Someone, they’d told her, would be sent to her home to pick up her belongings. A quick call to her grandmother assured her that the things she wanted would be packed and ready for that courier when they got there. Lynn would have to wait a day or two for her gear to catch up with her, she supposed, but that couldn’t be helped. All in all, she was eager to get started.

  CHAPTER TWO

  Rick saw the helicopter land on shore and felt the tingle of recognition as four people piled out of it. He watched through binoculars as three men who were very familiar to him boarded the small boat that would bring them back to the Coast Guard vessel. But they weren’t alone. There was a woman with them. A woman that somehow set off little sparks within him.

  It didn’t make sense. He couldn’t even see her face clearly, but something inside him recognized her. Somehow, she needed him. She needed his help, whether she realized it or not.

  And now, it all made sense. This was probably why Jeeves had insisted that Rick had to take the ride out with the Coast Guard. It was so Rick could meet her—whoever she was—and, in all likelihood, heal whatever it was that was wrong with her. He couldn’t imagine any other reason he had to be here. It had to have something to do with his healing talent.

  She didn’t look sick, though. Rick frowned, trying to bring her into sharper focus as the little boat sped toward the larger one. It was simple. If she was sick, he would heal her. If she wasn’t, then why were his senses sparkling in this way? Although he hadn’t had this talent very long, he’d thought he had learned enough about it to recognize when somebody needed him.

  Or, maybe, he didn’t know as much as he thought. He would have to wait and see. She would be boarding the larger vessel any minute now, and then, he could get a better look.

  Rick walked around the deck to bring himself closer to where the woman would come aboard. He kept himself hidden as much as possible among the Coast Guard crew. Now that he and the rest of his unit were targets for foreign agents, they’d learned to employ stealth techniques whenever they were off the island. It had already been proven that almost nowhere was completely safe—not even floating on a boat off the coast.

  The little boat pulled alongside the cutter, and Liam Kinkaid was the first to hop the distance from the smaller boat to the larger. His shifter nature made such things easy for him and his father, Commander Kinkaid, who disembarked next. Hal helped the woman upward while some of the Coasties reached down for her hand.

  Even as Rick watched, a bright spot of red blossomed on her left shoulder, and she went limp.

  “Sniper!” Rick shouted as everyone stood still for a moment, wondering what was happening.

  Rick hit the deck, crawling closer to the rail where the shocked Coastie was still holding the woman’s hand. Liam reacted as quickly as Rick and did the same. Both he and Rick got to the opening in the rail where the little boat was still attached to the cutter. Together, they reached downward to each take one of the woman’s arms. Rick took over for the Coastie while Liam leaned farther down to get her other arm. Then, they pulled her quickly up and onto the deck. They positioned her alongside the solid portion of the rail, providing cover, while Rick bent over her to check where she’d been hit.

  Rick was only vaguely aware of Hal jumping onto the cutter and shouting for the captain to get them farther away from shore. There was a sniper somewhere on shore. Had to be. The bullet in this woman’s shoulder was clear evidence of that. Even as Rick examined her, he breathed a sigh of relief. The wound was bad, but the bullet hadn’t hit her heart. It had nicked her clavicle, which would be painful, even after he did his healing thing, at least for a while, but otherwise, this was something he could easily treat right here on the cutter.

  “How is she?” Hal’s voice came to him from his side, the tone urgent.

  “She’ll be okay. It didn’t hit anything I can’t fix,” Rick reported quickly.

  “Why is she unconscious?” Hal wanted to know. A few of the guys in their unit had been shot at one time or another, and they’d been mostly awake throughout, gritting their teeth and swearing up a storm.

  “Probably from the pain,” Rick theorized. “Civilians are different,” he reminded his commanding officer. “She’s probably better off this way until I can get her wound stabilized.”

  They both felt the cutter’s engines rev as the boat finally got moving.

  “Why’d the sniper shoot her, I wonder?” Liam asked, coming up beside them.

