Street Game (GhostWalkers, #8)(55)

She sank down onto the floor where he indicated and he settled across from her, sitting, knees touching.

“I want you to do it again, but this time, really concentrate on Kane and Javier. I want to see how much you can read what they’re doing. How they’re feeling. Anything at all you can pick up.”

She frowned at him, but didn’t pull away. “I’ve never gotten anything other than happy or sad energy and a location.”

“I know. But I think you’ve grown stronger. I think you can do a lot more than you’re aware.”

“But what about the aftermath?” There was fear in her voice.

Mack framed her face with her palm. “I think when we’re together I’m stronger. I think our energies merge in some way. Do this for me. If you get in trouble and I can’t shield you enough, we’ll stop.” He wanted her trust. Even if it was just in that moment. He had to feel it again, the same way he’d felt her closeness. She was afraid. She’d just gone through a horrific night and he was asking her to risk another one.

Jaimie took a deep breath and nodded. She closed her eyes and allowed her mind to expand, to encompass the two men above her on the third floor. She always remained aware of her surroundings, and this time she was particularly aware of Mack. His energy surrounded her as it had never done before. It felt masculine and warm, almost hot, like his skin. The feeling was tactile. Her body tingled, grew warm, and the heat spiraled outward to mingle and merge with her own energy as she directed it away from herself.

She encountered Kane first. She knew his exact position, bending over the stove, as if the energy surrounded him and sent back an echo so that she could “see” him. He was stirring something. “He’s overcooking the noodles,” she murmured, but the humor faded just as quickly. She felt Kane’s emotions. His sadness. His guilt. A huge burden that weighed on him. His fears for Jaimie’s safety. Kane could barely breathe as he dipped a spoon almost absently into the boiling water.

Jaimie jerked away from him before realizing she wasn’t really catching his thoughts and invading his privacy. It was the energy surrounding him she was reading. She took a breath and let it out, reaching further into the room to touch Javier. His energy was strong, but like Kane’s, a mixture of emotion. She’d never noticed those strands before, woven tightly together to form around each person. She had never tried separating the various threads to read them more in depth.

“I thought Javier would have a lot of humor in him, Mack,” she mused, “but he has a lot of violence and sadness in him.”

“Where is he?”

“He’s by the window, standing to one side, staying very still. I’ve never felt anyone so still, but he’s coiled for action.”

“Is he alarmed?”

“Not yet. But he’s watching the wharf. No, the water.”

“Can you encompass the water?”

She took a deep breath again and let it out. Usually by now, using so much energy, her head would be hurting, and she’d feel little pinpricks of pain throughout her skull. She only felt Mack’s energy. Stronger. Wrapping her up as if in his strong arms. She actually felt safe and secure, instead of spread thin, her energy slowly seeping out until she had nothing left.

The water gave off a cold rush that she felt flashing through her veins. It was almost electric, tiny sparks spreading over her skin, while her body temperature cooled. Instantly she felt the energy around her shift, adjust, blanket her to warm her. She became so aware of Mack she actually felt the air moving in and out of his lungs and each separate beat of his heart. His energy immersed her in him until she felt a part of him.

Mack held his breath. His mind expanded with hers, locked together in some weird way he didn’t understand, but she was taking him with her out over the sea, as if the two of them were soaring free above everything. It was beautiful. Mystical. Like another dimension or realm she’d tapped into, yet he knew they were firmly anchored in that room.

The water’s energy sparkled like diamonds and he felt the lick of flames along his skin. The cold rush turned hot so that his blood surged and ebbed in time to her heartbeat. He could almost feel her skin brushing along his, inflaming his senses until he felt her very breath.

A boat rose and fell with the waves and inside two men huddled against the biting cold, peering through the fog, cursing their luck of drawing a bad assignment. Neither was happy, both miserable and both a little angry.

Jaimie looked up at him. “They’re watching the wharf, not this building, Mack. I think your Doomsday unit is tracking the weapons and found they were off-loaded on this wharf. Javier spotted them. That’s what has captured his attention.”

“You’re sure?”

“I don’t feel hostile energy, more like misery. They don’t like their assignment. And one is feeling queasy. That will get worse soon. Both are very focused on watching the area, but my guess is, they aren’t alone. They’ll have sent someone to watch the street.”

“Keep going. Spread out to find the others and our team.”

Jaimie glanced at his face and then away, as if the way he was looking at her made her shy. Maybe he was looking at her like a wolf might. He felt hungry, edgy, needy. She touched her tongue to her bottom lip. “Ethan, Brian, and Jacob are playing cards in a small room just opposite the bank of windows facing the street. They’re on the second floor. Ethan is facing the window and he has a clear view of the street. Brian and Jacob are very competitive. Ethan’s seen something outside that’s caught his attention and doesn’t have his mind on the game.”