Training Rain (13 page)

“Rain and I were scheduled to meet Will at a small Louisiana
airport. When we got there Will was nowhere to be found and two mercs surprised
us. We managed to immobilize the enemy, but…”

“But you can’t land that plane.” She finished for him.
They’d worked together for years. Tessa knew his strengths and his weaknesses.

“Have you heard from Will?”

“No. I’ll put Piper on finding him.”

“Good. Start with a small airport just north of New Orleans.
That’s where he was heading the last time we saw him. Since the mercenaries
stole his plane, I assume he made it that far.”

“Will do. How’s Rain?”

Rain stepped into the cockpit and climbed into the copilot’s
seat. Her cheeks were flushed with healthy color and her eyes were bright and
alert. He was in big trouble. “She’s fine, better than fine.”

“Joshua is in a meeting. Hang tight. I’m going to pull him
out and then I’ll connect you.” Without another word, the other end of the
phone went silent.

Jess put the phone on the console and pressed the
speakerphone button. He looked at Rain. “What did you find?”

She shook her head. “You’re right. Will is a gun nut. This
plane is armed for bear.”

“And our guests?”

“Starting to stir, but they’ll be hard-pressed to move more
than an inch or two. This looks like a pretty fancy video game.”

“It is.”

“So what do we do?”

He loved that she talked about them as if they were a team.
He couldn’t help basking in the fact that in a dangerous situation she had
risked opening her mind and that leap of faith had saved them. Well, so far.
“We wait for Joshua to tell me how to get us on the ground in one piece.”

She didn’t say anything for a long time, only quietly
scrutinized the colorful panels and screens in front of them. “How long do you
think we can stay up here?”

The minutes ticked by. Jess checked the fuel and luckily
they had enough to stay in the air for hours. “Quite a while.”

“Will Tessa be able to get Josh?”

“Probably.”

“Will he be able to get us on the ground?”

He sucked in a deep breath and reached across to take her
hand. “Maybe.”

She turned and looked at him. “You told me you loved me.”

A knot formed in the middle of his chest that had nothing to
do with their impending doom and everything to do with her change of subject.
“I do love you, Rain.”

Her grip on his hand tightened. “Then you’d better get us on
the ground so you can prove it, because I love you too.”

He knew he was grinning like an idiot, but he couldn’t help
it. He never thought something so sentimental could make him so happy. He
wanted to jump up and down. Managing to keep his seat, he lifted her hand and
kissed it.

She hadn’t put her jacket back on. The sleeveless cotton
tee-shirt she wore allowed the very edge of black and red ink to peek out just
at the back of the arm hole. “Tell me about your tattoo?”

She followed the direction of his stare. “What do you want
to know?”

He didn’t want to think about what might happen if he had to
try to land the sophisticated plane on his own. Better to talk about other
things. “When did you get it?”

She glanced down at the Garmin navigational screen for a
long second and then back at him. “I was seventeen. For most of my life I’d
been able to communicate with animals. I’d been on and off the street for a few
years and the guy I was with took me to a tattoo competition. I saw an artist
inking a black and red Haida-style tattoo. It intrigued me so I spent the day
hanging out at his booth. After the competition, I tracked him down and worked
out a deal for my art.”

Jess couldn’t help cringing at what kind of trade she’d
made. She must have noticed.

“It wasn’t what you think. The artist was a nice guy. I
agreed to serve as his model for a big open house his shop was having. I just
had to let a lot of people gawk at me while I was getting it done. I was
totally zoned out from the adrenaline and really didn’t care who saw my back.”

He’d meant it when he told her he didn’t care about her past
and still it was a relief. For a moment the life of a tattoo artist in Los
Angeles hung in the balance. “What does it mean?”

“Do you really want to talk about this now?” There was an
airy quality to her voice.

He wondered if she was afraid of dying or if it was
something else. “Would you rather talk about our current situation?”

Her attention turned once again to the digital monitors of
the navigation system. “Not really.”

“Good, because I want to know about you and I get the
impression that the ink on your back tells a lot of that story.”

How could he know so much? She wanted him to know her. It
was the first time in her life she really wanted another human being to know
who she was beyond what she could do. “The overall design of the buffalo is a
symbol of how sacred life is. I was pretty messed up during the time I had the
tattoo done, but I still knew the life I was wasting was precious. When I got
older, I was amazed that the younger me had the same sensibilities.”

