“Did they do anything to you?” he asked.

  “No, they didn’t,” she muttered, “unless of course kidnapping qualifies. But I got the definite impression—when they all took off and left me alone—that they weren’t coming back and that I was an easily disposable item.”

  Jonas nodded. “I wouldn’t be at all surprised. When it comes to those for-hire groups, if you don’t fit what they want, they don’t want anything to do with you.”

  “Yeah, and what they wanted was to set up a team. Apparently just the same as you’ve been talking about,” she muttered. “The question is, who the hell in your organization is giving away your secrets? Why would I even want anything to do with a company, a government, that can’t even keep its own employees safe, particularly when we didn’t even get through the interview process?” she asked, with a snort. “But now you’re off the hook since I know you were letting me down easy by dropping me off at the hotel.”

  Jonas’s jaw worked several times as he processed all the information she was sending his way, the pace of it making his head spin. He shook his head. “I didn’t say you wouldn’t be part of the team,” he muttered. “I was trying to figure out where to go from here and was taking Wallace to the hotel.”

  “Maybe,” she conceded, “but I definitely felt I didn’t make the grade. Then, when I got kidnapped, I couldn’t help but wonder if you guys hadn’t set it up as some crazy testing scenario.”

  “We didn’t,” Jonas confirmed in a short and testy tone.

  “You didn’t?” she asked again. “Anybody else in your group who may have?”

  He looked at her in surprise and then shook his head. “If you mean another government department, no,” he replied. “That’s just not how we operate.”

  She didn’t say anything to that because, as far as she was concerned, it was exactly how they operated.

  Wallace kept an arm around her as they headed up to the offices. He looked over at Jonas. “You’ve got one hour, and then she needs to go to the hotel to shower and to rest, if not take a swing by the hospital to get checked over.”

  She glared at him at that suggestion. “No,” she snapped. “I need a shower, that’s all. I could use it well before this, but I don’t want to come back, so let’s get this over with. Then get me out of here,” she muttered. She turned to face Jonas, plastered on a smile, and added, “Please.”

  He laughed. “I’ll do my best.”

  “And considering that Wallace and Riff found me,” she conceded, “obviously your best is pretty damn fine.” And, on that note, she glared at Jonas. “What is it you want to know?”

  “I need to know who it was and what they said to you.”

  “Almost nothing. One was called Dominic. I don’t know any other names, but there were five of them in total—Dom, their psychic, then three minions serving as guards, plus the boss man.” She gave her basic perceptions of them and added, “There was talk about mind reading and various other abilities. They seemed to think that I had some abilities, but I tried hard to convince them I didn’t. I salted it with the truth about a car accident I had many years ago, which is when my abilities came into play, along with the fact that I also lost them a few years later,” she muttered.

  At that, Jonas stared at her, fascinated.

  “Apparently you didn’t know that either,” she noted, with a headshake. “The kidnappers had done some research on me, and they were damn accurate but with some holes. It pissed me off, but they hadn’t heard any of these earlier details.”

  “No, of course not,” Jonas muttered. “I didn’t know those details.”

  “You weren’t looking in Brazil, which is where I was at the time of the car accident and where these abilities started to show up,” she shared.

  “When did they stop?”

  “When I hit puberty,” she replied, angrily glaring at him now. “How is it that you brought me in for a job interview, but you don’t know all this?”

  “Because we didn’t do that deep of an investigation,” he shared, “not yet anyway. We were trying to figure out if it was even something worth doing and who out there had the abilities to make this team possible,” he explained. “It seems as if you special guys are also pretty closed-mouthed about it all.”

  “Yeah, and I wonder why,” she declared, with a snort.

  Wallace just laughed, walked over, sat her down on a chair, then stepped behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders. “That’s fifteen minutes of your one hour,” he announced to Jonas.

  Jonas glared at him, but he shrugged. “Hey, fair is fair.”

  “Damn straight,” Wallace stated. “She’s exhausted and obviously has been through a hell of an ordeal already. I’m certain that she feels as if she stinks of the sewer that we dragged her out of, as do Riff and I,” Wallace added, “and—until she gets a shower, a hot cup of coffee, some decent food, she won’t even start to unwind. Right now she’s tense, frustrated, and edgy. I just want to get her back to the hotel.”

  “Not that hotel,” she declared, twisting to look up at him in horror.

  “No, absolutely not that hotel,” he agreed, with a smile. “I’ve even thought that maybe we should take you straight over to Terk’s place.” He turned to Riff, who was leaning against the door and studying the group.

  Riff nodded. “Let me talk to him.” And, with that, he stepped out of the room.

  She frowned as she looked up at Wallace. “I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

  He shrugged. “You need a place to go to that is safe. You need a place to heal, and I know that you’ve already had some conversation with Terk about the shifts in your gifts.” They both turned to face Jonas. Wallace nudged him. “You’re running out of time.”

  Jonas glared at Wallace. With a sigh, he turned to Amy. “This Dominic, would you recognize him again?”

  “I would probably recognize all of them again,” she replied, “but I didn’t recognize them in terms of knowing who they are, if that’s what you’re asking.”

