“She’ll always be a target, won’t she?”
Brodie didn’t sugarcoat it. “Yes. Leigh was left untouched for years, but when Duran saw his chance, he took it. And her.” He shook that off with an obvious effort. “But the news isn’t all bad. We’ve found through trial and error—costly error—that total secrecy is the worst possible tactic we can use to protect our psychics. The answer isn’t to hide Sarah away. It’s to make her as visible as possible. The more people who are aware of her existence and abilities, the less likely she is to…disappear. Or have an accident.”
Tucker’s jaw tightened. Grimly, he said, “I know one way of alerting a few million people to her existence and abilities. I’ll write a book about her.”
Brodie smiled. “Already thinking like a soldier, I see. Good. Just don’t mention our nutty conspiracy theory, okay? Not until we’re ready to go public.”
“No problem.”
“In the meantime, we’ll work up a plan of where and how best to…position her.”
“She’s going to hate this,” Tucker said.
Brodie nodded sympathetically. “Most of them do, at first. The instinct is to hide, to pretend not to have dangerous abilities, certainly not to stand in a spotlight. But it’s the only way. As far as Sarah’s concerned, I think she’ll find out she’s more of a fighter than she ever suspected. I think she already has.”
“I think you’re right,” Tucker said.
“I nearly decked him when he spoke to me suddenly out of the dark,” Tucker said much later as he and Sarah lay in bed together catching up. “But since he had the goggles and I couldn’t see a damned thing, he was able to dodge me until he could convince me he wasn’t one of them.”
Sarah didn’t ask how Brodie had managed to do that. “I was very glad to see the two of you appear behind Varden, I can tell you that. He wasn’t behaving as I’d expected. Most people have the sense to try to escape a burning building—especially if they believe there’s only one way out.”
Tucker’s arms tightened around her. “He was too obsessed with getting his hands on you.”
“And unless Duran was lying in that message to us, it probably got Varden killed.”
“Brodie said he was pretty sure Duran had been running the show, at least as far as the lake, because he saw him there. But somewhere between there and Portland, whether in a setup Duran planned or on his own, Varden must have set his plans in motion.”
“And grabbed you.” Sarah moved a bit closer.
“I had no idea they could get inside my mind like that. I didn’t even realize what was happening until it was too late.”
“It wasn’t your fault, Tucker. Um…you do realize, don’t you, that we sort of have a thing between us?”
“A thing? Well, I guess that’s one word for it.”
“I’m serious. This connection.”
“Yes, I noticed it.”
“Does it bother you?”
“Don’t you know?”
“Dammit, I’m trying to be courteous and not pry into your thoughts.”
He chuckled. “I appreciate the effort.”
“Well?”
“No, it doesn’t bother me. You don’t believe that yet, of course, but you will. Eventually.”
She lifted her head from his shoulder to stare at him. “Brodie told you some of the stuff I’ve been doing the last day or so, right?”
“He did.”
“And none of that bothers you? Not the telepathy, or the out-of-body thing, or the lockpick I was able to send to you?”
“No. Although I’d like to try the out-of-body thing when I’m not drugged. Brodie said the consensus seems to be that you can only do it through our connection—to wander around where I am if we’re separated, or wander around near your own body.”
She eyed him in fascination. “That was the consensus, yes. Because I tried to go somewhere on my own and couldn’t. I had to—to use you as a doorway.”
“We’ll have to experiment.”
“Tucker, this really doesn’t bother you?”
“Well, no. I love you, you know. That would probably account for it.”
Slowly, she began to smile. “This is very sudden.”
“Yes, it was. At first sight, I think.”
“You know I love you too.”
“This connection is a wonderful thing.”
“I guess we’ll never be able to say we don’t understand each other, huh?”
“Not with a straight face.”
Sarah’s smile widened as he pulled her over on top of him. “It’s going to be interesting, isn’t it?”
“Oh, yeah,” Tucker said. “That’s one word for it.”
The plan to leave for Richmond in the morning was delayed somewhat when Sarah announced at breakfast that they had to go to Holcomb first.
Tucker had more or less forgotten about that, so he was surprised. And since Sarah was staying very quiet and still on her side of their connection, he had no idea why it was so important to her.
Brodie was distinctly unhappy.
“What’s in Holcomb?” he demanded.