In Destiny’s Shadow Page 11

  “I can’t blame the weather. I’ve been in storms before and never…” She shook her head. “This is so awkward. I’m not sure how to get past it.”

  “Melina, look at me.”

  She couldn’t. She dropped her face into her hands. “I can’t believe what I did.”

  “You didn’t do it alone. That’s why it happened, because there was already a connection between us. I was channeling the storm’s power, but it was too much for me to control. We were swept up in the backwash.”

  His attempt at an explanation only added to her confusion. It sounded like some kind of New Age nonsense. She would have thought Anthony was too levelheaded for that. Channeling the power? Okay, for a moment yesterday she’d had a fanciful thought that he was drawing in the wildness of the storm, but that had all been part of the craziness.

  “Set aside your disbelief and think about it, Melina. This wasn’t the first time it happened. Remember how you felt after we left the bar last week? I had gathered my energy to disable the jukebox and then to overload the lightbulbs in the sign. I realized you picked up on it. You just didn’t know what it was.”

  She rubbed the heels of her hands against her eyes. Her mind was spinning. Gathering his energy? What on earth was he talking about? His tone was so reasonable, it made what he was saying all the more fantastic.

  “You probably felt it the first time we met when I knocked out the transformer in the alley.”

  “Anthony—”

  He caught her wrists and drew her hands away from her face. “You were short of breath. Your pulse accelerated. Your senses felt heightened. Remember?”

  Yes, of course she remembered. It had been so strange, so instant, so…inexplicable. She looked at where he gripped her wrists. Something tickled her skin, like a series of tiny shocks.

  “What you felt were the physiological side effects of my stray energy,” he said. “In certain circumstances, it mimics sexual arousal.”

  Mimics? There was nothing false about the tingles that were chasing up her arm. She suppressed a shudder. “I don’t know why you feel it necessary to come up with a story like that but—”

  “It’s the truth.”

  She tugged against his grip. “Let go of me, Anthony.”

  Rather than releasing her, he guided her to face him and twined his fingers between hers. “Melina, I was born with the ability to manipulate energy fields. I can sense power sources. I can disrupt or reroute electric currents by channeling the energy. I’ve been doing it since we met. You must have noticed it.”

  “That’s impossible.”

  “If we were near a phone or some lights I could demonstrate my ability for you, but you’ve already seen it. Many times. Think, Melina. Use that reporter’s brain of yours and put the facts together.”

  “I am. They don’t make sense.”

  “Does this?” He reversed her hand, lowered his head and dipped his tongue into the center of her palm.

  Delight rocketed from her fingers to her toes, setting off bursts of sharp pleasure in every body part along the way. Her heart raced. Her lungs spasmed.

  The next thing she knew, she was sitting on his lap, her hands tangled in his thick, glorious gypsy hair. She had no idea how she got there.

  He rubbed his hand over her back. “I opened the connection just now. That’s what you felt.”

  She was startled into meeting his gaze. There was a power in the green depths that she hadn’t seen before. No, that wasn’t quite true. She had caught glimpses of it. Many times. She hadn’t seen it fully until lightning had crashed around them and he’d held her in his arms.

  I warned you, Melina. Remember that afterward….

  That was what he’d told her in the storm. She hadn’t understood then. She wasn’t sure she did now. Had he known she would react that way? Had he realized she would lose control?

  She scrambled off him and retreated to the back of the ledge where the overhang was the lowest. Oh, please. Let this be a dream, too.

  He twisted as if he was about to follow her, then glanced at the rock that sloped above her head and stayed where he was. “It’s a side effect of my talent, Melina. A reaction to the stimulation from stray energy. Don’t blame yourself.”

  “Your talent,” she repeated.

  “Psychic talent.”

  “That’s only superstition. There’s no such thing. I’ve never seen proof.”

  He raised one eyebrow. “Do you want another demonstration?”

  She didn’t know how to reply. Did she honestly not want to feel pleasure like that again? Side effect or not, what woman in her right mind would complain about stimulation like that?

  A woman in her right mind? Was she actually starting to believe this nonsense?

  Yet there was no rational explanation for what was happening between them. The feelings couldn’t be genuine, could they? They had only known each other for a week.

  He’d told her to think. Put the facts together. Yes, that was her job. What she was good at.

  But she had trouble thinking about anything when he sat there watching her, his taut, rangy, black-clad body silhouetted against the sunlit valley that stretched beyond the ledge. His midnight hair stirred softly in the breeze, his morning stubble darkened the hollows of his cheeks and accentuated the lean, sexy lines that framed his mouth. His gaze was bold and steady and just a hint wild.

  Oh, he was a splendid specimen of a man. There was nothing supernatural about his appeal….

  Or was there?

  How many times had she sensed something different about him? Leashed power beneath the surface. Shadows that surrounded him. Coincidences. Weird details. Right from the start.

  When they had been running from Fredo’s killers, Anthony had stopped in the alley and waited, as if he had expected that transformer would explode. And how had he known that live wire would disable the van?

  Wasn’t it too convenient how the jukebox in the bar had cut out when he’d wanted to speak? And how about the bolt of light from the sign outside that had seemed to be aimed at Kenny?

