Attempting to control her rapid breath, Jessica opened her eyes and stared at the ceiling, but the urge to move overpowered her. She threw back her covers and swung her legs out of bed. The pounding in her head briefly masked everything else.
Tim’s right, I’m getting sick. She laid her forehead on her knees, confused. It was hard to think.
Goose bumps rose all over her body. It felt like a cloud of static electricity had passed through her. That was the only warning she had before a blinding pain punched through her head. Her breath seized as her body tried to react—move, scream, anything. It was over instantly, but in the wake of it, the fog that had clouded her mind swept away.
She slowly sat up on her bed, taking stock. Her mind raced. The surety that she was catching a cold suddenly faltered. What is going on with me?
A soft sound reached her ears, interrupting her contemplation. That’s the front door. What is May doing back already? A quick glance at her clock showed that it was just after midnight. That can’t be May. She wouldn’t come home at this hour. Already the clarity faded and the fog drifted back across her mind.
She reached out and switched on her bedside lamp. The light stabbed daggers into her head and she slapped her hand over her eyes.
What the hell? Panic blossomed in her chest, momentarily superseding the adrenaline. “No,” she moaned. “No, I can’t be.”
Once over the threshold, Nickolas crossed the entryway and stepped into the living room. He kept his back to the others and pretended to study the titles on a bookshelf. He needed a moment to regain a calm façade to present to the rest of his team. The surge of energy that had mentally rocked him back on his heels on the porch had yet to completely dissipate. A slight tremor still shook his fingers.
Get a grip, boyo. You don’t need to attract Chris’s attention. His brother could be annoyingly overprotective. It was an admirable quality, unless you were the one being subjected to it. All I need is for him to decide something’s wrong and sic the rest of our Flight on me when we get home. I’ll never get a moment’s peace. He ran his fingers through his hair. He was pretty sure he had the shock hidden now, even though he still reeled inside.
Flynn had just found the light switch with his flashlight and had turned the foyer light on. The grounded showed no indication that he was aware of what had happened on the porch. Now, if I can just be so lucky with Chris.
As if his thoughts had called him, Christoff pulled his blond head out of the entryway closet. His brother’s boyish grin didn’t hide his intelligence, or his searching look, when he met Nickolas’s eyes.
Damn, he noticed. Or…he felt it too, maybe?
He thought about that for a second, but irritation washed it away when he saw worry enter Christoff’s green eyes.
We’re working, Chris, back off. He hoped his body language would convey his thoughts to his Second. He didn’t need Christoff nursemaiding him.
Chris snorted a laugh and threw a salute in the air before he gave in and looked away.
A momentary reprieve, Nickolas sighed. He takes Ian’s dictates way too seriously. He watched his brother search through the rest of the hall closet for a moment, just to make sure that Chris had actually dropped the subject. I suppose I can’t really blame him. I would do anything to protect him.
He gave himself a shake and turned back to the job. A fledgling often ended up in strange locations in their houses when they finally passed out. Once he’d found one had managed to stuff himself into his dryer.
Their target had a beautiful home. Open and inviting, filled with well cared for antique furniture. Definitely not the sort of home he would expect to find from a woman in her twenties. His unease grew the more he looked around.
The pristine state of the rooms also didn’t match what he expected from a fledgling entering stage two. “What’s
Tim’s right, I’m getting sick. She laid her forehead on her knees, confused. It was hard to think.
Goose bumps rose all over her body. It felt like a cloud of static electricity had passed through her. That was the only warning she had before a blinding pain punched through her head. Her breath seized as her body tried to react—move, scream, anything. It was over instantly, but in the wake of it, the fog that had clouded her mind swept away.
She slowly sat up on her bed, taking stock. Her mind raced. The surety that she was catching a cold suddenly faltered. What is going on with me?
A soft sound reached her ears, interrupting her contemplation. That’s the front door. What is May doing back already? A quick glance at her clock showed that it was just after midnight. That can’t be May. She wouldn’t come home at this hour. Already the clarity faded and the fog drifted back across her mind.
She reached out and switched on her bedside lamp. The light stabbed daggers into her head and she slapped her hand over her eyes.
What the hell? Panic blossomed in her chest, momentarily superseding the adrenaline. “No,” she moaned. “No, I can’t be.”
Once over the threshold, Nickolas crossed the entryway and stepped into the living room. He kept his back to the others and pretended to study the titles on a bookshelf. He needed a moment to regain a calm façade to present to the rest of his team. The surge of energy that had mentally rocked him back on his heels on the porch had yet to completely dissipate. A slight tremor still shook his fingers.
Get a grip, boyo. You don’t need to attract Chris’s attention. His brother could be annoyingly overprotective. It was an admirable quality, unless you were the one being subjected to it. All I need is for him to decide something’s wrong and sic the rest of our Flight on me when we get home. I’ll never get a moment’s peace. He ran his fingers through his hair. He was pretty sure he had the shock hidden now, even though he still reeled inside.
Flynn had just found the light switch with his flashlight and had turned the foyer light on. The grounded showed no indication that he was aware of what had happened on the porch. Now, if I can just be so lucky with Chris.
As if his thoughts had called him, Christoff pulled his blond head out of the entryway closet. His brother’s boyish grin didn’t hide his intelligence, or his searching look, when he met Nickolas’s eyes.
Damn, he noticed. Or…he felt it too, maybe?
He thought about that for a second, but irritation washed it away when he saw worry enter Christoff’s green eyes.
We’re working, Chris, back off. He hoped his body language would convey his thoughts to his Second. He didn’t need Christoff nursemaiding him.
Chris snorted a laugh and threw a salute in the air before he gave in and looked away.
A momentary reprieve, Nickolas sighed. He takes Ian’s dictates way too seriously. He watched his brother search through the rest of the hall closet for a moment, just to make sure that Chris had actually dropped the subject. I suppose I can’t really blame him. I would do anything to protect him.
He gave himself a shake and turned back to the job. A fledgling often ended up in strange locations in their houses when they finally passed out. Once he’d found one had managed to stuff himself into his dryer.
Their target had a beautiful home. Open and inviting, filled with well cared for antique furniture. Definitely not the sort of home he would expect to find from a woman in her twenties. His unease grew the more he looked around.
The pristine state of the rooms also didn’t match what he expected from a fledgling entering stage two. “What’s
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