Briggs pushed past him and headed straight for Lydia. He checked her pulse and pulled the cover back to access her body. When he was satisfied, he pulled the covers back over her. “You want to tell me what the hell happened?”
Jaime ignored them both and went to Lydia. She pushed the covers back, rubbed her hands then held them palms down over Lydia’s unmoving body. Jaime closed her eyes and moved her hands from Lydia’s head to her feet, making several passes and stopping above her head. “She had a mental attack.”
Briggs and Rick shared a knowing look and responded at the same time. “Marlaina.”
Jamie kept her eyes closed and her hands hovering.
Rick poured two cups of coffee and waited until Jamie opened her eyes. “She needs rest. Give her some coffee when she wakes up.”
Jamie walked to the refrigerator and opened it, pulling out a bottle of water. She downed the contents and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Anyone care to clue me in on what is going on?”
Briggs turned to Rick. “Why don’t you clue us both in on what the hell happened.”
Rick pulled out a chair at the small dining table. “I was in her room not even five minutes ago. Brody knocked on the door saying that the general needed to talk to me. We left, and before we made it to the end of the hall, we heard a gunshot.”
Briggs crossed his arms over his chest and shook his head. “Lydia doesn’t own a gun.”
Rick ran his fingers through his hair. “I gave it to her before I was abducted by Floyd. It was just as a precaution to protect herself whenever she couldn’t use her telekinesis.” Rick looked down at his coffee before he met their gaze. “I haven’t even had a chance to show her how to use it.” He cleared his throat. “I’m glad I did, she needs it now more than ever.”
Jamie placed her hands on her hips. “Why? You’re leaving something out.”
Rick placed his elbows on the table and let his head drop in his hands. “Because of me. I found out today that I can drain the energy around me. I wasn’t sure what it would do to her.”
Briggs patted Rick on the back. “It’s a good thing you did.”
Jamie pulled out a chair and joined him at the table. “Does this have to do with the injection?”
Rick explained everything that he knew while the other two listened. Neither one spoke while he explained what had happened when he trained with Brody. Rick looked at Briggs. “You know how I said there was a mole?”
Briggs nodded.
“I think it was Marlaina. I’m not sure what happened, but when we showed up in Lydia’s room, Lydia was out cold, clutching the gun in her hand, and Marlaina was dead.” Rick looked over at Lydia. “Lydia’s the only one that can tell us what happened.”
He’d almost lost her all over again. He should have never gone with Brody. This place wasn’t safe; Southall wasn’t safe. He didn’t know where to take her so she could escape Floyd’s attacks. A knock sounded on his door and pulled him from his thoughts. Briggs pulled out his gun and Rick grabbed his from the counter each taking aim at the door. Rick called out, “Who is it?”
“General Lister,” the gruff voice replied. Neither Briggs nor Rick put their guns away as Rick moved to pull the door open. “How is she?”
Rick moved back and let the general enter. He closed and locked the door behind him and turned to find the general kneeling down next to Lydia. He’d placed his hand on her head. “Is she okay?” The general looked over at Jaime. “Did you try and heal her?”
Jaime walked over to them. She knelt down beside the general. “My gift doesn’t work on her like it does everyone else.” She shook her head and lifted her hands to look at her palms. “For some reason, it has less of an effect.” She let her hands drop and turned her head to look at the general. “I did what I could. I think the only thing we can do is wait for her to wake up and give her some coffee.”
The general straightened and glanced at Rick and Briggs. “Marlaina was the mole. I’ve had Jonah looking into her text messages and phone bill. She started sending messages to the same number the day that Lydia arrived. We believe she’s been feeding information to Floyd or one of his people the entire time. I’ve got Jonah tracing the numbers.”
Rick moved to stand beside Lydia. “General, if they had a mole inside, isn’t it safe to assume that they know where we are? How safe is Lydia going to be if she stays here?”
Briggs and Jamie moved to stand beside him.
The general turned around and assessed the three of them. “We need to plan for the worse. We can only hope that he’ll try to get to her inside the compound walls where we’ll all be waiting.” The general nodded at Rick. “You’ll have two guards posted outside of your door until further notice.” He glanced down at Lydia before he lifted his hard gaze back to Rick. “I expect all of you in the conference room at oh-eight-hundred.”
“I’m not leaving her alone,” Rick said.