  “Either we’ve got a leak somewhere, or it was a guess on their part that she had to be someone important since she so obviously isn’t military,” Hal conjectured. “Did you see anything onshore?”

  Rick and Hal had both learned that shifters had keen eyesight. If anybody could’ve spotted where the shot had originated, it would likely be Liam or his dad. But Liam was frowning.

  “Not a trace. I’m sure the admiral will send a team out to look for evidence, but I doubt they’ll find much of anything.” Liam shook his blond mane in disgust. “Dad’s calling the admiral as we speak, and lighting a fire under the captain of this ship. There may be more of them and possibly some threat on the water, as well. We’re not out of the woods yet. Not ‘til we reach our base.” Liam looked at Hal and Rick. “If they had such a clear shot, why didn’t they aim for one of you? We know they’re watching you. Especially now that they’ve broken cover. We’d thought it would be safe enough to take you two off the island for the meeting, but it’s clear they’ve got a closer watch on you than we expected. So, if they had the chance, why shoot her and not you, Hal? You were just as exposed as she was.”

  Hal grimaced. “That’s because they want to capture us, not kill us. They want our abilities, not our deaths. And I guess they used this lady to send that message. If it hadn’t been her, it would have been someone else on this cutter. They wanted us to know that they’re watching and that they can get to us, even when we think we’re safe. But going after a woman… That’s a chilling message to those of us who have recently partnered up.” Hal’s expression darkened further. “It’s a clear threat. Do what we want, or we kill your family.” Hal looked out over the rapidly dwindling shoreline. “Bastards.”

  Rick used the cover provided by Hal and Liam to do his thing. He pulsed his healing energy through the wound, even as he removed the bullet that had lodged in the muscle of her shoulder. It occurred to him that this was probably the reason the foreseers had insisted he had to be here. It made more sense now, though why they didn’t just warn everybody that a sniper would be gunning for them, he didn’t know.

  The whole clairvoyance thing was still very much a mystery to him, but Jeeves insisted that some things—even bad things—had to happen in order to promote a better overall outcome for events. Rick suspected this was one of those bad things Jeeves knew he couldn’t—or shouldn’t—prevent.

  One of the Coasties thoughtfully provided a large, duffel-sized first-aid kit but otherwise left them alone. Hal accepted the kit and ran interference, blocking the view of exactly what Rick was doing, while Liam assisted by opening the duffel and making a show of taking out supplies for Rick. All the while, Rick used his new gift of healing to knit the abused tissue and begin repair of the bone and sinew where the bullet had penetrated.

  Rick tucked the bullet itself into his pocket for later examination. Perhaps, they could tell something about their sniper by the kind of ammo he used. Or not. Maybe, this lady would like to see the little devil that had caused such an uproar. Either way, he’d keep it, for now.

  Hands red with her blood, Rick felt the moment the woman came awake as he tended her. She didn’t move, but her eyes opened, and…Rick nearly drowned in the blue depths of her gaze.

  “Hi,” she said, her voice a bare whisper over the wind and noise of the ship at sea.

  “Hi,” Rick said back, at a loss for the moment.

  “Where?” she asked, her voice trailing off as she moved the slightest bit, ending with a grimace of pain.

  “You’re on the Coast Guard cutter,” Rick told her, shaking himself a bit to break the spell that had held him momentarily immobile. “Someone took a potshot at you, but you’ll be okay. I’m a doctor. The wound might hurt a lot, but it’s not that bad.”

  At least, it wasn’t that bad now that Rick had given her his magical whammy of healing power. He wondered how much more he could do without her realizing that he was actually doing something impossible.

  “Is the clavicle broken?” she asked, making Rick narrow his gaze. Most civilians simply called it the collar bone.

  “No, just nicked,” Rick reported, still wondering about her background.

  Hal turned, noticing she was awake and made introductions. “Dr. Tucker, this is Dr. Lovelace. Rick, she’s a medical researcher. Lynn, he’s a field surgeon, among other things.”

  The woman smiled up at him. “Then, I guess I’m in good hands. Thanks for patching me up.”

