“I know.” But what? His hands fisted, the answer eluding him. He couldn’t picture another scene, because he didn’t know any other details about Dr. Hennessy’s life. And there were no photos in the room, so he couldn’t study them and use them as a guide.
Not knowing what else to do, he willed himself back to the present. As the darkness faded, he began to see the office through Hennessy’s eyes. Nothing had changed. He still sat at the desk, that handful of papers around him. Reeling, he could only watch the clock, waiting as time ticked away. When his session reached its limit, he walked Hennessy back to his chair and sat him down. Then Aden pulled himself from the body, returning to solid form, and dropped back onto the lounge. Waiting. Dreading.
There was a moment of suspended silence.
Hennessy would know only that time had elapsed. He wouldn’t know what had happened during those missing minutes.
“Time’s up,” Aden gritted out.
“Well, we were certainly productive today, weren’t we?” the doctor said, unemotional as always. His clothes rustled as he stood. Soft footsteps sounded, and then Hennessy was in front of him, peering down at him, hands fisted at his waist. “Before you leave, I need to issue a word of warning. If you ever again invade my mind and body, I’ll cut the souls out of you, one by one. Are we clear?”
Aden and the souls didn’t have time to panic. Their entire world fell back into that black, black sea.
NINETEEN
IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WOODS, with trees stretching all around, the quickly dimming sun, a cold wind slithering past every few seconds, Mary Ann stood in the midst of pure testosterone. Riley and his brothers formed a triangle, each at a point before and beside her. They’d arrived right on time, at her two-hour limit, and had escorted her here. Away from civilization.
She’d spent every minute of those two hours trying to research Drainers, magic powers—again—and all kinds of other paranormal stuff. Two hours that now seemed wasted. She’d learned nothing.
Hopefully, that would change now that she was with the wolves. Not that they were informative, or even helpful. Once again, they’d walked beside her, silent.
Now she studied them, searching for a weakness. One word described them alclass="underline" gorgeous. Nathan was all white, from his hair to his skin, with eyes so pale a blue they were almost eerie. But like Riley, he was tall and leanly muscled, with a hard expression that said, I’ll do anything, yeah, even stab you. Maxwell was tanner…a golden variation of him.
They were warriors, definitely, who looked like they ate glass shards for breakfast and anyone who got in their way for dessert.
“So we’re not hunting witches?” she asked. At this point, any other activity seemed extraneous and unnecessary. She’d thought Riley understood that, which was why she’d been so surprised to see his brothers. Had he told them what she was—or rather, what she might be? He still hadn’t accepted the truth.
“Hunting?” Finally, something from one of the brothers. Nathan’s voice was low and husky, like a shiver over her skin.
“We’re teaching you how to defend yourself,” Riley said. “Hunting can wait.”
“And let me state again that I think this is stupid,” Nathan added.
“She’s human.” Maxwell, the other brother, had a much harder, more determined voice. “She’s also fragile as hell. We’re…not.”
“Just do it,” Riley snarled at them.
Mary Ann would have cringed at his tone, but it wasn’t directed at her, so she took heart. Besides, he’d never looked sexier. He wore all black, and there were cuts along his forearms, as if he’d recently fought something with claws.
Her knees were actually weak at the thought; she wanted to throw her arms around him and hold on forever, basking in his strength. You’re broken up, remember?
Don’t cry.
Nathan shook his head. “She’s yours, Ry, and we know how you are. If we bruise her…”
“I’ll behave.” Another snarl from Riley. “Just don’t scratch or bite her.”
She noticed that he didn’t disabuse them of their “she’s yours” notion. Well, she wouldn’t either. Right now she felt a little too much like the cheese in a mousetrap.
“You’re right. Learning to fight is important,” she began. “But right now there are even more important—”
“No,” Riley said, cutting her off without looking at her, “there aren’t. Teach her how to defend herself against wolves and vampires. Everything you can in the next two hours, then she and I will be on our way.”
Mary Ann gulped as realization set in. Even before saving her from the death spell, he wanted her to know how to defend herself against wolves and vamps. Which meant he thought they would figure out she was a Drainer very soon. Which meant he thought they would try to kill her. Painfully. He wanted her prepared, able to defend herself.
Would they later punish him for that?
A tremor swept through her, and those tears she’d fought against burned her eyes. She’d made the right decision, ending things. She would not hurt him. Ever. Even accidentally. Even after she…died.
Look what he’d done—was doing—to protect her right now. He deserved better than she could give him.
“Fine.” Maxwell sighed.
“Sure. Why not?” Nathan shrugged.
Such enthusiasm. Didn’t matter, though. She would listen and she would learn. She would never have another chance like this one.
“You’re—you’re not going to help them?” she asked Riley, blushing at her stutter.
His gaze didn’t flick to her, but remained on his brothers as he gave a stiff shake of his head. She remembered what she’d once told him, that if he taught her how to fight, he’d have to put his hands on her, and if he put his hands on her, she would want to kiss him, not learn from him. Did he remember? Did he not want her lips on his?
Oh, God. She wanted him to want her, wanted to keep him. Don’t you dare cry.
How many times would she have to issue the command to herself?
“Do it,” he said, backing away from the group. He stopped at a tree, pressing his back into the wide trunk, and folded his arms over his middle. His expression was dark, stormy.
“Do not interfere,” Maxwell told him with a finger pointed at his chest.
Nathan snorted. “Like he’ll obey you. He always does what he wants. You know that.”
She nodded in agreement, and both brothers focused on her. Uh-oh. All that intensity…closing in on her, one in front and one behind. Why had she agreed to this, again?
“You ready, little girl?”
“You gonna sob like a baby if we get a little rough?”
Both were taunting her, and at first, her hackles rose. Then she remembered what Aden had told her. When fighting, emotions could ruin you. They made you dumb, kept you distracted. You had to remain distanced. You had to do whatever was needed to survive.
I feel nothing. Except nervous. Argh! She raised her chin, pretending, at least, to be calm. “I won’t cry if you don’t.”
Surprise flickered in both their eyes, and Maxwell even looked like he was fighting a grin.
“Spirit,” he said. “Let’s see how quickly we can crush it.”
In a snap, they were on her, tossing her to the ground like a doll, their now sharp, long teeth near her neck. She was too shocked—and terrified—to move or even block them. They’d swarmed her so quickly, her gaze had failed to track them.
Slowly, they backed away from her, standing over her and peering down. Something to note: they hadn’t chewed her face off.
“We’ve got our work cut out for us,” Nathan grumbled, and offered her a hand to help her up.
Her knees almost gave out when she tried to balance her weight.