that relationship will help you to keep the past in the past.”

A chill ran over me. There were some things in my head I didn’t want to relive. “How real?”

Wolf’s gaze softened. “Unfortunately, pretty damn real.” He came over and

crouched in front of me. “Honestly, I’ll be as gentle as possible, but I don’t think untangling whatever was left behind is going to be easy.”

I stared into his face as Delacourt’s words from days ago slipped into my mind. “Every psychic pays a price for his ability. ” I didn’t really know Wolf, but the idea of putting him at risk didn’t sit well with me. No matter that my brain

kept chattering that to trust him was all wrong and too dangerous. Those instincts I trusted for years hummed this was our only chance at getting to Ellery

before he got to us. Still, I had to ask. “What does it do to you?”

His lips turned up, not quite a smile, but not quite a grimace either. “Nothing

I won’t be able to handle.”

Right, I forgot, you should never ask a male if he can handle it, he’ll never

say no. Pulling my hand free from Kayden, I wiped my palms along my thighs.

“Okay, let’s get this done. The quicker you get in, poke around, and find out what happened, the faster we can get back on track.”

Wolf didn’t stand up. Instead, he stayed in place, a very serious expression on his face. “No matter what happens, or what you think is happening, you have

to trust Kayden. If you do nothing else, you need to do this one thing. Deal?”

The ominous warning behind his words reverberated through me. I looked

over and met Kayden’s gaze. What stared back made me realize it wasn’t

trusting him I had problems with. It was trusting me.

I’m done running.

Time to prove it. I turned back to Wolf, I said, “Deal.”

“Good.” He went back to his chair.

For the first time, I reached out deliberately and sought his unique energy. It

didn’t take long to find it and draw it close. I dropped behind layers of mental

barriers, dragging him with me, and stopped just before one final wall. We didn’t have the time needed to get him behind that particular wall, but once this whole

situation was done, we could work on it. For now, we’d work around it. I held

both of us in place and the whispering chaos pulled back as if uncertain of what

was happening.

Tension I hadn’t been aware of, lifted, and back at the safe house, I sat a little

straighter. Something lightened in Kayden’s face and that warmth wrapped

closer, holding me close. Kayden laid an arm over the back of the couch, and I

settled against him.

Wolf retook his chair. “First thing first, we need to get into a meditative state.”

I held his gaze and tried to mimic his breathing, but the whispers picked up,

gaining strength as if sensing the rising threat. Dread and tension grew, along with the need to move, to check we were really alone. Involuntary twitches shook my body, the physical and mental interruptions not allowing me to find that meditative state Wolf required.

Every time I closed my eyes, they snapped back open. I blew out a hard breath and rubbed my forehead. I forced my eyes closed one more time,

determined to succeed, but the choking fear and frantic whispers raced back, stronger than ever. Something or someone was here. Waiting. Watching. My lids

flew up and I was huffing like I’d just run a marathon.

“What’s wrong?” Kayden asked.

“I can’t…” I trailed off, uncertain how to finish the sentence. We were the only three people in the room. I knew this, so what the hell was going on?

Kayden dropped his arm, shifted, then tugged on my shoulder, encouraging

me to lay down with my head in his lap. “Lie down. Maybe that will help.”

Gingerly, I stretched out, and rested my head on his thigh. He slowly stroked

his fingers through my hair. For a few minutes, I laid there, concentrating on the

sensation of his touch. Stroke by stroke, my weird tension dissipated, and my eyes finally closed. This time, the suffocating feelings and voices were nowhere

to be found. Grateful for the silence, I was finally able to relax enough to slip into that hazy in-between state. I floated along, aware on some level that my

breathing was now synced with Kayden’s. Wherever I was it wasn’t dark, but it wasn’t full light, and I couldn’t make out much beyond the warm, surrounding light. The strange peacefulness was broken by the sound of my name.

“Can you hear me, Cyn?” Deep, rough, it belonged to Wolf.

“Yeah.”

“Shaw?”

“I’m here.” Kayden’s voice was so close it shook some of the hazy, floaty feeling away.

After a minute, Wolf said, “This isn’t working. Cyn, I need you to picture some place for us to meet.”