“Not if I can keep them up permanently.”
“Good luck with that.” His eerie eyes filled will cool calculation. “You know
what, Shaw, I think I have an idea. I’ll get this taken care of, then meet you at the safe house. Maybe we’ll get lucky.”
Why his comment raised every hair on my body, I didn’t know, but there was
one way to find out. “What are you thinking?”
“It might be better to uncover what they buried in your head.” He
straightened and pulled out his phone, half turning away as he dialed.
“Hold up a damn minute.” I caught Wolf’s arm. “How exactly are you
planning on doing that?” Uneasiness pricked at me, leaving a vile taste behind.
He looked down at me. “We go back in and find out who planted what.”
CHAPTER 20
F or a moment Wolf’s words didn’t register. Then comprehension hit. I let go
of his arm as if burned and backed away from both men. “No, no way!”
Understanding gleamed in Wolf’s eyes, but his expression was inscrutable.
“You wanted another option.”
“One that doesn’t turn my head into an amusement ride would be nice.” The
insidious spread of Paranoia crushed everything logical in its path. Whether it was mine, or a by-product of whoever had dabbled in my gray matter, it didn’t
matter. The whirlwind of doubts and fears picked up speed, the random pieces gathering strength to cut across everything touching this case.
Wolf was a telepath. If he thought he could get in my mind and figure out what was done, it meant another telepath was behind my memory loss. That made giving Wolf unfettered access to my mind problematic. I might trust
Kayden and Tag at my back, but even Delacourt admitted there was a possible leak in her team. What if Wolf was that leak?
Kayden trusted him.
Great, but it wasn’t Kayden’s head Wolf wanted to poke at, was it?
The persistent little voice just hummed.
Fine, maybe Wolf wasn’t the leak, and that was still a big maybe. Yet the fear
of what else he could to me while in my head was enough to fuel a truckload of
suspicion. Besides, how much did I really know about this team and their abilities? “Besides reading minds, what else can you do?”
Despite my rising concerns, my question came out surprisingly calm, but
whatever warmth lingered in Wolf’s gaze disappeared, leaving the hard-ass soldier behind. “A strong telepath can plant subliminal orders, tie it to a trigger, and then turn that person loose, knowing they’ll do exactly what they were told
without ever knowing they were being used.”
A sickening sense of violation filled me. And he wanted me to let him in my
head? What if he left his own commands behind? Or worse, someone else’s? My experience with Delacourt was a dual edge sword. Not only had she made it clear she had no qualm using whatever tools available to achieve her desired outcome, but our earlier conversation made it crystal clear she still held me responsible for Flash’s death.
Fact: I was in Ellery’s crosshairs.
Fact: Delacourt could use me to get rid of Ellery without damaging her
precious team of psychics.
If I allowed Wolf in, it wouldn’t take much to set me up.
Again.
My mind twisted to the side, and a sharp, stabbing pain seared across my consciousness. The chaos in my head grew louder, drowning out my ability to think. Suddenly Kayden’s familiar psychic energy slipped between my mind and
the sickening jumble, providing a solid barrier. With his help and some newly awoken instinct, I was able to use the strength he offered to work past the overwhelming trepidation. In that brief moment of clarity, realization hit, and a
slowly growing horror replaced the disorienting chaos. “The whispers, that’s the
message, isn’t it?”
