“No, it’s not.”
“But it’s…this place. The Source is driving me to use my abilities. The closer we get to it, the more I’m driven.”
He frowned. “How so?”
“You don’t feel it?”
“That power beneath my feet? In the air? Yeah, I feel it. But it’s not making me crazy. I don’t have the urge to beat anyone to a pulp. Well, maybe you,” he said in a low voice.
But instead of scaring her, the way his tone and mannerisms often worked on those he dealt with, she smiled.
“You would never hurt me.”
“Why? Because you have a hold on me now? You can control me?” His worst fear, and she fucking knew it.
Her smile faded. “No, Jack. Never. You told me about Melissa, and I know how badly she hurt you. I felt it.” She rubbed her heart, right over the spot where he felt a throbbing emptiness in his own chest. “Her attack left a psychic wound. That’s what I had to heal. It was wrong, not an emotional scar, because you have plenty of those. But it was an unnatural break in your energy.”
“I’ve never felt it.”
“Oh? Then you’ve always been such an arrogant, angry jerk?” She flushed when she said it, and he had to laugh.
“Jesus. Jerk is the worst you can come up with?” Yet as he considered her words, he knew he’d been much worse since his time with Melissa. He’d considered it his due to be such an untrusting bastard since being nearly killed by someone he’d considered a partner. But maybe it was more than that.
“I’m sorry I’m not as insulting as you’d like, but I’m telling you, you were never an ugly person. The leftover scarring from what was done to you hurt you emotionally.”
“Obviously.”
“But psychically as well,” she finished. “Now you’re calmer. You probably aren’t as angry about life in general.”
“Well, I did just fuck the hottest pussy on the planet.”
She turned a pretty pink, and he wanted to take her all over again. Not the best time to be a randy fool while in the middle of an operation.
“But, considering there’s been enough time for them to be coming after us, I guess we’d better go.” He finished eating with her, and they stood. He grabbed her wrist. “But don’t think we aren’t going to talk later about you taking too many liberties,” he said in a low voice.
This time, she shivered and looked away.
HEATHER TOOK A deep breath and focused on putting one foot in front of the other. She followed Jack on the second day of their trek to the Source. According to the compass and map, at this pace, they had another half a day to reach their destination. As much as she wanted to fulfill a family legacy, get some answers, and finally be the one to do what her brother couldn’t, Heather didn’t want her time with Jack to end.
He was growly, grumpy, and mean. He barked orders, or at least he used to. Now he just bossed her with quiet commands, his gaze hard and knowing whenever he looked at her. He stared with eyes that knew what she looked like naked, and he never let her forget it.
Yet the care and gentleness buried deep down inside him continued to show itself. In the way he helped her over rough patches of stone or downed trees. The way he insisted she eat and drink before he took his own sustenance. His way of always putting her behind him when a loud or uneven sound concerned him. He groused about the weather; first too warm in town, unnaturally so, now “too damn cold.” Pulling her to a stop to fuss over her jacket and pack, making sure she had enough on to keep her warm while pulling out more from her load to add to his, lightening her pack.
“I can carry it.”
“Shut up.” There was no bite in his tone. “I’m bigger than you, and what I’ve got on my back is like a pillow. I can carry more, and that way, you won’t be slowing us down. I have a feeling we need to make better time.”
She would have argued, because she didn’t want him to have to coddle her, but she trusted him. Instead she nodded. “Yes, Jack.”
He seemed surprised, though his expression never changed. She was coming to read him pretty well. For all that they’d just met, had incredible sex, were on the run, and had had more incredible sex in the span of only two days, Heather knew Jack better than she’d known anyone she’d ever met.
And the stubborn man knew her too, if only he’d admit it.
They continued their walk, and she decided to talk to him, wanting to share. She had no idea what tomorrow would bring beyond trouble and danger. Heck, when Jack returned her to Owen, as he harped whenever the subject came up, she might not see him again. That was if she remained in Baltimore.
“I’m thinking of moving back to Bend, permanently,” she said out of the blue.
He stumbled and cursed at a root that dared trip him. When he turned to see if she’d noticed his clumsiness, she kept her gaze on the ground and fought a smile.
“Yeah? You tired of Baltimore and jet-setting already?”
“Please. I told you I’m not part of that crowd.” She wrinkled her nose. “I never have been, which is why I’m so bad at business. Owen does all the schmoozing. I’m pretty worthless.”
“Not to hear him tell it. Guy won’t shut up about you.”
“Really?” She knew Owen loved her, but she hadn’t thought he respected her. He was constantly telling her how to run her life, how to be better at business. “What does he say?”
Jack kept walking, but he slowed down as he answered. “Owen says you’re smarter than he is. That if you wanted to, you could run the company and take it faster and farther than he has.”
She huffed. “He was pulling your leg.”
Jack shook his head. “Nope. Said your energy pulls you in another direction, but if you wanted, you could pretty much run the business. He’s glad you don’t like socializing, because it keeps the wolves off your pretty tail.”
“He said that?”
She could hear Jack’s grin. “Not in so many words.” He paused. “Didn’t warn me off you, though.”
Good for you, Brother. Owen had probably sensed what she had—what a fine man Jack Keiser was under all his bluster.
“He probably never thought you’d be attracted to me.”
“Yeah, probably.” Jack didn’t sound like he believed her. “So I’m curious, because you haven’t said why you never asked your brother for help on this.”
She sighed. “You really want to know?”
“I really do.”
“Fine. You know Chronicles was stolen?”
“My team recovered the book. It was stolen over a year ago from some warehouse where your family stores a whole bunch of supernatural crap. Nice hobby, by the way, collecting cursed objects.”
“Not all cursed,” she protested. “Just…strange in nature.”
“Right. Well, your ‘strange in nature’ stuff is keeping my guys in business, so I can’t complain. Anyway, we recovered Chronicles. Then Owen was upset because you have it, but he seemed to have lost you. I figured he was being overprotective. Then he asked me for help. Your brother is pretty closemouthed about family, so I knew if he was worried and asking for my help, something was wrong.
“From everything he said about you, you two have a great relationship. He didn’t say anything about you being psychic, but that you help out with your charity work. Of course, Owen practically hums with power. I had a feeling you had some serious mojo of your own.”
She wondered if Owen had confided in Jack just what he could do. She doubted it.
“I asked him why his pretty little sister, who just loves him to distraction, wouldn’t ask him for help. He couldn’t say.”
She was glad Jack continued to walk in front of her, so she wouldn’t see his face when she answered. “I wanted to prove myself. There, I said it. It sounds childish and stupid, but it is what it is.”