigned to pick you up. We need to know who gave that order. I heard from Blake to do the probe, but I also had a text message from my handler.”
“But your handler’s identity would be classified.”
She was right. He didn’t know who the text came from. It kept the handlers safe if an agent went rogue. “Whoever it was had the current code for high-priority instructions.”
“Where are we going?”
“Somewhere safe where we can think this through.”
Her fingers were tapping on her jean-clad knee. “How far do you think we’ll get in a stolen car?”
“Not far.”
He touched her still-tapping hand, she stilled and he wrapped his fingers around hers.
She didn’t look up from their clasped hands. “Lakeland, you should know getting involved with me is a bad idea even when I ‘m not accused of treason.”
“I think we’ve advanced to the point where you can use my first name.”
“Are you even listening to me?”
“Yes. You don’t think we should get involved. The problem with your statement is we’re already involved.” He lifted her hand and kissed the fingers.
She froze at the contact as if he had struck her with a poison dart.
“Are we?”
He could practically hear warning alarms going off inside her head. “Do you think probing is usually so familiar? Do you think I’m gentle with every perp and talk them into pulling down their walls? Something about you encouraged those decisions from me. Something about you makes me want to know you.”
She pulled her hand away and wiped her palms down her long, denim-clad legs. “Where exactly are we going?”
“I know a place where we can spend the night. I have friends in New Jersey. It will take another hour if you want to get some sleep. You’re tired, Tessa. How long has it been since you closed your eyes?”
“Did you steal that bit of information from my head?”
He smiled in spite of the bite in her words. “You have rings under those pretty eyes. Sleep. I’ll wake you when we’re close.”
She ignored him and stared out the window. Tension crackled between them.
Obviously she didn’t trust him enough to rest, so maybe some fact-finding was in order. “Your file says you’re telepathic as well as clairvoyant, Tessa.”
“Neither helped me in Afghanistan and neither did any of my other skills.”
“No. We’ll have to think about that. I assume your team members were all psi of some kind and none of them had warning of the attack either. It’s very strange to not sense your aggressors before they strike. In your memory, you gave no indication you felt anything before you were hit.” He touched the red scar marring the flesh of her left, upper arm.
“No. I didn’t sense anything. Actually, now that I think about it, that in itself is a bit strange. We were stationed on the north end of an army base. Usually I would have a flicker of human presence.”
“Maybe they have a blocker.” Not good news.
“I’ve never heard of a blocker.”
“It’s a pretty rare skill, but some people can block all psi waves. Usually it’s limited to a small area around the person and it can only be maintained for short periods of time.”
“Can you block?”
He hated the trepidation in her voice. “No.”
“I’ve heard all kinds of rumors about your abilities. Makes a girl wonder what’s true and what’s just rumor.”
He sighed. “I wish you were talking about sex.”
She coughed out a surprised laugh. “What?”
“A man’s ego could get a real boost if his sexual exploits were the thing of rumor and speculation.”
He could see her smile out of the corner of his eye. “Sorry. Though people do say you can shoot fire from your fingertips. Maybe you could twist that into a sexual connotation.”
She joked, but he still felt her curiosity about him piqued. He was flattered and concerned at the same time. He turned down a dirt road in the middle of a bunch of pine trees.
“What are you doing?” Fear bubbled under the calm surface of her words.
He could smell the terror at being alone with him. His gut twisted at what she thought of him. Remembering the way her mind was laced with light. He knew his mind was black with the things he’d done and seen. He also knew he wanted her and he didn’t deserve her.
The car rolled to a stop and he shifted it into park before leaning over the center console. Tessa backed away as far as she could get from him. “I want you to understand a few things about me. I’m dangerous. You might be better off on your own. I know you’re innocent of what they’re accusing, but that doesn’t mean I can stop whatever this game is we’re trapped in. Who I am changes the game. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
He gripped her chin with his fingers and made sure she was looking in his eyes. “What did you see when we were linked, Tessa?”
