Echoes at Dawn (KGI #5)(34)

“Thanks, I think,” she mumbled.

“You care if I ask you something?” Browning called out.

She blinked and looked in his direction. He was sitting sideways in an armchair with one leg dangling over the arm, beer in one hand, his other propped on the back of the chair.

“Uhm, I don’t guess so.”

“That healing thing you do. How do you do it?” wane cD;

She was so used to being highly guarded when it came to any mention of her abilities that she immediately tensed and became wary.

Terrence frowned in Browning’s direction. “Don’t be an ass.”

Diego shrugged. “He’s only asking what the rest of us are wondering. We’ve all met Shea. We know what she did for Nathan. According to Shea, Grace here is the one who helped Swanny when he and Nathan were escaping in Afghanistan. I’d say that makes us curious.”

Grace turned almost in panic, her gaze seeking Rio. He stood in the same spot as before, tending to something on the stove. But he was looking at her, his gaze steady and unreadable. Almost as if he was telling her that she was on her own. Fight her own battles.

For a moment, it irritated her that he wouldn’t come to her rescue, but then realization was swift that he saw what she didn’t want to. That she needed to toughen up. She needed to regain her confidence and spirit. How could she do any of that if she was always leaning on him?

She glanced back at Rio’s men and forced herself to relax. Of course they’d be curious. Any normal person would be. And they likely thought she owed them some sort of explanation given they’d risked their lives to save her ass.

They’d probably be right.

She took a deep breath. “I don’t know how I do it. I just always…have. The first memory I have of healing is when I was very young and I found a bird fluttering on the ground with a broken wing. I picked it up and I can remember wishing with all my heart that I could make it better.”

The rest of the men tuned in, leaning forward in their seats.

“Did you? Heal it?” Browning asked.

She nodded. “For a long moment it remained completely still, cupped in my palms. Then it started flapping and struggling, trying to get away, so I opened my hands and it flew off. But the next thing I knew, I felt this awful pain in my arm. I could literally feel my own bone breaking. I was terrified. I went running to my mother, who told me I was never to do such a thing again.

“Shea was with her and she took my pain. I can remember being on my mother’s lap and having Shea put her hands around my arm. Her face was so solemn. I can still remember what she said. ‘I’ll make it better, Grace.’ And she did. At least temporarily.”

“Wow, that’s heavy,” Decker said. “It’s incredible what the two of you can do.”

“As I got older, I was able to focus my ability more. Direct it. I don’t know how to explain it, really. I could be a great distance from someone, but if I had a connection to them, I could still heal them. As I did with the man you called Swanny through Shea’s connection to Nathan.”

“It’s no damn wonder there are people so eager to get their hands on you,” Terrence said in a somber voice. “The possibilities are endless. You’d be of vital interest to the military or any radical group.”

“An unstoppable fighting force,” Diego interjected. “Someone goes down, Grace heals them through a psychic link. Boom, up they go again.”

Grace was shaking her head before he even finished. “I’m not psychic. I mean I can’t predict events, tell the future. I’m not a mind reader in the sense that I can pick out your thoughts. It’s…different. I’m telepathic, which just means I can communicate mentally. I can heal remotely, telepathically I suppose you’d say.”

“So you canSod. ?t read our thoughts?” Browning asked.

Of everyone, he seemed to have the keenest interest in her abilities. He’d remained thoughtful throughout the conversation, his brow etched in concentration.

“Not unless I connect to you.”

“Can you connect to just anyone?” Decker asked. “Shea said her abilities were random.”

“I could at one time,” she said softly. “I’m not sure I can anymore.”

They all looked inquisitively at her. An uncomfortable silence fell.

“You’ll get it back.”

Grace turned to see Rio standing behind the couch just over her shoulder.

“With the proper care and reconditioning, you’ll get it back.”

“I hope you’re right.” She sighed and her shoulders slumped as she turned back around. She remained sideways just a bit so she could still see Rio while including the others in her sight. “I used to think that I didn’t want my gift. That it would be easier—my life would be easier—if my head was silent. If I couldn’t hear other people. If I couldn’t heal.”

“And now?” Diego prompted.

“I miss my sister,” Grace said, an ache building in her chest as she thought of losing that link to Shea. “This past year has been difficult. She’s tried to keep communication to a minimum because she always feared knowing too much about me and where I was. She didn’t want to be used against me or to draw me out.”

“How did you lose it?” Decker asked. “I don’t understand. What happened?”