as we cruised through the memories, some of which belonged to me. It was unsettling to consider what he might pick up.
Opening my eyes, I met Kayden’s gaze and my vision filled with flecks of gray sprinkled through the blue depths. For a suspended moment, I swore I could
feel him in my mind—strong, bright, determined, rock steady. His presence
acted like a magnet on my ability, drawing it close and deepening the connection
between us. My stomach bottomed out and my breath stalled at the unusual sensation. I blinked once and the feeling faded, leaving me strangely bereft.
Shaking it off, a flicker of movement around Kayden caught my attention.
Bracing, I switched my focus beyond him to the hall. Concentrating on the nebulous image, I rose and lost my grip on Kayden’s hands. The world spun, then steadied.
“You okay?” Kayden’s question came from behind me, and a warm weight
settled on my shoulders, a welcome anchor in the disquieting deluge of images.
I nodded but watched the entryway. With the touch of his hands, the
memories around me brightened, becoming more concise than before, and
allowed me to zero in on the one I wanted quickly. Seemed his idea about keeping a physical connection had some merit.
Kelsey’s attacker stepped into the living room. Then he backed a frightened
but determined Kelsey up. She swung out, knocking my gun from his hand. This
time, I watched it skitter under the couch. A faint scrape of metal against the hardwood floor followed.
At the slight noise, excitement rose and so did Kelsey’s emotions, stronger than before. They curled like waves, dragging me relentlessly closer. I fought to
keep my distance. Not an easy feat as her emotional imprint grew in strength.
The effort to stay above it, roughened my voice. “Are you getting what you need?”
Kayden’s fingers dug in, his voice tight. “Holy shit.”
Sounded like a resounding yes to me. I focused on her attacker, but that strange static cloud still covered his face. Part of me hoped with Kayden tagging
along this wouldn’t happen. Frustration rose and the images shook, threatening
to break apart. I drew in a slow breath and tried to push my careening emotions
aside. The images steadied, but the strange occurrence remained behind. “Damn
it.”
“What’s wrong?” Kayden’s voice was low.
“Can’t see his face.” I took a step closer, but he held me back.
“Maybe you should tell me what you’re seeing, Cyn,” he said.
Puzzled, I looked back to him over my shoulder with a frown. Watching the
memories hovering around him proved to be a strange experience. “Can’t you follow the signatures?”
“They’re a hell of a lot stronger than I’m used to, but all I see are faint pieces
of actual images. I just can’t make out who’s who.” His gaze narrowed on the scene in front of us and for a moment I couldn’t remember what I wanted to say.
Instead of fading into the background, like most people tended to do when I relived a scene, Kayden remained etched with startling clarity. It made it almost
painful to look at him. Weird.
Turning back to the scene, Kelsey was once more struggling with the man.
“The gun’s gone and he’s going after Kelsey.”
“Can you get a positive ID of his face?”
“No, it’s still blocked, but he’s toying with her.” I pulled against his grip, needing to get closer. I could hear a low buzz, like a radio just off channel.
Excitement spiked and I murmured, “There are voices.” The urge to get closer
tugged at me. I moved forward, forcing Kayden to follow or lose his grip. “I need to get closer.”
“Closer to what?”