Jess watched her, only turning away now and then to glance
at the horizon on the screen in front of him. “People don’t change, really.
Maybe they go off track or lose their way now and then, but the essence of each
of us never really changes.”

“That’s what Adianca says. Do you really believe that?”

“I do and Adianca knew you would come around to the person
you were meant to be. That’s why she saved you.”

“I guess.” Rain stared out the window at the cloudy nothing
that washed passed the glass.

“What about the animals that make up the buffalo? Do they
have special meanings?”

It was so strange. She was probably going to die, but she
had never felt so calm in her life. All the things that had happened to her
over the course of the past few weeks should have freaked her out. She should
be huddled in a corner crying, but all she wanted was to be with the man beside
her. If they were going to die, she would die happy. That was more than she had
ever expected. She had a fleeting thought that Jess might be bending her mind,
but she dismissed the notion. He had promised never again and she believed him.
Besides, now that she knew his accent thickening to deep Cajun was a sign he
was bending, he couldn’t fool her. “The feathers that make up the horns are
symbols of healing. The eagle woven into the top part of the head means freedom
and the falcons along the side stand for leadership. There are a few other
smaller symbols threaded throughout. I can walk you through it one day when you
can see the tattoo.”

“And the figure in the center with the long teeth.”

“The wolf.”

“What does he stand for?”

She turned her head and the look in his eyes was so intense
she wondered if she would ever be able to look away. “The wolf is a symbol of
passion.”

The sound of someone clearing his throat broke them out of
the intimate conversation. Joshua’s voice came in loud and clear from the cell
phone’s speaker. “I don’t mean to interrupt.”

A huge smile spread across Jess’ face. Rain’s cheeks warmed
and she knew she was blushing. How long had Joshua Lakeland been listening?”

“Good to hear your voice, Josh. Do you think you can talk me
through a landing in this flying computer?”

“No problem, buddy.”

As soon as Jess released her hand, she wondered if she would
ever feel his touch again. Their boss sounded confident on the other end of the
phone. He told Jess how to change the navigation and where to direct the plane.
They were going to head to a small airport in Virginia. Joshua, Tessa and his
brother Kane were already on their way and would be there before they were
ready to land. The instructions sounded easy enough. The computer did most of
the work until the last few minutes.

Joshua continued to give a steady flow of instructions in
the same calm voice throughout the remainder of the flight. Jess didn’t appear
the least bit worried as he followed each direction to the letter and they
began their descent toward the earth.

Pain shot through Rain’s fingers. They were cramping and she
realized it was due to the grip she maintained on the armrests. She relaxed her
fingers and took a deep breath.

The runway stretched out in front of them. It was a very
small runway. “Is that going to be long enough?”

Joshua answered, “It will be close, but you can make it.”

She snapped her head around and she glared at the phone
where it still sat on the console in front of Jess. He reached over and
squeezed her hand. She watched him as he smiled and sent a message to her as he
had when he wanted her to Taser the mercenary. His mind spoke much more softly
this time.

I love you.

She nodded, wishing for the first time that she had the
ability to answer in the same way.

Of course she didn’t, but he smiled as if he heard her
thoughts anyway. Maybe he had in the way he’d heard her the night in
Yellowstone when she’d been in a panic. Her entire body rang with her love for
this man, so perhaps he had heard her.

The contact had been only a second, but it was exactly what
she needed to believe that everything would be all right.

The ground grew larger in the window, Joshua’s voice
continued to give instruction and praise over the phone and Jess focused
completely on the screens in front of him. The wheels touched down and the
plane bounced once and twice before the landing gear finally gripped the tarmac
and they rushed down the runway, slowing with every passing yard.

In front of her, a snow-covered field warned of the end of
the runway. They could not have been more than a foot away when Jess finally
managed to stop the plane. Rain let her breath out in one long gust and the
ache in her lungs eased.

“Great job,” Joshua said from the phone speaker. “Stay right
there, we’re coming to you.”

The click of a disconnecting cell phone was all the prompt
Rain needed. She jumped out of the copilot’s seat and just as Jess was shutting
down the engines, she grabbed him around the neck, covering his cheek with
kisses.

“You are amazing. I can’t believe we’re not dead.”

A full, round laugh filled the small space. “And you seemed
so confident in me a few minutes ago. Now I know that was all a ruse.”

