I MIGHT BE IN LOVE, but I’m not blind and definitely not stupid. Sean, Dec, and Killian weren’t normal. There wasn’t any denying that. Sean called them Primani. According to him, they were not-quite-angels who fight for good and annihilate evil. They were some kind of elite operations unit who kept people on track for the greater good—whatever the hell that is. Put that way, it sounded hokey and not too plausible. Did that mean they didn’t really have parents who worked in Switzerland? Was that only a cover story? Were they really from Ireland? They had the accent, but what did that prove? He’d been spoon feeding me bits and pieces of his version of the truth for months. Was anything that Sean had told me actually true?
Angels? Psychic powers?
There was no doubt in my mind about their abilities. They could heal people and calm people. Dec was especially good at that. And I was pretty sure they could read minds and teleport. I had the distinct feeling that Killian knew what I was thinking most of the time. His comments seemed a little too pointed sometimes. I hadn’t proven the teleport part, but it seemed like they could show up suddenly—like the night Dec appeared out of nowhere to catch me when I was knocked out by Scott Flynn. How did he do that? I added that to the long mental list of things to ask Sean the next time he felt chatty.
Then there was the saol that surrounded them. They could control it and had to turn it off to touch people without shocking them. It seemed to be stronger when they were angry. The night that Sean was shot, Dec had been vibrating with anger, and had warned me not to touch him. He said it wasn’t safe for me. Did he have trouble controlling the power? Sean had learned to. He hadn’t shocked me in a long time. He’d warned me that I was playing with fire. I was pretty sure I still was, but it was too late for me to stop. If it involved Sean, I would play with fire until I got blown up.
A light flashed outside my window, and Domino perked up, but I reached for the stun gun. I was more than ready to use it if Scott showed up here. Before I could blink, Sean was suddenly standing in front of me. He grabbed my hand, twirled me around, and dipped me so my hair pooled on the floor at his feet. He grinned wolfishly and kissed the tip of my nose before hauling me upright again.
“I knew it! You teleported, didn’t you?” I was torn between shock and awe.
“We don’t call it that. It’s a silly word.” He shrugged, and added, “It’s just a way to travel.”
Yeah, sure, it’s no big deal. People do it all the time.
He was incorrigible. Domino was standing with her paws wrapped around his waist, rubbing her head against his zipper. She was in love with him too. No doubt about that. I wanted to shove her out of the way and drape my own paws around him.
“I have news. Can we talk?”
“Absolutely.” I patted the bed. “Come and sit with me.”
Stretching his arm across the pillows behind us, he turned to drop a soft kiss on my lips, and said, “I’ve missed you this week.”
“Oh, yeah?” I breathed, leaning into his space to deepen the kiss. “Not as much as I’ve missed you.”
Shifting around, he cupped the back of my head, lacing his fingers through my hair, and devouring my mouth until we were both panting for air. The heat in his eyes took my breath away. He thumbed my lower lip and pulled back a few inches. My whole body sighed with disappointment.
“Hold that thought. I can’t stay too long. Let me tell you what’s happened. Killian and I took a trip to see our boss about you. What you did in the kitchen with Killian is unheard of. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. We were all a little wigged out by you.”
I couldn’t help the snicker that slipped out. They were wigged out by me? Well, that can’t be good. “What did your boss say? Did he know what happened?”
Sean smiled, the expression not as warm as I’d like. He seemed more subdued than usual and that was saying something. “The working hypothesis is that you connected to my power when I wrapped you in my saol. Probably the energy unlocked some neurons in your brain that everyone has, but never use. They got turned on like a switch.” He frowned and added, “You’re welcome.”
“I don’t know what to say. Is this good? Bad?”
“You didn’t realize we heard each other’s thoughts, did you?”
“No, I didn’t know we weren’t speaking out loud. I just assumed. Is that why you freaked out?”
He took my hand and kissed it. “Yes, that’s exactly why I freaked out! I was having a panic attack trying to control what I started and suddenly you’re inside my head answering my thoughts. Wouldn’t that freak you out?”
“Yeah, but wait . . . Don’t you hear mine all the time? That’s not fair.” Not only not fair, but oh so very wrong on every possible level.
He chuckled, and said, “No, I can’t hear your thoughts all the time. God knows I’d never get out of bed if I could!” He deftly caught my hand in mid-swing.
“Oh, yeah, right. But really, can you read my thoughts?”
“I could if I really concentrated, but honestly, I don’t want to intrude like that. We don’t do that unless we absolutely need information. We can tell with a quick look inside whether a person has good or bad intentions, and that’s really what we pay attention to. It’s more like intuition than mind reading.”
We were both quiet for a little while as I absorbed what he shared with me. “What did I see when I looked into Killian’s eyes?”
“You saw what he let you see.”
“Were those memories?”
“More or less, I guess that’s as good a label as any.” He shrugged one shoulder.
“I saw him carry you away. It was so real.”
“That’s because it already happened and was clear in his mind. I have a theory that Killian let you see things that would help you to understand him and what we do. Believe it or not, he cares what you think of us. We decided that I’m going to have to stay close to you while we work this out. I’m afraid you might have picked up some other, uh, abilities from me. We should do some tests to make sure you’re okay. Killian is afraid you’re going to accidently do something dangerous.”
“He doesn’t trust me?”