  And why had the lights at the Pecos Lodge dining room flickered when Anthony had been angry?

  No, this was crazy. There must be some other explanation that she hadn’t yet seen. There was no such thing as psychic power. It was bad enough that Benedict was obsessed with the supernatural….

  Melina’s spinning thoughts congealed with a thump. She pressed herself hard against the rock at her back. Benedict. He was obsessed with supernatural power. He had chosen his wife and had bred six children for the sole purpose of gaining that power. Melina had thought he was deluded, but what if he was right? What if he had succeeded?

  She folded her arms over her chest, suddenly chilled. She rocked herself back and forth. On top of everything else, this was too much to take in. The scope was too huge to grasp. “I want to go back to town, Anthony.”

  “Melina—”

  “Now. I need—” Oh, God. She didn’t know what she needed. A bath? A toothbrush? A stiff drink? Work. That was it. She would focus on her job. It had gotten her through worse. “I need my computer. I want to do some more research. I’ll contact those colleges. We talked about that yesterday.”

  “You still don’t believe me.”

  “How can I?”

  “Why would I lie?”

  “Stress? I don’t know. None of this makes sense.”

  “I’ve told you the truth, Melina.”

  “If you really have psychic powers, then why go through this charade of searching for Benedict? Why don’t you look into a crystal ball or something and tell me where he is?”

  “My talent doesn’t manifest itself that way. All of us have different strengths.”

  “Us?”

  “My sisters have their own talents. Elizabeth is a telekinetic. Danielle’s gift of luck helps her sense potential danger. I don’t know what strengths the other triplets have or how well they learned to use them. My talent happens to be energy fields. That’
s what I was tracing before the storm. I sensed an energy source out here where it shouldn’t have been. It could have been Benedict’s stronghold.”

  It was all so fantastic, she didn’t know what to deal with first. “I thought you said you saw a light.”

  “No, I said I caught a flash. I meant energy. You assumed I meant light.”

  “Really? Then where is it?”

  “I’m not sure. I lost the signal.”

  “How convenient.”

  “Why are you so angry, Melina?”

  Why? Because she would rather be angry than terrified. She had to regain control. Of herself and of her emotions. Of the things she knew were logical and reasonable.

  She crept forward until she had enough space to get to her feet without having to duck her head. She busied herself with brushing the dust off her clothes. “We’re done here, Anthony. I’m leaving.”

  He shrugged on his jacket and rose to his feet. He had to move farther toward the rim of the ledge before he could straighten to his full height. “You’re right, it’s time to go. I’ll drive you back to town. I don’t want you with me when I finish tracking down that source.”

  “Finish—Wait a minute. Do you mean you’re going to come back here? Without me?”

  “Melina, I already put you at more risk than I should have. What happened last night should prove that.”

  “Well, if you’re worried that I’m going to jump you again, don’t be. I’m a logical, rational woman. I have no intention of repeating—”

  He caught her by the waist and spun her to his chest.

  “Anthony, what are you doing?”

  He backed her against the side of the cliff. “Do you hear that?”

  All she could hear was the pounding of her pulse. Her forehead nestled under his chin. She inhaled the familiar smell of his neck and her body immediately softened.

  “It sounds like a helicopter.” He cupped her head, holding her in place.

  His touch felt so good, she started to lean into his hand. Damn. She couldn’t let this happen again. She bit the inside of her cheek, using the pain to help her concentrate. She heard it then, the chugging of an engine. “Okay, so there’s a plane or something. That’s no reason to grab me.” She brought her palms between them and pushed.

  Trying to push Anthony was as useless as trying to push the rock cliff. He didn’t move. “It’s coming from the northwest,” he said. “That’s the last place I felt the energy source.”

  She lifted herself on her toes to look past his shoulder. Metal and glass gleamed in the sunlight. The rhythmic noise of the engine grew louder. A small black helicopter was skimming over the cliff top on the other side of the valley. It was heading toward them. “Let go of me, Anthony,” she said through her teeth.

  “We’ll wait here until they go by. We would be too easy a target if they caught us on the plateau.”

  “A target? You don’t really think it’s Benedict, do you? It could be anyone.”

  He twisted to keep the helicopter in sight as it flew overhead. “There are no markings. Whoever it is couldn’t be here on legitimate business.”

  He was right. The helicopter was low enough for her to see for herself that there were no letters or numbers on the black fuselage. It flew past, the wind from its rotors sending a cloud of grit over them. She ducked her head against Anthony’s chest.

  “That energy I traced was close,” he said. “It felt like less than two miles. I should have realized Benedict would have patrols around the area.”

  “But there were no lights yesterday. I didn’t see any sign of buildings.”

  The chugging of the helicopter engine dropped suddenly, blocked by the rock, but it didn’t disappear. The noise seemed to come from all around them. It was impossible to pinpoint where it had gone.

  Anthony stepped away from her and looked over the valley. “We should have started back before this. If they spot the Jeep and come looking—”

  He didn’t have a chance to finish what he was going to say. The helicopter reappeared, swooping past them from the right so close they could see the rivets in the tail. It made a tight circle over the valley, the bubble-shaped windshield mirroring the sky. It hovered above the slope, the nose swinging back and forth as if it were some monstrous animal that was searching, searching…

  Something hit the side of the cliff above them, sending a shower of dust and pebbles over their heads.

