His eyebrows rose. “Aren’t there other ways that don’t involve hurting you?”

My shoulders hunched. “Not that I’ve found.”

“That sucks.”

I didn’t bother responding because he was right. It did suck.

“I’m not judging,” he said.

“Sounded like it.” I turned away and went back to the kitchen. With no

holster available, I tucked the gun between the waist of my jeans and the small

of my back. Not the best place to stash it, but it might stave off the temptation to use it. Besides, if things kept being as weird as they were now, I wanted it with

me.

He followed me. “Look, I need whatever information you can give me. I

need to know what you saw. Maybe there was some clue to where Ellery took Kelsey.”

“If it was Ellery.”

“What do you mean?”

Stopping short, I spun around, and threw up my hands. My sudden move

pulled him up short. “What do you want me to tell you, Kayden?” I resettled my

hands on my hips. “Kelsey walked into her room, someone broke in, attacked her, and then they both disappeared. I couldn’t see his face, but I can tell you he

stood close to your size and had military training.”

“Show me.”

His steely demand snapped my mouth close and made me blink. “Excuse

me?”

“Show me what you saw.”

Taken aback, I managed, “That’s not how it works.”

He folded his arms across his chest and stuck out his chin. “Does now.”

CHAPTER 4

“E xplain this one more time.”

We were back at the couch, me sitting, knees bouncing with

nerves. Kayden knelt in front of me and rested his hands on my knees, holding

them still. With more patience than I expected, he did just that. “Every person leaves an energy signature behind. I’m a Tracker, which means, most times, I can follow those signatures. Considering your ability, I have an idea that might

help us.”

“I still don’t understand.” I studied him. Something wasn’t adding up. “If you can track psychic energy signatures, you should be able to read what happened without me.”

His big shoulders rose and fell in a casual shrug. “I could, but theory has it

that post-cogs like you, can recreate the past by re-energizing the echoes of what

happened. If the theory is right, it means while you’re reliving the past, the energy signatures should be stronger than if I read whatever is currently left in

the room.”

“How does having a stronger picture of psychic signatures help us to

determine what happened to Kelsey?”

“Think of it like a power boost. If we’re lucky, maybe your silent films will

develop a soundtrack.” His fingers tightened on my knees. “Sometimes, with a

strong enough signature, I can get a glimpse of what someone is planning on doing next. So, if this is Ellery…”

My mouth dropped open. “You can see the future?” I squeaked.

“What?” Startled, he shook his head. “No, I don’t see the future, only seers hold that ability.” Before I could process that, he continued, “Think about it, Cyn. When you were on a mission, did you plan your next move or stay focused

on the task at hand?”

I opened mouth to answer, only to stop and think. A glimmer of

understanding rose. “We always went in with a set plan, but things change at the

drop of a hat. If you kept running various scenarios in your mind, you could adjust your actions instinctively.” I studied the man kneeling in front of me.

“You think that if it is Ellery, and that’s what he’s doing, you might catch an echo of his plans. That’s a hell of a lot of maybes.”

Kayden’s gaze didn’t waver. “Probably, but it’s better than doing nothing.”

That was debatable. “So, a power boost, uh? And we have to touch?”

Under his goatee a small smile appeared. “Pretty much. Physical touch has proven to increase psychic connections. Once I have all three signatures, it’s just

a matter of separating yours and Kelsey’s out so I can focus on the last one.