I caught the flash of his eyes and the curve of a satisfied smile before his hand clamped around my ankle. He yanked, but I transferred my weight to my other leg and hopped closer. It was ridiculous because I couldn’t do anything, but I was still standing. I counted that as a victory.
Torran’s smile grew, then an invisible force swept my other leg out from under me. I hit the mat on my back with a surprised grunt. By the time I caught my breath, Torran had pinned me under his body, his face perilously close to mine.
The hold was solid, and I could feel him, lean and firm, against me. I was effectively trapped, but rather than fear, desire simmered through my blood.
I glanced up at him and my breath caught. He was handsome at a distance, but up close, he was devastating. The colors in his dark eyes seemed to shift with the light. My gaze fell to his lips. Firm, smooth. I could almost feel them against mine.
It took a supreme effort of will to drag my mind away from his mouth, but I managed it. “I would call using your ability cheating, but since I started it, I’m willing to call it a draw—if you help me up.”
A grin hovered around his lips. “Perhaps I am comfortable here,” he said softly.
I arched, just a bit, testing his hold. I could barely move, but his expression shuttered, and he lifted himself off me. Once he was standing, I lifted an arm and he hauled me to my feet with easy strength. He didn’t step back, so we ended up nearly chest to chest. I tipped my head back to find him staring down at me, something dangerously like heat in his eyes.
“You call me by my given name only when you’re worried,” he murmured, his voice pitched low. “Why is that?”
The question brought me back to myself, and right now I very much needed the reminder of why I maintained distance between us. I stepped back and smiled at him, though judging by his frown, it wasn’t too convincing. “We are business partners. Using your title is polite.”
He made a noncommittal sound, but his searing gaze remained riveted on my face. I feared he saw far too much, so to distract him, I asked, “Will you show me how to break telelocks now?”
Both Eli and Lexi started to protest, but I silenced them with a look.
Torran frowned, but he nodded reluctantly. “Valoffs can break a lock if they are more powerful or more determined, but like shielding, it’s instinctive. You won’t be able to do it the same way, so rather than focusing on my power, focus on moving your body. It’s harder to hold someone who is resisting.”
When I didn’t say anything, he asked, “Have you been locked before?”
I grimaced. “I’m alive, so no.”
Something dark and harsh flittered across his face before he smoothed his expression back into careful blankness. “Take a deep breath and nod when you are ready. I will lock you in place for five seconds so you know what to expect. Then we will focus on just your arm for practice.”
“If he doesn’t let you go, I’ll kill him,” Eli said subvocally over the comm. I appreciated the thought, but unless he had a plas rifle hidden under his workout clothes, he would have a hard time of it.
I shook out my arms and bounced in place. This was such a bad idea. Still, I sucked in a deep breath, then nodded. I felt the cold brush of Torran’s power and every cell froze. I couldn’t move, couldn’t breathe, couldn’t blink. How much power did he have, that he could lock me so precisely?
My heart beat twice as fast, as if it alone could make up the difference. I wondered if he could stop that, too, if he tried.
Panic pulsed through my system, but I locked it down. I tensed every muscle, straining to move. Nothing happened.
Five seconds had never felt longer.
Torran released the hold. I sucked in a deep breath and waved off Lexi, who’d lunged for me. When I could speak, I pinned Torran with a hard look. “How did a group of humans steal from you when you could’ve locked them in place with a thought?”
I’d already discussed what I knew about the theft with my team, but we needed more details if we were ever going to be successful. Now was as good a time as any to press Torran for more information.
But, unsurprisingly, he handled the change of topic without a flicker of surprise. “I was away from home.”
“You didn’t take the ring with you? Wouldn’t it be safest on your person?” I glanced at his hands. He didn’t wear any visible jewelry. None of the Valoffs did. But neither did my team. Kee wore a necklace constantly, but it was always hidden under her clothes. Eli chose tattoos over jewels, and Lexi wore jewelry only when she was going for a particular look.
“It should’ve been safe at my house.”
“How many people knew you wouldn’t be home?”
Torran laughed without humor. “Many. I spoke at a public event. My attendance had been advertised for weeks.”
I sighed. Nothing about this job was easy.
“How was the ring secured?” I asked.
He glanced away, clearly uneasy. “It was locked in my office. I have security personnel as well as an electronic system.”
I raised an eyebrow at Lexi. She was the best thief I knew. “Could you do it?”
She shrugged. “Maybe. Depends on the system and the guards. For a human building, yes, with enough info and prep. But when the guards can sense you without seeing you? Much harder.”
“Dig into the guards,” I told Kee over the comm. She was likely already working on it, but an internal traitor was my best guess at this point.
Kee dipped her head in acknowledgment.
I turned back to Torran. “Is there anything else I should know before we get to Valovia?”
Torran stared at me for a long moment then slowly shook his head. I’d never had a more recalcitrant client.
I held out my arm. “Then let’s see if I can break a telekinetic hold.”
Lexi edged closer, stepping onto the mat. “Can I practice, too?”
“Me, too!” Kee called. She looked a little green around the edges at the thought, but she firmed her shoulders and soldiered on.
In the end, everyone on my crew tried breaking locks, with help from all of the Valoffs. None of us was successful individually, but I finally broke the lock when Kee and Eli managed to distract Torran for a fraction of a second.
Of course, a heartbeat later, he just locked me again.
My strategy for fighting a telekinetic Valoff remained the same: avoid at all costs. If that failed, then option two was run the fuck away, as fast as possible.
There was no option three.
Chapter Sixteen
I tapped my fingers on my terminal as Valovia grew ever larger on the bridge’s main screen. Yesterday’s final wormhole traversal had gone as smoothly as the rest of the trip, and the lack of problems made me nervous.
It made it seem like Valovia was a little too welcoming.
We were mere hours away from landing, and so far, not a single ship had challenged us, but my anxiety kept creeping higher, especially as the sensors picked up more and more military ships.