  Rick smiled at her as their eyes met. She was in pain, he could see, but she wasn’t complaining. He liked her spirit.

  “Happy to be of service,” he told her as he continued to work.

  “She’s going to be working with our team,” Hal said quietly so that only the four of them on deck could hear. “You might as well show her what you can do.”

  Rick looked up at his commanding officer. “Seriously?” Hal nodded briefly. “Well, all right then. No need to hide this from you, Doctor. Be prepared to be amazed.”

  Rick grinned at her as he let loose with his healing power. She gasped and tried to look down at her shoulder where he was working, but the angle was tough.

  “What is that?” she asked, the pitch of her voice rising, though she kept it to barely a whisper.

  “I’ve been told it feels like heat. What it is, exactly, I don’t really know, but it will take away the wound completely. We’ll dress it for the Coasties, but when you get to base, you’ll be good as new.” He tilted his head and frowned a bit. “Though, the bone might ache for a while. I can give you top-up treatments if it gets too bothersome.”

  “This is what I’m supposed to be studying? Some kind of super-human healing powers?” she whispered even as Rick healed her wound.

  “It’s not just me,” he told her gently. “The entire unit each has some kind of special ability. Not just healing. We’re all unique.”

  Her jaw dropped a little in disbelief. “This, I’m going to have to see to believe,” she said finally.

  Rick smiled at her. “Try moving your arm now,” he coaxed her.

  Shooting him a wary look, she moved her shoulder just the tiniest bit. Her eyes widened, and she moved a bit more. “That’s amazing!”

  She tried to look down and moved her other hand up to her shoulder, but Rick shooed her away. “We still have to put on a show for the Coasties,” he reminded her. “Let’s just put a big fat bandage on this, and you can look at it all you like once we’re home.” He shook his head at his own choice of words. When had he started to think of the island as home? “Just try to look brave for your audience.”

  She shook her head at him. “It doesn’t even hurt anymore, though you’re right about the bone aching a bit.”

  Rick sat back on his haunches, trying not to let his weariness show too much as he bandaged up her shoulder. “I’ll do further work on that tomorrow. I need a bit of rest between major uses of my new ability,” he told her honestly. If she was going to be studying this phenomenon, she needed all the data. He’d be more than happy to be her guinea pig, he realized. This doctor was easy on the eyes, and she had a spirit about her that was very appealing.

  She also seemed to be taking this all in stride. Or, at least, she was taking the news of his superpower better than he would have expected from someone steeped in the traditions of medical research.

  In fact, she was nodding at him. “Magic does that to the mage sometimes, too. Is your power magic-based?”

  Now, it was his turn to look askance at her. “What do you know about magic?”

  “More than you, it seems. My grandmother is a witch. I was raised knowing about magic and Others, but you guys seem to have come to that knowledge late in the game.”

  “You can say that again,” Rick agreed. “As for me, I have no idea if what I’m doing is magic or something else. What else is there?” he asked rhetorically. “I don’t even know,” he replied to his own question before she could answer. “But we can explore this topic in depth once we get to the base.”

  This wasn’t really the place to be having this conversation. He was well aware of the Coast Guard personnel watching them from a discreet distance. She looked over his shoulder and then back to him and nodded.

  “You’re right. Sorry. I’m a little off my game right now.” Her lips tilted up in a small smile, and he liked the way her face lit up with just that tiny bit of mirth. She was a stunner, that was for sure.

  “Understandable,” Rick told her, nodding at her just once while he strapped a wad of gauze to her shoulder. It was bloody from the original wound, but that was good for window dressing at the moment. “We’ll have to carry you, I’m afraid. It’ll look more convincing.”

  CHAPTER THREE

  When the doctor turned that thousand-watt smile on her, Lynn was glad she was already on the ground. He finished placing the gauze against her shoulder and sat back. Her shirt was ruined, she realized, belatedly. He’d ripped it open along the shoulder, but at least she was still modestly covered in front of all these men.