“There was no sense in shaking your confidence.”

He turned his head and took her lips with his as his hand
came around and gripped the back of her head and his tongue plunged inside her
waiting mouth. The impact of the kiss shot directly to her womb and her pussy
clenched with desire.

Breaking the kiss, he gave her nose a quick peck. “You’d
better open the door and lower the stairs. I can see our friends from here and
they’ll be here in a few seconds.”

She glanced out the window and confirmed that a vehicle was
approaching. “Got it.”

Grabbing the two guns she’d procured from the storehouse of
weapons onboard, she did as Jess had instructed. As soon as the steps were
down, Joshua Lakeland, his brother Kane and Tessa were all at the bottom with
their own weapons at the ready.

“So you’re telling me that bastard has a psychic son and he
still wants to destroy everything psi?” Kane Lakeland paced the room. His dark
hair was sticking up from running his fingers through the thick mass. He looked
as if he was a caged animal though they had only been inside the small
conference room for an hour while Rain and Jess were debriefed.

Rain loved how they told their story together. In a short
time they had become a team. Jess would tell part of the story and then she
would slip in and tell the next, each one knowing where to start and when to
stop. There was something poetic about the process.

Jess continued, “I think it’s because of his son that he’s
so anti-psi.”

“Do you think the younger Breckenridge is like Banta?” A
shiver ran down Rain’s spine. The idea of something as evil as Banta made her
want to rethink her choices. No, she would not second-guess herself. She had
saved Jess’ life. In fact she had done it more than once. She was an asset.

Tessa leaned against the wall. They had secured a small
executive suite at the W Hotel. It had its own conference room, kitchenette and
two bedrooms as well as a large living room and dining room. “Joshua, you
should call Blake and see what he knows about the Breckenridge boy.”

The head of the Psi Alliance groaned aloud. Blake was an FBI
agent who had given the Psi Agency support in the past, but everyone knew there
was bad blood between Blake and the Lakeland brothers. Tessa stared him down.

Rain knew they were likely communicating through telepathy.
Adianca had told her the two were deeply linked. It was that link that had
saved them. A wave of jealousy surprised her. Did she want that kind of
connection? Could she stand to have someone in her head all the time even if it
was Jess?

Joshua was the most powerful psychic in the world, but Tessa
must have won the argument. He lowered his head and left the room, pulling his
cell phone out of his pocket.

Kane mumbled, “I hate that guy.”

“Yes, we all know how you and your brother feel about Agent
Blake, but he’s saved our lives on more than one occasion. So ease up.” Tessa
rolled her eyes and pushed off the wall. She stared Kane down with her hands on
her hips.

He didn’t exactly cower, but he did change the subject.
“Jess, you said the kid is in an institution. If he’s not a complete whack job,
we might be able to use him.”

Rain didn’t like the sound of that. “What do you mean ‘use
him’?”

“He’d be a hell of a bargaining chip against his father.”

“You can’t do that.”

“Why not?” Kane’s voice rose to just under a shout. Maybe he
expected Rain to back down.

“Because he’s a human being. You can’t use him as currency
to get what you want.”

Tessa resumed her position against the wall. Her blonde hair
fell in front of one eye and she pushed it behind her ear. “Rain, if Will has
been taken and not killed, what do you think our enemies will use him for?”

Rain had to make a concerted effort to keep her temper under
control and her mind guarded so that her every thought wasn’t broadcast into a
room full of psychics. “I’m not naïve. I know they will take advantage of
capturing Will. He’s your friend, hell, he’s mine too. I don’t want to see
anything happen to him. I just believe that the Psi Alliance should be better
than those who would seek to destroy us for being different. If you kidnap the
senator’s son and then use him to get Will back then you become the monsters
they make us out to be.”

The room became completely silent. No one spoke or even made
eye contact. Everyone but Jess, who looked her directly in the eye. The corner
of his mouth tipped up and she could have sworn he looked proud of her. An
instant later his expression returned to unreadable and he stared across at
Tessa.

They all waited for a full five minutes and no one spoke.
Rain couldn’t be sure they were not all reading each other’s minds and keeping
her out of the conversation, but she didn’t think so.