“It’s not that, exactly. But you’re not used to these things. He’s right to be cautious. He’s been around awhile.”
We spent the next few hours talking over some of these abilities, and I tried to do a few things. I was hugely disappointed that I couldn’t teleport or generate my own little energy field. Did that mean I didn’t have a saol? I couldn’t recreate the glow that Sean did so easily. My face was purple, and I panted with the effort until he finally sighed and told me to forget it. He looked pointedly at the stun gun and suggested I keep carrying it if I wanted to shock someone.
Finally we sat facing each other, cross-legged on the floor. He wanted to see if I could read his thoughts. Peering into his eyes was like falling into the sea. Wide and upturned at the corners, they were fringed with thick black lashes. His pupils were tiny inside the beautiful blues of the iris. The glimmering gold flecks were more pronounced as he opened himself up to me. Breathing deeply, he gazed intently into my eyes, and the bond between us tightened. I clutched his leg as the visions took over.
Like before, I was overwhelmed with the sensation of spinning in my mind. Images and thoughts spun randomly, and I couldn’t see anything clearly.
“Focus, baby, just relax and slow down the spin. You can do this.”
Like struggling to stand up in violent surf, I steeled my mind to slow down the chaos. Gradually, the images became more coherent, flowing like an old movie. They were jerky at first, but at least I could see them clearly.
I saw Sean as he fought fiercely in a snowy wood, striking someone and dodging the glimmer of a knife. His face was cold and completely focused as he took out his opponent without mercy. Next, he and Dec carried two small children from a burning building. Then I saw him fighting back to back with Killian. The ball of flame struck him in the stomach, and he collapsed. A wave of emotion hit me in the chest, an
d I gasped. I almost lost him! He could’ve died! Could’ve died . . . The images wavered, breaking apart, drifting away.
He squeezed my fingers, keeping eye contact. “No emotions. Focus now. Don’t lose the grip. Hold the vision. I’ve got you.”
With sheer force of will, I got my emotions back in control. The images were playing again. I saw myself running through endless woods crying for help. In this scene, I was very far away from Sean. He was watching me. Suddenly, the images ran together so fast I could only see blurry impressions—my body lying bloody on the floor in the abandoned house; then lying motionless in the hospital; then asleep in my bed. Next I saw my terrifying run through the forest to the beach. Then I was on the deck of a sailboat beckoning like a siren. Finally, I was lying naked under Sean, joined as lovers, back arched, head flung back. As with Killian, I saw both images and words. This time, I was left with impressions of one word branded into my head, the essence of Sean.
Primani.
Sean blinked, and the contact was broken. As before, I was sick. The room spun until I puked in the trash can beside the bed, but then it kept spinning and I was sick again and again. “Make it stop!”
The next thing I knew, Dec was holding my head between his hands again.
He sounded amused as he said, “Just breathe, darlin’—in and out . . . in and out.” He peered over his shoulder at Sean, and said, “You should probably learn how to do this yourself. She’s your girlfriend.”
After an eternity, the room was still, and my head felt normal again. I lurched to the bathroom to wash up. When I got back, Dec was gone.
“How do you feel now?”
“I feel weirded out right now. Is this dizziness normal? I don’t like it.”
“Not for us. We had to learn to control the speed of the images, but we don’t have trouble with dizziness. I think your brain is only partly wired to do this. Maybe practice would help you with control. Another thing is you can’t just walk up to someone and read their minds. They have to participate and let you in. We don’t have that problem either. We can make eye contact with someone and see what we need to see pretty fast. But this is all new for you—and us too. We thought only Primani had this particular psychic ability. You’re breaking new ground.”
I nibbled on my lip, thinking over the visions I just saw. “Sean, how long have you been watching over me?”
He unfolded his big body and stalked to the window. After staring into the darkness for a few minutes, he turned around, his face seeming older than usual. “I’ve been watching you since the night your mother died. Her death started a chain of events that had to play out for you. Most of those events were ordinary life things and not anything that would hurt you permanently. But then there was an unexpected event that got you off the path, and we had to help you.”
“Scott Flynn?” I felt a little pang in my stomach.
His jaw tightened, and he explained, “His attack sent you into a spiral that would have destroyed you. Your recklessness was just beginning when we stepped in. Later, it would have been catastrophic. We had no choice but to interfere with your life. I hope you don’t hate us for that someday.”
“Why would I hate you? Things have turned out okay. Mostly.”
“You’ll see there are worse things than death.” He rolled his tense shoulders and stretched.
“You tried to stay away, didn’t you? You were so angry with me all the time.”
His mouth twisted sardonically. “Not angry with you; I was angry with myself. I wasn’t supposed to get to know you; it’s not how we usually work. But you kept getting into trouble. The three of us were sent here to keep an eye on you, but I couldn’t do it from a distance. Do you have any idea how much pain you put me through? I’ve never felt these kinds of emotions before. You make me crazy!”
I had to bite back a smile after that outburst. Instead, I nodded seriously, and asked, “So if I’m such as pain in the ass, why are you still hanging around?”
“You’re not the only reason we’re here, Mica. As much as I’d like to focus all my time and attention on you, I’ve got other ops that I’m responsible for. That’s why I was gone last summer.”
I arched a brow. “I don’t suppose you want to share the deets on that?”
“Nope. You don’t have a need to know, love.”
Chapter 13: Curiosity and Cats