  Although, now that she wasn’t in pain anymore, she felt a very definite attraction to the handsome doctor. Was it some sort of hero worship because he’d used his incredible gift to fix her wound? Maybe. Or, more likely, it was a healthy attraction to an incredibly good-looking—and powerful—man.

  Lynn didn’t usually come across guys like this. Sure, she knew some shifters through her grandmother, but though they were universally pretty to look at, she’d never felt this kind of instant attraction for any of them. Her colleagues in the human world were mostly academic types. Some kept themselves fit, but nowhere near the degree of these soldiers.

  This fellow might be a medical man, but he filled out his uniform as well as any of the other buff guys on this boat. Actually, better than most of them. He had broad shoulders with obvious musculature that made her mouth water. She liked nothing better than running her hands over the hard sinew of a man’s shoulders and arms when she kissed him.

  But why was she thinking of kissing and this man she’d only just met? She almost shook her head but stopped herself. She was supposed to be injured. She just closed her eyes and let the men fuss over her while her mind worked furiously. What was it about this guy that pushed all her buttons? And, why now?

  She was too busy to get involved with anyone, right now. She knew from past experience that, when she dated someone, her work suffered. Her mind was filled with romance and fanciful notions to the extent that they sometimes interfered with her work. She couldn’t afford that. Especially not now, of all times.

  This new job she’d been asked to perform was too important. She hadn’t even started yet, and she’d already been attacked by an unknown enemy, after all. She had to give her all to the mission, and then, maybe, things would get safer for everyone.

  The handsome doctor was going to be a distraction she couldn’t afford, but she’d have to do the best she could to stay focused. It was clear that lives—including her own—might depend on it.

  “It won’t take too long to get back to the island,” he told her, speaking in a low tone. “We’re going to put you in a basket so we can carry you off the ship. We might as well do it now, so we’re ready to move when we get there.”

  “How long?” she asked, not sure if she liked the idea of being trussed up in a carry-basket for hours on end.

  “A little over an hour, I think,” he replied. “They’re pouring on the speed, and this is a pretty fast ship. The commander also called in air cover, which should be arriving overhead shortly, in case you were worried.”

  She hadn’t been thinking about it, but now that he’d mentioned it, she began to wonder. “Why did they shoot me? I’m nobody.”

  Rick sighed heavily, and his gaze was troubled. “I think you were a target of opportunity, I’m sorry to say. A woman. An obvious civilian. I think shooting you was a message for the rest of us. Some of the guys in our unit have girlfriends, fiancées, or wives on base. The enemy might not know who you are yet, but you’re a civilian female in company with members of our unit. Perhaps, they thought you were attached to one of us. Even if you aren’t, it’s a pretty stark reminder that they will target the innocent people around us. The women in our lives have been targeted before.” He looked away, shaking his head, then back at her. “I’m sorry you got mixed up in this, but we’ll protect you better, from now on. We thought we’d minimized the risk, coming in by sea, but this little demonstration was probably meant to prove that they can get to us anywhere, anytime.”

  “Who are they?”

  Rik shook his head again. “Foreign agents. That’s all I know. They want us—or, at least, our abilities. I think they somehow believe that their country, or cause, was cheated because a bunch of Americans were gifted with these abilities, instead of their own countrymen or comrades.” He looked up as a helicopter neared.

  Lynn tried to ignore the strong column of his throat and the fierce look in his eyes that made her want to touch him… Kiss her way up to his firm lips. Down, girl. The sexy doctor is not for you.

  “And they think they can force the issue? That by threatening the people around you, they will force you into working for them?” It was her turn to shake her head. “That’s kind of ridiculous, don’t you think?”

  He looked back at her, those firm lips twisting in a rueful grin. “You’ve only just met us, and you’ve already figured it out. Smart lady. We won’t be manipulated. We won’t be blackmailed. We swore an oath—and more than that, as a unit, and as individuals, we have standards and integrity. We only fight for the good guys. We are not mercenaries, with loyalties that can be bought and sold, or influenced by threats.”