Mine to Possess

But no way in hell was he going to let his uncertainty show. Talin had taught him better. That thought in mind, he was waiting tall and proud when they came to the door-the Blonde and an unfamiliar male. No woman with wolf blue eyes and smooth chocolate skin.

Jonquil figured he could flatten the man in a physical fight, no problem. But these people didn’t fight with their bodies. They fought with their minds. He’d been on the streets long enough to have witnessed the end results for those who got on their wrong side. Like when Sal had tried to pull one over on that group that had wanted to buy him out. He’d been found with his brains leaking out his ears.

“I’m ready.” He didn’t bother trying to see if they’d fall for his voice. When he spoke in a certain way, all slow and easy, people seemed to get real caught up in it, but Blue had known about it, had warned him not to try it on the others. She’d said not only would it not work, it would sign his death certificate. He had decided to believe her…for now.

The Blonde nodded. “Your cooperation has been noted.”

He wondered if that meant they would give him anesthetic when they tortured him. He opened his mouth to ask about Blue, then snapped it shut, remembering what she’d said after returning him to the cell.

I was never here. You will keep your silence on that point.

Why? Who are you to me?

The woman who caused you no pain.

True enough, he thought, very aware of the reptilian light in the male’s eyes. Cold or not, that one liked hurting people. Jon’s senses were screaming at him to run, run, RUN! But there was nowhere to run-not yet-so he followed them down the corridor.

As he walked, he decided to call the man Lizard. He had secret names for everyone, even Talin. She’d think her name was hysterical, he thought, fighting to keep up his courage in the face of the threat emanating from Lizard.

“Please enter.” The Blonde pushed open a door.

Halting a few steps inside, he frowned. “What the hell is that?” He was facing a chair but one hooked up to devices that, even to his inexperienced eyes, promised pain.

“A machine that will allow us to better understand your brain.” The door shut behind him as Lizard spoke for the first time, his voice cool…dead.

Jonquil got a queasy feeling in the pit of his stomach. He knew Blue hadn’t authorized this. He stared at the Blonde, a silent question in his eyes.

Her expression didn’t change. “Take a seat in the chair.”

“No.” A sharp pain stabbed into his skull, making him stagger. But he didn’t scream.

The Blonde glanced at Lizard. “Perhaps we should use one of the others?”

“There’s only one other left. Open the screen.”

Jon clenched his head in his hands as the wall behind the chair suddenly silvered from opaque to clear. There was a little girl on the other side. She was sitting hunched into the far corner, her knees drawn up to her chest. Her eyes met his. Big, brown, filled with excruciating fear and-at seeing him-a desperate flash of hope.

“If you don’t cooperate, we’ll use her,” Lizard told him.

Jon decided he’d have to kill the bastard before he escaped. “Why do you think I care?”

“You’re human.”

And Jon knew that this time, there would be screaming.

CHAPTER 29

Teijan was waiting for Clay above ground, looking sleek and well-groomed, a small man with a solid aura of power. “Hello, Clay.”

“Teijan.” He could still taste Talin on his lips, tart and familiar. It calmed his possessive instincts, but didn’t make him any less pissed with her for refusing to get medical attention until they found the boy. “Wanted to ask-you know anything about a man being jumped around here last night?”

“The cop?” A spark of pure surprise lit Teijan’s inky black eyes. “A group of my people took exception to the event.” His mouth firmed into an unforgiving line. “Most of them know about bullies. They scared off the perpetrators, called the paramedics.”

“Anyone see anything?” He knew the Rats would’ve disappeared Down Below before Enforcement arrived, wary of a law that often treated them like trash. Yet they had saved a cop’s life, with no hope of gain for themselves. He’d make sure Max knew that.

“No.” He spread out his hands. “It was dark and they are human, with human eyes. Suyi did mention the thugs looked like hired muscle.”

Clay had expected as much. If it was a Psy behind the kidnappings, he or she wasn’t anyone with access to the kind of power the Council wielded-otherwise Max would’ve been dead by now, his brains turned to jelly. But the fact that this was happening in Nikita Duncan’s city, without her apparent involvement-Nikita didn’t need to hire ineffectual human thugs-made him wonder exactly how bad things had gotten in the PsyNet. “So,” he looked to Teijan, “why the call?”

“The boy,” Teijan said, “one of the children is adamant she saw him disappear off the street.”