She tried to shake her head, but he held her. “I don’t know.”
“Don’t lie to me.”
“I saw death. I saw pain.” Her eyes closed and he released her. “I saw the people who you’ve killed and the agony their deaths have buried in you.”
Her eyes opened and he smiled sadly. “You have a gift for understatement, beautiful.”
Her eyes softened. “I saw other things too, Joshua.”
He ran his thumb over her lips. He couldn’t help his fascination with her pretty mouth. As if he were a fish on the line he leaned forward until he was kissing those supple lips. It was a whisper of a kiss. He watched as her eyes closed and she sighed against his mouth. It took every ounce of his strength to stay in control.
“What things?”
“Hope, focus and a kind of spirituality I wouldn’t have expected.”
In a few moments linked with him she had seen way too much. Yet he couldn’t help being relieved everything she’d gotten from him hadn’t been dark. His body fought with good sense. Remembering how erotic it had been to visit her mind, he couldn’t help wanting to explore that place again. He backed away.
She watched him.
“Are you setting me up?” he asked.
“No. I don’t know why this is happening.”
“Someone wants to get rid of us. What’s your psi ranking, Tessa?”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Some people think a ranking over five is more danger than benefit. Plus they wouldn’t have called me in for just anyone.”
“You think there’s a conspiracy. All three of the men on my team were level six.”
“And you?”
“Seven.” She narrowed her eyes. “I heard a rumor you were level eight or nine. Of course I never believed it. I met an eight once and he was close to insanity just from the constant input. Everything I’ve ever heard about you tells me you’re not insane. I would have felt any craziness when we were linked. Your mind is focused, organized.”
He couldn’t help smiling. “It might be better if I didn’t tell you.”
“Who else are you going to trust?”
She had a point. He trusted his brother and sister-in-law. He could go to them, but he didn’t want to involve them just yet. Not until he knew what was happening.
“You don’t trust me.” She looked out the window into the dense trees. “Why should you. I let you mind-rape me less than an hour ago, but why should that move me up on the great Joshua Lakeland’s list of the trustworthy?”
Her anger was genuine. “The fact is you allowed me in and by definition that means there was no rape. However, you�
�re right, I should give you something in return for what can only be described as a valuable gift. Your mind is quite beautiful.”
That piqued her interest. He could feel her curiosity blooming as her eyebrows rose. She wanted to touch him. He sensed her hesitation and he agreed she should keep her distance. “It’s a wise choice, beautiful. I’m not safe for you.” He shook his head and put the car in reverse. “I have a level ten psi ranking.”
“Ten.” The word came out on a breath. Her fear doubled. “Now I wish we were talking about sex.”
Smiling, he ran his fingers down her cheek and brushed his thumb over her bottom lip. Everything about her made him want to hold her, comfort her and fuck her. He knew she could sense his attraction, but blocking it would be a waste of energy he might need later. Besides, if he blocked her, he would have a hard time sensing other dangers.
She was just as attracted to him. He could feel it and it had kept him semi-hard since he’d first seen her in the beach house. Of course he’d crave a woman people want dead. Why couldn’t he fall for a nice girl in a coffee shop or in a bar, like normal guys? Who the fuck are you kidding, Lakeland?
Chapter Two
Tessa watched out the window as they drove through the pinelands, into a suburban area and then into rolling countryside. “I didn’t realize New Jersey was so pretty.”
“Yeah, most people only see the airport or the turnpike. There’s a lot of good country in the Garden State.”
“It reminds me of where I grew up.”
“The Midwest somewhere?” he asked.
“Ohio.”
“Big city or a small town?”
“Small town.” She had no idea why she was answering so many questions. He asked and she answered without even thinking of the consequences. She must have lost her mind. Why did she trust him? This was one of the most dangerous men in the world. He was even more unsafe than she had first imagined and she was feeding him ammunition to use against her. Yet she had a sense he wouldn’t.
He ran his knuckles down the side of her cheek. It was an intimate touch. “What are you thinking?”
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