The Unwanted (A Novella of the FBI Psychics) Read Free

from her to look at Oz.
    It didn’t matter that he’d focused, meditated, prepared himself.
    It was like preparing yourself to ride a tornado.
    There was just no preparing yourself for the ride to come. You could know it was going to happen, but that was it.
    Staring into her pale green eyes, he thought bitterly, Damn you, Oz .
    If he wasn’t mistaken, there was amusement in her eyes.
    Yeah, you be amused, scheming bitch , he thought sourly as he settled in the chair next to Destin’s. One nice thing about the fact that she wasn’t in the Bureau anymore, he didn’t have to school his thoughts quite so much.
    She might pick up the odd and random thought, but she wasn’t his boss and he didn’t have to deal with her once he finished here.
    Destin crossed her legs, lovely legs left bare by the knee-length black skirt. It was almost severe in its simplicity, but she could have been wearing sackcloth and it wouldn’t detract from the sheer beauty of her.
    Her skin was the color of sun-kissed ivory…she didn’t tan. She never had, but her skin would get this soft glow. Just the faintest bit of color. It made him think of peaches. And he wanted to stroke a hand down her thigh, press a kiss to her knee. Caleb had the weirdest feeling that if he closed his eyes, he could smell the sweet scent of Destin’s skin on the air. Lust and need punched through him.
    Not what you need to think about .
    Job. He was just here about a job.
    Tapping his fingers on the arm of the chair, he said softly, “You want to tell me why I was put on a plane at four o’clock in the afternoon? By now, I ought to be settling down to eat dinner, watch some TV and relax. Instead…I’m here. Why am I here?” Flicking a glance at his watch, he checked the time. Play it cool. That was what he had to do. Play it cool so neither of them realized how hard it was to be here.
    Play it cool and maybe nobody would realize the truth…he still loved the woman sitting next to him. He always would.
    “I’m sorry to interrupt your precious alone time,” Oz said, lifting a brow as she studied him. “I just have this case…a series of date rapes in Charlottesville, Virginia. Pretty little college town.”
    That explained why Destin was needed. It was just up her alley. Didn’t explain why he was here. She’d been working cases like this just fine without him for five years.
    “Charlottesville is a little out of the way for you,” Caleb said, absently tapping out a beat on the arm of a chair. “If you planned on sending me flying back to Virginia, why fly me down to Texas to begin with?”
    Oz gave him a cool look. “I needed to make sure the job was going to click for you. I never know that until I have you in front of me, and you won’t know until you read through the files.”
    She was bullshitting him over something. He could tell. But he hadn’t bought the plane ticket and he didn’t plan on buying the one back to Washington, either. With a negligent shrug, he said, “If you say so, Oz.”
    The look on her face had been known to reduce people to stammers and stutters. Caleb just stared at her. He wasn’t playing her games anymore. Didn’t have to play her games. It had been made damn clear he wasn’t obligated to take this “assignment”. It might be appreciated, but it wasn’t required.
    If Oz thought he’d jump just because she said so, she needed to readjust her thinking.
    Of course, if he left, he wouldn’t be able to see Destin…
    And he was an idiot. She was the entire reason he’d come here.
    “I assume Durand is the only other one you think is suitable for the job?” Destin asked.
    Caleb didn’t need to look at her to know she was scowling.
    Oz settled back in her chair and plucked a piece of imaginary lint from the lapel of her navy blue suit. “Yes.” She gave him a narrow look before she looked back at Destin. “Now, I want you both aware of a few things. Officially, I’m not sending anybody out there. As of yet,