Joshua walked back inside as he hung up his phone. “Blake
told me that Troy Breckenridge is twenty-three and listed as schizophrenic.
He’s been heavily medicated for years and tucked neatly away in the Alexandria
Mental Health Facility so as not to interfere with his father’s bid for the
presidency. Breckenridge only brings him out for short periods to do public
appearances. He’s always kept medicated and he’s never allowed to speak.”

Rain’s anger at a man she had never met consumed her. She
hadn’t been happy when the senator had sent men to kill or capture Jess and
her, but this? He was the real monster.

Tessa looked at Rain. “I’ve conveyed your thoughts to
Joshua.”

Rain nodded and prepared to take the full blast of whatever
Joshua was going to say. She would not waver from her stand.

His eyes narrowed and he arched one eyebrow. “I agree with
Rain. We put the Alliance together to work for the side of right. If we go off
track now, we’ll never recover.”

Rain let out the breath she’d been holding.

“What’s the plan?” Kane stood up and crossed his arms over
his chest.

She and Jess continued to sit. Frankly, she was tired. She
really needed a good night’s sleep. She wasn’t going to waste energy posturing
with psychics.

“Rain?” Joshua said her name as if she had the answer.

Well, maybe she did, or at least an idea. “Can we get to
Troy?”

Joshua smiled. “We can get to anyone we want.”

Rain took a deep breath and closed her eyes for a moment.
“We should get him out of the institution. If his father is as nuts as we think
he is, he could be keeping Troy drugged to suppress his psi abilities or worse,
using his psi for his own purposes.”

Kane’s voice was devoid of emotion, but his arms still
crossed his chest and he watched her warily. “Then what do we do with him?”

“I can block his powers while he comes down off the drugs.
If he’s really sick, we return him to the hospital, but if his father has used
his influence to imprison a perfectly normal psychic we should help him. If he
wants to help us defeat Breckenridge, then that would be great too.”

“You want to give him a choice?” Tessa said.

“Yes. Everyone deserves to make their own choices. So far
Troy’s have been taken out of his hands by the one person he should have been
able to trust. We have to help him.”

“And if he’s a crazy, evil bastard?” Kane asked.

Her stomach tightened. She couldn’t help imagining the
horrors of Troy Breckenridge’s life. Drugged and incarcerated for being what he
was. It took all of her strength to keep tears from pushing forward. “I say we
cross that bridge when and if we come to it. We can’t assume the worst about a
boy no one has ever even spoken to.”

For the first time Jess stood up. “Rain and I need a good
night’s sleep and we’ll be ready in the morning to go forward with the rescue.
Have you had any word from Piper on Will?”

Joshua’s expression sank into unchecked sorrow. He and Will
had been close friends and colleagues for many years. It had to be hard on him.
“She went to New Orleans and found signs of a struggle. The attendant at the
air strip said that a plane had come in, but only stayed for an hour before taking
off again. They neglected to file a flight plan.”

Tessa put her hand on Joshua’s shoulder. “Lena didn’t see
his death. Something that big would have shown up in the Stones of Adeline.”

“What is that?” Rain asked.

Kane ran his hands through his hair. “My wife is the keeper
of sacred stones that tell her the future. Sometimes events are clouded, but if
one of the people closest to us had died, she would know.”

It was a lot to process. She’d known that Lena Lakeland had
been previously married to a tyrant, but she hadn’t known the details. Now it
was starting to make sense. A man with little moral fiber and a wife who could
see the future could get them very rich. The image of Jess’ sweet parents
popped into her mind.

Joshua pulled a keycard out of his pocket and handed it
across to Jess. “You two can use this suite. We’ll be back at first light to
collect you. Get some rest.”

Kane and Tessa walked out of the room, but Joshua turned
back. “Very good work, you two. And Rain, I’ll be counting on you to always keep
the rest of us on the right track.”

A knot formed in her chest. Even if she sometimes struggled
to see her worth within the Psi Alliance, Joshua Lakeland did not. He saw her
strengths and acknowledged them. She was too choked up to speak but managed a short
nod.

None of them appeared to question the fact that Jess and
Rain were together. She wondered if Tessa had known about their connection
before she sent Jess to Yellowstone, even if they didn’t sense it. The door to
the suite banged shut as the agents exited.

Then it was just the two of them. His gaze locked with hers
as he reached around the corner of the table and took her hand. She allowed him
to lead her out of the conference room to the living room.

Something gnawed at her gut. “You left me to battle all
alone in there. Why didn’t you say anything?”

