«No. No.» Both of Kat’s hands dropped to the edge of the exam table, as if she was expecting Carmen to pry her off and throw her out. «I have to stay in this room, especially if I have something wrong with my head. I can’t be outside the shields.»
Even if Carmen kept her at the clinic for observation, watching for complications to arise, there wasn’t much she’d be able to do about them. A hemorrhage would probably require surgical intervention, something beyond her capabilities on the best of days. Franklin might be able to handle it in a pinch, but not with the clinic facilities. «We can’t fix a brain bleed in this room, Kat.»
Kat’s stony expression didn’t waver. «The last time I got scared and lost control, I killed someone. I’m not going to a hospital full of people. If something happened, I wouldn’t care if I lived or not.»
She could have understood depression or hopelessness, but the sheer, steely resolve of the girl’s words scared the hell out of Carmen. «What if I knew someone — a psychic? A telepath who could come in here, peek in your head and tell me if anything seemed off?»
Silence, as Kat’s eyes narrowed. «What’s their name?»
Clearly, she didn’t trust that anyone Carmen could suggest would be someone she didn’t already know. «It’s my brother, Miguel. The guy in the lobby.»
Kat tilted her head, her icy chill thawing to curious interest. «So you’re an empath and he’s a telepath? It must have been strong in your family, for both of you to be psychic.»
She helped Kat peel her brightly colored cardigan down off her shoulders. «Think that’s impressive? My other brother, Julio? He’s the overachiever of the family. A precognitive and a shapeshifter.»
«Really? Is it reliable? Strong?»
«There aren’t many guys in his fire house who’ll» Carmen sucked in a sharp breath as she caught sight of numerous contusions marring Kat’s arms. Only a few were fresh, and most carried the sickly yellow tinge of at least a week’s age. «How did you get these bruises?»
Kat blinked and looked down. «Oh, fuck. That’s why I wore the sweater. I swear, it’s not what it looks like.»
If she had a dollar for every time she’d heard that, she wouldn’t have to work. «Has someone been hurting you, Kat?» Carmen looked her dead in the eye as she asked. Not many people could prevaricate without hesitation.
«Well, yeah. But I’m paying her to.» Kat held up both arms and studied the bruises with something approaching pride. «Self-defense lessons. Have you ever heard of Zola? She’s a shapeshifter. A lion. And she can set Alec on his ass, though he won’t ever fight with her in front of anyone else. I think it stings his manly ego to get schooled by a girl.»
Carmen didn’t need empathy to see the truth in the girl’s words. «Okay. How many fingers am I holding up?»
«Uh, three? Are you going to have your brother look at my head?»
«It’s either that or a trip to the hospital for that CT we talked about.» Carmen eased up to sit beside Kat on the exam table. «Does it bother you, the thought of having someone you don’t know poking around in your head?»
«Not really. A lot less than the thought of having someone I do know poking around in there.» Kat smiled wanly. «It’s been a long year. I’ve had a few uncharitable thoughts, and I wouldn’t want to hurt anyone’s feelings. I know they’re doing their best.»
«It’d be reasonable, you know, if it bothered you. It would me, and most everyone else too.»
«That would make me a little bit of a hypocrite, wouldn’t it? I’m strong. Too strong to block out everything, unless I want to give myself a permanent migraine. People don’t get much privacy from me.»
She sounded sad, and Carmen didn’t blame her. Outside the warded confines of this room, she had to be beset on all sides by other people’s emotions. Everything they felt, Kat felt. It was a surprisingly lonely way to live, enough to drive a person insane. «I’m lucky. My abilities are low, midlevel at most, and I’ve had a lot of training. I can block pretty much anything, if I concentrate.»
«Yeah. I can’t.» Kat dropped her hands back to her lap, her fingers toying with the loose, flowing fabric of her long dress. «With great power comes a great need for jumbo bottles of Advil.»
«Then maybe you and Miguel have more in common than I thought.» Carmen peeled off her gloves as she slid off the table. «I’ll go get him, and maybe hold off your glowering friend for a few more minutes, hmm?»
«Thanks. I didn’t mean to cause so much trouble, but I panicked. I’m feeling better now, I swear.»
«You’re probably going to be fine. Humor me for a little while longer.»
Kat wrinkled her nose. «Humoring people is my part-time job.»
Halfway down the hall toward the lobby, Carmen heard Miguel laugh. «No, see… To hear my grandmother tell it, she never actually married Primo Ochoa before she ran off with my grandfather. And really, who can blame her for it? The Mendoza charm is legendary.»
«Uh-huh. Well, the current crop of Ochoa boys are famous for being the least charming bastards of their generation.» Alec sounded amused, as well. «Meanwhile, I hear your big brother just about caused a riot by laying a little Mendoza charm on the oldest Reed girl. Didn’t he get challenged over it?»
«Twice,» Carmen answered. «Set her brother and her cousin on their asses. Miguel, can you help me out for a minute?»
«Sure.» He shoved his cell phone in his pocket. «What is it?»
«Kat whacked her head, but she wants to avoid the hospital. She’s willing to let you take a look, make sure nothing’s scrambled.»
Alec frowned. «Does she need to go? If so, she’s going. Over my shoulder, if necessary.»
Deadly handsome or not, the man was infuriating. «Sit down, for Christ’s sake. No one’s going anywhere over anyone’s shoulder.»
His gaze tracked along as Miguel made his way down the hallway, but Alec gave in and dropped into a chair. «What’s he going to do?»
For a moment, she debated following her brother to make sure Kat was at ease while he did what he needed to do. But what she’d told the girl was true — she and Miguel probably had plenty in common, and not many people felt ill-at-ease with him.
She settled into a chair across from Alec’s. «He’s a telepath. It’s hard to explain exactly how he reads thoughts, but…suffice it to say, if she has head trauma from the attack, he’ll know.»
«Ah, yeah.» He inclined his head. «I forgot about the Mendoza psychics. Stupid of me.»
The words held recrimination, but it was directed at himself, and Carmen got the distinct impression that he prided himself on knowing all the facts of a situation, on exhaustively examining a situation for every possible outcome.
Except that wasn’t it, not exactly. It wasn’t a matter of taking pride in his own preparedness — it was a matter of necessity. «It bothers you when you think you’ve dropped the ball.»
His face closed off and his eyes narrowed. «Obviously I get that empaths can’t help picking shit up, but it’s rude to rub it in our faces.»
Something about the man turned her into a complete ass. «Psych rotation, not empathy, but you’re right. It was impolite. I’m sorry.»
Alec just shook his head and rubbed at his jaw. «Me too. I’m pissy. Shouldn’t be taking it out on you, but I’m at my wit’s end with that girl.»
Franklin had explained to her the unique nature of some of their cases, and how they couldn’t always be handled the way she was used to. Sometimes patient confidentiality had to be set aside.
Still, some things had been ingrained in Carmen, and she debated how much to share with Alec. Finally, she said, «Kat told me why she needs to stay in the warded room. About what happened the last time she had a meltdown.»