Chloe glanced into the hallway and studied the woman’s psi prints. She’d seen the same kind of sad, sickly energy in the alleys and doorways of Pioneer Square. She wondered if Stone knew that his housekeeper was a junkie.
The blonde glanced at her without much interest before giving Jack a sexy, inviting smile.
“Mr. Stone is out by the pool,” she said. “Follow me. I’ll show you.”
She turned and walked toward the front room, hips swaying to a silent dance beat. Chloe shot Jack a suspicious look to see if he was paying attention. He was doing an excellent job of appearing oblivious to the obvious flirtation, however. When he saw Chloe eyeing him closely he raised his brows in silent, innocent inquiry. What?
He had caught her. Now she was blushing again. This kind of behavior had to stop. Not only was it highly unprofessional, it was a good way to get her heart broken. Just because she could sleep with him and just because they’d had great sex on a few occasions, it did not follow that they were going to have a long, enduring relationship. Especially after she figured out how to tell him that last night had not gone so well. Damn, damn, damn.
She switched her attention to the view of the sparkling Roman fountains and the pool visible through the wall of windows. She was not jealous. She had no right to feel possessive. It wasn’t like they were having an affair. They barely knew each other. Sure, there was physical attraction, but that was probably all there was between them unless you counted the ability to work the lamp together.
She pushed the disturbing thoughts aside. They were here to do a job. She glanced at the psi prints on the marble flooring and the richly patterned carpets. There were two more sets of fresh tracks in addition to those left by the housekeeper and the woman who had come to see Stone last night. Whoever had left them had entered the residence from the back of the big house.
The prints smoked with sick, unstable energy. She recognized the unwholesome dreamlight immediately.
She drew a sharp breath and turned toward Jack, intending to signal the danger. But he was not looking at her. He was watching the two men gliding toward them from the shadows of the hallway. The one who’d driven the getaway motorcycle had on the denim jacket he’d worn yesterday. The second man was the one who had waited for them in the motel room with the silenced gun. He had a greasy- looking scarf tied around his long hair, a biker do-rag.
“That’s far enough,” Do- rag snarled at Jack. He raised the gun a little and pointed it at Chloe. “I don’t know what you did to me yesterday but if you try it again, I’ll have time to get off at least one shot, and she’s going to be the target. Got it?”
“Sure,” Jack said. “Where’s Stone and his housekeeper?”
“Stone and the maid aren’t your problem,” Denim Jacket informed him. He glanced at the blonde. “That’s it, Sandy. You’re done here. Get out.”
“What about my money, Ike?” the blonde whined. “You said you’d pay me right after I did the job.”
“Stupid junkie bitch.” Ike reached into his pocket and drew out a small bundle of bills. He tossed the money on the carpet in front of Sandy. “Shut up and go out through the gardens. Same way we came in. And, remember, one word about this to anyone and you’re dead.”
“Don’t worry.” The blonde bent down, grabbed the cash and stuffed it into her shirt. “I won’t talk. You know me, Ike. I’d never do anything like that.”
She turned and hurried toward the glass doors. Seizing the handle, she started to pull the slider open.
Chloe felt energy shiver in the air around her. She did not need to look at Jack to see the psi fever in his eyes. And suddenly she knew what was about to happen.
Sandy started screaming, a high-pitched, keening wail of terror. She lost her grip on the door handle and began pounding frantically on the plate-glass window with her fists.
“Shut up,” Ike shouted. “Stop that, you flaky bitch.”
“Shit, she’s gone crazy,” Do-rag said. “If the guard at the front gate hears her we’re gonna have real problems. He’ll call in the disturbance before he comes up to the house to check it out. We gotta make her shut up right now.”
“This is what we get for using a junkie.” Ike swung the barrel of the silenced gun toward the screaming Sandy.
More energy flared in the atmosphere. Chloe knew that Jack had changed his focus.
Ike uttered a yelp of mortal terror but he managed to get off one shot. Not surprisingly, given his trembling fingers, the bullet missed Sandy, who collapsed, weeping. Glass cracked sharply as the small missile smacked through the window.
Ike sank to his knees, his face a Halloween mask of horror. Caught fast in the grip of some unseen terrors, he could not even scream. He fainted. The gun clattered on the marble tiles.
Do-rag leaped toward Chloe, moving with the preternatural speed of a hunter-talent. He had his arm around her throat, the nose of the gun pressed against her temple before she could take a step back.
“Don’t even think about using your talent on me,” Do-rag hissed at Jack. “She’ll be dead before you can drop me, I swear it.”
Jack halted in midstride.
Chloe reached up a hand and lightly touched Do-rag’s arm. He paid no attention. He was running wide open, his entire attention focused on Jack. She pulsed a little energy into his tainted dream-psi currents. He went to sleep with shocking suddenness. The gun dropped from his hand. He crumpled soundlessly to the floor.
On her knees near the slider, Sandy wept.
Jack scooped up both guns. “We need to get these two secured before they wake up. They’re hunters. We can’t take any chances.”
“Right.” Chloe took a deep breath. Her pulse was pounding. It took a great effort to think coherently. “I saw some duct tape and wire in the pool house.”
“Get both. I’ll watch these three.”
“Okay.” She stepped around Sandy and yanked open the slider.
“And, Chloe?” Jack said.
She paused and looked back at him. “What?”
“When this is over, you can explain to me why I’ve still got my second talent.”
36
THEY FOUND DRAKE STONE AND THE REAL HOUSEKEEPER bound and gagged in one of the bedrooms.
“Sorry about this,” Drake said. He watched Chloe comfort the traumatized housekeeper. “They broke in this morning. Said they would do terrible things to her if I didn’t find a way to locate you and the lamp.”