He sat on the overstuffed couch and pulled her down into his
lap. “You didn’t need any help,
cher
.”

“I couldn’t even tell if you agreed with me.” He distracted
her by running his hand along her ribs, over her hip and down her thigh.

He stopped. “Would it have made a difference if I’d
disagreed? Would it have changed your position?”

She pulled away, but he held her firm in his lap, wrapping
his arms around her waist. “Of course not.”

“Then tell me what you’re upset about.”

Was she upset? Maybe she was just tired. Still… “I don’t
even know where you stand.”

“Really?” With one hand still holding her tightly, he ran
his fingers along her cheek and threaded them through her hair. “I’ll tell you
then. I’ve never been more proud of anyone in my life.”

Her throat grew tight. “Why?”

A short, loud laugh burst from his lips. “Are you kidding?
You just stood up to three of the most powerful psychics in the world. You have
no offensive skills and you never flinched even when Kane tried to intimidate
you. You are an absolute warrior.”

Even though her heart filled with joy, she wanted more. She
needed to know who the man she loved was at the most basic level. “Would you
have made the argument to save Troy?”

“I would have supported a rescue, but you make us all better
people, Rain. I don’t know if I would have considered his rights without your
influence. I’m not saying I’m proud of that, but it’s the truth.”

She couldn’t argue, didn’t want to. Leaning down, she
pressed her lips to his briefly. “I’m going to shower and get some sleep.”

“We earned a good rest. Maybe when this is over, we’ll go
back to New Orleans for a while.” He relaxed his hold as she stood up.

“We have to pick up Yas. We could stay down there awhile if
you want.”

He stood up and pulled her hard against his chest. “I want
to spend time with you. I don’t care where we go. If you want to go to Nevada,
I’ll follow you there. As long as you’re with me.”

“I’ll be with you, Jess.” She swayed on her feet. Adrenaline
had kept her going for hours, but now her body was giving out.

He steadied her, turned her toward the bedroom and gave her
butt a pat. “Go get cleaned up and get some sleep.”

She took two steps, stopped and turned. “You’re not coming
in?”

His smile was almost enough to give her a second wind.
Almost.

“I’ll be right in.”

Rain never felt him get into the bed. She barely remembered
showering. As soon as the cool sheets touched her damp skin, she’d passed out.
It was completely dark in the room. Jess’ warm body pressed against her back
and his arm wound around her as if he was worried she might slip away in the
night.

The room must have had blackout curtains. She didn’t even
see light from the outside. After the landing and briefing she hadn’t gotten
into bed until almost noon. Sitting up, she turned to look at the digital clock
on the opposite nightstand. Seven fifty-two at night.

Jess groaned and sat up. “What’s wrong?”

She couldn’t see her fingers in front of her face let alone
the other person in the bed, but she reached out toward his voice. Her fingers
found the light sprinkling of hair on his muscled chest. “Would you mind if we
turned on the light in the bathroom? I’m not fond of so much darkness. At least
at home I would have moonlight. With these curtains, I can’t tell if it’s day
or night.”

His hand captured hers, lifted it and his moist lips pressed
against her palm. The kiss shot through her as if it was a divining rod looking
for passion. Her pussy pulsed with need.

Then he was gone and she was alone in the middle of the king-size
bed. The bathroom light flicked on and cast shadows across the room. “Better?”

“Yes. Thanks.” She still would have preferred to open the
curtains, but she knew exposing themselves when people were trying to kill or
capture them would be foolish.

“How do you feel?” The mattress dipped as he returned to bed
and pulled her into his arms.

Rain relaxed against him. His cock already hardened where it
pressed to her butt. She stifled a satisfied groan. “Better.”

His calloused fingers slid under the tee-shirt she’d put on
to sleep in. Immediately her body responded to his touch. His lips pressed
against the sensitive skin behind her ear. “I’m going to admit something to you
that I’ve never said to anyone else in my life,
cher
.”

Part of her wanted to stop him, to tell him not to divulge
his secrets. She was hardly worthy of them. But another part of her knew that
it wasn’t true, that the girl who had prostituted herself on the streets of Los
Angeles was tucked away. She wasn’t gone, she never would be. It was that girl
who had shown her what was wrong in the world, and many of the people she’d met
during her terrible youth had taught her who she didn’t want to be. A few had
even shown her kindness.