  “Right. Would you look at some books for us?”

  She nodded, and he quickly walked over to a computer, punched some keys, and a screen appeared on the wall. Then he opened a series of mug shots but more official-looking. “Let me know as these photos run by if you see anyone who looks familiar.”

  She nodded, and even Wallace watched as the faces shifted rapidly around them. She called out, “Wait.”

  “That one?” Jonas hit Stop.

  “No, go back one.”

  He went back one, and she nodded. “So that could be Burly.”

  “Burly?” he repeated in confusion.

  “Yeah, the angry burly guy seemed to be the leader of the men. I don’t mean that’s his name. That’s just how I thought of him.”

  “This guy is wanted by Interpol,” Jonas noted. “So that would make sense. Although I don’t know what he’s doing, getting involved with this. He’s KGB though, ex-KGB, and the last we have on him is that he’s now gone private.”

  “He was there, and Dominic was there, but I haven’t seen a picture of him yet,” she murmured. “Maybe you don’t have one. Then two of the three guards almost looked as if they could be related. Brothers maybe or cousins, I don’t know. But they were definitely down the pecking order. I think Burly was the boss of the henchmen. I think Dominic—who seemed arrogant all the time, as if he had an ability himself, or wanted people to think so—he reported to Burly too. Dom mentioned how he could read minds, and the others seemed a little afraid of him. Maybe not afraid, but a little leery because they didn’t really know what he could do. I think he was using the mind reader moniker to keep the others from getting too close to him—in case he really could read their minds.”

  “Smart,” Wallace conceded, with a nod. “The last thing anybody wants is to have somebody around who can read what’s on their mind.”

  “So, I’m not sure that he was a mind reader or just a good fake,” she murmured, “but, … from a few things he said, it’s possible he has a gift.”

  “Right,” Wallace muttered, “that makes sense.” He turned to Jonas. “Why would this Burly guy be involved in this?”

  “He’s private, so he was probably just hired to find and to put together a team. However, his problem will be the same as ours, finding anybody with abilities.”

  “He did say that,” she shared, with a smile, “and I just assumed that they were trying to piggyback off your research.”

  He nodded. “Sounds like it.”

  She stood up, her legs shaky. Wallace reached out with a supporting arm. She smiled at him and muttered, “I really need to go lie down now.” She turned back to Jonas. “If you have more questions, just let Wallace know, and he can get ahold of me, but I’m done for now.” And, with that, she turned and headed for the door.

  Jonas raced behind her. “Wait.”

  She turned to glare at him. “What?”

  “We really didn’t have anything to do with this,” he repeated, “and we’re very sorry it happened.”

  She nodded. “Sorry doesn’t really cut it right now though. I just want to go someplace where I’m safe and don’t smell the sewer and don’t have to face these lovely aspects of life,” she muttered. “There’s a reason I walked away from this thing years ago.” Leaving Jonas standing there, staring at her, with more questions on his lips, she walked out, finding Riff there to join her.

  Jonas turned to Wallace, who was only a couple steps behind. “What happened to her?”

  He hesitated, then replied, “You really do need to do more research on her, but she used to help the cops a lot. It was always very ugly cases, like missing kids, rapes, murders, things like that. She eventually just burned out,” he added. “Anybody who does that for any amount of time, regardless of their abilities or talents, they burn out, and they carry it all with them and suffer terribly from PTSD.” Wallace shrugged. “That’s why she’s blocked off a ton of it for a long time now.”

  “But then when she got sick, I thought things changed. I thought something happened then.”

  “Yeah, it certainly did. Her abilities came back full force. Stronger, better. Or maybe badder is a better word,” he clarified, with a laugh. “She’s still trying to figure it all out.”

  “So, she’s good? I know I asked you before,” Jonas muttered, with a wave of his hand. “I guess I’m asking again. Is she good?”

  “Yes, she’s good,” Wallace confirmed, “as in seriously good. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m taking her someplace safe.”

  At that, he walked out of the room, leaving Jonas staring behind them.

  Chapter 5

  When they pulled up in front of the castle doors in the huge roundabout driveway, Amy was shocked. She leaned forward and muttered, “Seriously?”

  Riff laughed. “Yes, seriously.”

  It was late and dark, but the castle had lights all around that gave it an eerie, almost haunted glow. As they got out, she looked back at Wallace. “Are you sure about this?”

  He nodded.

  Just then the castle’s front door opened, and a tall figure was outlined there. Riff sighed. “Hello, Angela.”

  She glared at him. “Well?”

  He shook his head. “No, not yet.”

  She turned and walked back inside.

  At that, Amy looked back at Wallace. “That’s not an auspicious beginning.”

  He shrugged. “It is what it is. Don’t make it more than that.”

  She wasn’t sure what that meant, but she could do only so much about it anyway. So she walked inside to find a lot of people sitting around a massive table, all talking. The conversations died when they entered, but one man, whom she recognized—more on instincts than anything else—got up and walked over, separating himself from the crowd. He opened his arms, and, when she fell into them, they closed around her securely, almost with a sense of homecoming.

  She tilted her head back and whispered, “Hi, Terk.”