  Anthony hauled Melina down on the ledge, rolled her onto her stomach and flattened himself on top of her.

  Seconds later, the place where they had been standing was hit by a barrage of bullets.

  Chapter 8

  There was nowhere to run. Bullets whined inches above their heads. Pieces of rock pelted the ledge around them. Melina felt Anthony jerk. She realized some of the debris must be hitting him, yet he remained where he was, spread-eagled on top of her, shielding her with his body. She could do nothing but lie beneath him and pray.

  The noise of the helicopter rose in pitch as it drew closer, echoing from the cliff wall, mixing with the sound of wind and the ricocheting bullets. The din was painful.

  Anthony moved his head so that his lips were beside her ear. “We’ll slide farther back on the ledge. Cut down their angle.”

  She nodded to show she understood.

  “Okay. On three. One.”

  She braced her palms against the rock.

  “Two.”

  She could feel his body tense. She did the same, drawing in her breath, only to choke on the dust that filled the air. She coughed.

  He eased some of his weight to his knees so he could slip one arm around her midriff. “Three!”

  Keeping their heads down, they scrambled across the rock until they were deep beneath the overhang. There wasn’t enough room for Anthony to lie on top of her. Instead, he quickly rolled her into position so that her back was against the wall, then stretched out alongside her so that he was facing outward.

  Melina continued to cough, her eyes watering from the dust and grit from the wind of the helicopter’s rotors.

  “Use your jacket to breathe through,” he shouted. “It will filter the dirt.”

  She dipped her head and grasped the collar of her jacket to yank it over her nose. It helped. The coughing eased. But she still couldn’t get enough air. It wasn’t the dust as much as the shock.

  They were being shot at. Why? By whom?

  There was only one answer. Who else but Benedict would dare to act this way? He was ruthless. He wouldn’t hesitate to have his men shoot first and ask questions later if someone strayed too close. That was what had happened a week ago in Santa Fe.

  But she and Anthony were in the middle of nowhere. They had traveled the area for almost a week and hadn’t found a trace of Benedict. This was too improbable, too much of a coincidence. How could they have stumbled onto his location by chance?

  Yet Anthony claimed it hadn’t been by chance. He had led them here. He had sensed an energy source and had followed it.

  Oh, God. She couldn’t think about that now.

  The gunfire abruptly ceased. The helicopter’s engine screamed closer.

  “They can’t see us anymore,” Anthony said. “They’re moving in to take a closer look.”

  With the rock behind her and Anthony lying in front of her, Melina was protected for the moment, but she knew he wasn’t. She shoved at his back. “We should make a run for it.”

  “Don’t move.”

  “But if we stay we’ll be trapped here.”

  “Wait.”

  She could feel tension hum through his body as he held himself completely motionless. A tremor traveled from his back to her palms. She felt a surge of power, as if she were being sucked into the wind that battered them.

  The sound of the helicopter changed. The rhythmic thump of the rotors sputtered.

  Melina slid her arm around Anthony’s waist and pressed herself full-length against him, her knees behind his thighs, her breasts flattene
d against his back and her forehead rubbing his hair. She couldn’t stop herself. She needed to hold him. She felt…connected.

  There was another surge, like a wave lifting her up, carrying her forward. She slipped her hand past the edge of his jacket and splayed her fingers over his chest. His heart beat hard beneath her palm. “Anthony?”

  He covered her hand with his and squeezed hard. His palm was sweating yet his fingers were ice cold. “Wait,” he repeated.

  She heard the helicopter sputter again. The noise that battered her eardrums strengthened. She flexed her jaw to ease the pressure and hung on to Anthony’s solid form. The wave continued to build. It was frightening and exhilarating and eerily familiar. “Anthony!”

  His chest heaved. Melina felt a sensation of release flash through her. It wasn’t sexual. It wasn’t even physical. It was on a deeper, more intimate level, on a plane she hadn’t known existed.

  The sound of the engine cut out, leaving nothing but its echoes and the whistle of the rotors as they sliced the air. The silence lasted no more than a few seconds before the engine roared back to life. The sputter was more pronounced, like a rhythm knocked out of sequence.

  The pitch dropped, falling away quickly as if the helicopter was retreating. Melina held her breath, not daring to hope. Could their attackers have given up? The noise continued to diminish until she was able to hear other sounds, the screech of a hawk, the sigh of the wind and the harsh rasp of Anthony’s breathing.

  She lifted her head, squinting past him through the settling dust. The slice of sky she could see beyond the ledge seemed overly bright. And blessedly empty.

  The unexpectedness of the attack left her stunned. So did the sudden way it had stopped. It had seemed to go on forever, but in her head Melina knew the whole event couldn’t have lasted more than a few minutes.

  Her heart still pounded. Her senses felt heightened. She felt sparks of awareness along every inch of her skin. Now that the danger was over, reaction was setting in.

  You felt…side effects of my stray energy…. It mimics sexual arousal.