Eye of the Falcon (Psychic Visions #12)(64)

“It’s only about you. These men are here to help you. Nobody gets to you, do you hear me?”

He watched her eyes glisten with tears. But she nodded. “I get you.” Then she did something that completely shocked him. She slid her fingers across his cheek, grabbed him by the ears, and pulled him down. Just before their lips connected, she whispered, “Thank you.”

And she kissed him. It was not a light thank-you kiss, but a deep searingly passionate kiss that reached inside his loins and yanked at him hard.

When she released him, he was still locked in the trance of her spell. He shook his head. “Lady, you pack a mean punch.”

“We all have our weapons.”

He stared at her for a long moment.

“What did I say?”

He glanced at the window, then down at her. “You do have some unusual ones. It occurs to me, can you find out if a predator is out there, like you did with Hadrid?”

She raised her eyebrows and shook her head. “I just learned minutes ago that these birds and I can communicate on some level. But to send them out, like scouts? Have them report back? That’s a lot to ask for—from them and me. I’ve been sending messages to Humbug and Roash, but we’ve learned that over the last several months.” She paused, pursed her lips. “Humbug isn’t flying well.”

“I thought Humbug was incapable of flying in the first place, other than two-foot jumps.” He studied her. “How did he manage that?”

She stared up at him. “I don’t know. I’m not this person with magical powers,” she snapped. “Maybe Stefan had something to do with it.”

“Yeah, that Stefan guy again.” He shook his head. “We need to talk to him.”

“Tomorrow. And maybe Tabitha. She’s connected to Humbug. Maybe they can feed him enough energy so he can make his way here.”

He gave her a sidelong look. “You do realize how bizarre that sounds?”

Her lips twitched, and her eyes glowed with mystery as she motioned to the ceiling above them. “And this isn’t weird?”

He crouched down and turned to look at all the birds. “Okay, so this is beyond weird. What you’re talking about, other people remotely feeding a bird energy—whatever the hell that means—and helping to direct it to this place …”

A cry sounded outside. Eagle raced to the window and peered out.

“That was a bird cry,” Issa said. “Not human.”

He turned to look at her. “Are you willing to bet on that?”

She stared at him steadily for a long moment and then nodded. “I think the human cry might come soon.”

His brow furrowed as he stared at her in confusion. And, sure enough, screams split the air. Human screams.

He raced out and froze. “Wait here,” he said. And then the cries shut off suddenly. “Jesus.” He slipped out the front door to his security fence line. He stared into the darkness, but nothing was ahead of him. A human cry from the left caught his attention.

He quickly responded. The cry hadn’t sounded like Panther or Tiger. That meant somebody else was on the property. He didn’t dare leave Issa unprotected for long. He sent out a call, letting both men know where he was. The call was answered from up ahead.

He tracked his men to the raptor pens to find them kneeling over a man on the ground. Pulling out his phone, he used the flashlight to check the man over. He appeared to still be breathing but not for very long. As the flashlight climbed higher up his face—one Eagle didn’t recognize—the men at his side gasped.

“I’m pretty sure the sheriff won’t have too much trouble figuring out what happened to him.” The flashlight illuminated the hideous details.

The man’s eyes had been scratched out.





Chapter 20





Issa waited in the darkness for the men to come back. She’d watched Eagle head toward the pens. When would those assholes give up? Would they ever? She was putting them all in danger by staying here. But where would she go? And if she was truthful, she’d admit she didn’t want to leave Eagle.

After all she’d laid on him today, she’d probably shocked him. The kiss most of all. He was the kind of guy who would like to be in control. And she hadn’t given him an option. But she figured, if she didn’t show him how she felt soon, then he would never make a move. She slipped to her bedroom and wondered at the sensibility of packing up and walking out. Would Eagle come after her? Yes. Would the assholes? Yes.

So he and she would remain in danger regardless.

Plus she didn’t have anything to carry her new belongings in. Then the fact that she couldn’t walk very far. Plus Eagle had his land peppered with booby traps. She wasn’t likely to get off the property at this rate. She sat on the side of the bed and rubbed her head. Her temples were pounding. The window was open, letting the birds move in and out.

Fragments of images slammed into her head once again. Bits and pieces. She could hear voices outside, but there appeared to be voices inside too. The pain was killing her. There was just no stopping it. The bird cries and the voices, memories from her childhood. She didn’t dare turn on a light until she was told it was okay. The last thing she wanted to do was bring attention to herself. That would cause Eagle more complications. But, as she stared down at the boxes, she realized she really needed to spend more time here.