  He smiled, leaned down, and whispered, “Hi back.” He held her shoulders and smiled at her. “Come on. Let’s get you upstairs.”

  “What about everybody here?” she asked, looking behind him.

  “No need to worry about that now,” he said, “Tomorrow will be soon enough. An awful lot of people live here, and you don’t need to deal with that just now. Take your time and get some rest.”

  She nodded and whispered, “Thank you.”

  He just smiled and escorted them upstairs via an elevator. That setup was way more modern than the castle appeared to be from the outside. By the time they got to a room, he pushed open the door and announced, “This is a suite, with two rooms, that you and Wallace can share. As you can see, it’s got an adjoining living area and an en suite bathroom. So, Wallace, once you have a chance to settle in, come on down, and we’ll send some food up for you two.”

  She was so grateful for his consideration.

  Terk looked down at her and added, “I don’t expect to see you until morning, do you hear?”

  She smiled and whispered, “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure. You’ve had more than enough to deal with. We’re not putting more on your plate tonight.” With that, he said good night and quickly disappeared.

  She stared behind him and told Wallace, “I forgot how nice he always is.”

  “I would imagine so. Remember that he can read your energy and a hell of a lot more. He probably can tell how exhausted you are, how emotionally worn out, and lots of other things that you and I can’t even imagine yet. He knows what you’ve been through, so he’s being a kind, compassionate, empathetic person.”

  “I get that,” she admitted, “but I was still expecting to have to socialize. While I’m not feeling quite up to it, it was nice that he didn’t put me through it.”

  “It was.” Wallace dropped their bags in their respective bedrooms.

  “I’m so exhausted. I don’t know if I should just … collapse or have a shower.”

  They walked into the bathroom together, and she gasped. “My God,” she muttered. “It’s huge.”

  “It is nice.” He looked around, then pointed out the tub. “Unless you want a bath instead of a shower.”

  She stared at it in delight, a great big stone claw-foot bathtub, but fully modernized. “I absolutely love it,” she exclaimed and nodded. “I think a bath would be a great idea. I could completely destress in all that water.” As she eyed the assortment of bubble baths on the side, she nodded. “I’m definitely heading for a bath.”

  He leaned over, turned on the water, checked the temperature, and nodded. “Go ahead and add what you want. I’ll clean up a little, then head downstairs and see about some food.”

  “I don’t even think I could eat,” she added, turning to him. “Especially not if it means going downstairs.”

  “I don’t think you have to go downstairs,” he said, “but I’ll go check it out.” She smiled at that, and he closed the door behind him, as he headed off to his part of the suite.

  She slid into the hot water, almost groaning in relief. Her body had been chilled deep inside from her time in the tunnels, a chill that she hadn’t fully noted until now, when she had been able to do something about it. Her body had shut down, not able to cope in that terrible place. Now here, everything was so big and so overwhelmingly beautiful. She just collapsed into the water, closed her eyes, and rested.

  It must have been at least thirty minutes later when she heard a knock on the door. “Who is it?”

  Wallace answered with a laugh, “It’s me. I hope you’re not expecting anybody else.”

  “Come in.”

  He hesitated at the doorway. “Are you covered?”

  “I am, at least I think so.”

  He came in a little bit closer, setting a small coffee table beside her. “I brought you a cup of coffee. I know it’s late, but it was either that or herbal tea.”

  “Coffee is fine,” she murmured. “It never affects me.”

  “Good for you. They’re sending us up a couple plates in a bit, just something light,” he added, “so I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

  “Do I have to get out?” she asked, twisting to look up at him.

  “Nope, I don’t see why you would need to,” he said, “especially if you don’t want to. So you might as well eat in the tub if you’re comfortable.” He shrugged.

  “Sounds good to me.”

  And, with that, he was gone.

  She laughed, as it sounded good to her too. Damn good. Too good to be true. She didn’t think she’d ever had a meal in a bathtub before. But right now, still loath to move, anything that allowed her to stay up to her chin in a bubble bath was just fine.

  When Wallace returned a little bit later, he had a small plate on a small tray in his hands. She’d finished the coffee, and he quickly removed that and put down the tray. “Here’s a bowl of soup and a meat pie,” he said. “Do you want it here, or are you ready to come out?”

  She contemplated it and nodded. “I think I need to get out. As much as I don’t want to, I’ve had enough.”

  “Then I’ll take this out in the other room and wait for you,” he murmured and quickly disappeared around the corner.

  After scrubbing down from head to toe, including her hair, she got up, dried off, wrapped her hair in a towel, snatched up the robe and pajamas that had been provided for her, and dried off a little bit before getting dressed. She then headed into the other room. Wallace was sitting down at a small table for two, with the plates of food.

  She smiled. “I don’t know what I expected, but I wasn’t expecting hotel treatment.”

  “I think it’s just a matter of whatever is available to eat under these circumstances,” he said, with a smile. “And, in this case, they just happened to have soup to warm up and some meat pies left over.”

  “Sounds good.” She sat down, tasted the soup, then groaned. “Wow, I hadn’t realized I was so hungry.”