Darlings of Paranormal Romance (Anthology) (82 page)

Did that make it better or worse?
Brandt stayed silent. She didn't offer any more information. "What
about controlling it?"

"I wish."

"So, what can you do?"

"Endure." She bit her lip afterward,
but it was too late. The word had slipped out.

God. Brandt paused, cup midway to the
table. So softly spoken, the word said so much. He stared at her.
She didn't like her gift. She hadn't learned to live with it yet.
Or to control it. It controlled her. A rush of sympathy washed
through him. Gifts like these, if real, were very
unforgiving.

Few people had strong psychic
abilities. Of those, some went insane. Some survived – barely, and
a select few learned to control them and lived quite well. From
what he'd seen, she could be one of the stronger ones. Except
without the control, she was dangerous. Very dangerous.

Stefan had often extolled the dangers
of psychic power without training. Brandt narrowed his eyes. Maybe
Stefan could help her. If she'd accept any help. He stared at her
in consideration.

Uncontrollable power was a disaster
waiting to happen.

He should get the hell out and not
come back. Even as he thought it, he knew he wouldn't. He couldn't.
He needed to learn more about her. To understand her. After
confirming the details of this morning's accident, he was willing
to buy into her story as a psychic. But his personal interest
bothered him. Especially when his better judgment told him to leave
her alone.

She sipped her tea, apparently
comfortable under the intensity of his gaze. She didn't fidget,
move around, or make artificial conversation.

"Well," she asked. "Did you make up
your mind?"

He lowered his cup. "About
what?"

"Whether to believe me or
not."

"I'm willing to believe up to this
point. Your information checked out on the car accident and until I
find out otherwise, I'll give you the benefit of the
doubt."

"Gee, thanks." She peered over the
rim of her teacup, derision in her voice .

Exasperated, he said, "You can't
expect me to jump for joy over all of this. I'm a cop. I like
things to be cut, dried, and clear. I also know that it rarely
happens. So if there is information that can help, then I will
listen and say thank you."

She stared at him, a frown between
her brows.

He had no idea what she was thinking.
Samantha had the odd distinction of being the only person to throw
him off balance every time he saw her.

She shrugged. "What questions did you
come to ask me?"

Damned if he could
remember.

He took another drink of tea while he
racked his brain. Oh yeah. "I'm hunting a particular killer. I
wondered..." He leaned forward. "Can you find people?"

She cocked her head to one side and
narrowed her gaze. "I don't know. I've never tried." Almost
apologetically, she added, "I don't have any formal training in
this."

He nodded. Stefan would have a heyday
with her. He thought about it for a half second, then grabbed his
notebook from his pocket and wrote down Stefan's phone number. He
continued to ask several general questions about her abilities and
the things she'd seen.

Ripping the note off, he placed it on
the coffee table between them. She could contact Stefan on her own
if she wanted to. He asked one last question. "Is there any
particular trigger for the visions?"

That caught her off guard. She stared
at him, her eyes flat. "Yes."

"And that is?" he asked.

"Violence."

Chapter 6

10:19 am

"You can't put him to sleep. He's
been doing great. I don't understand." Samantha blocked the cage
containing Soldier, the name she'd settled on for the injured
German shepherd. The rest of the staff faced her as one
group.

"Samantha, we warned you about his
lack of progress. He isn't adapting to people. No one will be able
to handle him. The shelter won't take him now."

"Then why did you save his life?"
Damn, she hated to beg, but someone needed to stick up for the dog.
"If he was worth saving then, he's worth saving now."

Lucy stepped forward, placing a
comforting arm around Sam's shoulder. "Honey, we tried to warn you.
We hoped he'd get better, but he hasn't."

"He just needs a little more time."
Samantha didn't know what tactic to try next. Her hand clenched
again, fingernails sliding into half-moon impressions already
there. She knew she had to keep trying. She hated the compassionate
looks from her co-workers, hated their detachment. No one had taken
the time to get close to Soldier like she had. It wasn't
fair.

Just this once, she'd broken her own
cardinal rule and gotten close. Too close. Her heart ached. She
couldn't stand the thought of something happening to
him.

That made it an easy
decision.

"I'll take him," she said
abruptly.

The room exploded.

"No Samantha, you can't do that. He
could be dangerous."

"Sam, that's a bad idea."

"I wouldn't recommend
that."

Sam
refused to listen. They didn't understand. She
had
to give Soldier a
chance.

"I have to try. He's not comfortable
here. If I take him home, he'll have an easier time of it. He needs
to learn to trust again. He can't do that here."

"And then what?" Casey, the only
female veterinarian on staff, spoke the collective voice of reason.
"What if he attacks you?"

"He won't." Sam answered with more
confidence than she felt. Stubbornly, she repeated, "I have to
try."

Dr. Wascott walked over and squatted
down before the German shepherd's cage. Dangerous growls filled the
room.

"Sam, I can't let you do that." He
sighed. "He's dangerous. I can't have that on my
conscience."

"Well, I don't think he is. But, if
you give us a chance and it turns out he doesn't improve or gets
worse then...then you can put him down."

Standing up, the vet snorted, his
hands on his hips, staring at her in concern. "At that point, no
one will be able to get close enough and we'll have to shoot
him."

Some truth existed in his words, but
Sam wouldn't be swayed. Not now that she'd sensed a sign of
weakening. "I'll need to borrow a cage to transport him." She
double-checked the size of the dog. "And a hand to load
him."

"The only way I'll agree is if you
keep him in his cage for at least another week." He reached out,
placing a hand on her shoulder. "I'll come and see him then and
re-evaluate. He's too dangerous to be free right now. He could hurt
himself and anyone in the vicinity."

Sam interrupted him. "Which is why my
place works. There's no one around for miles." Tossing him a smile
of thanks, Sam headed out to her pickup to make room in the
box.

Moving Soldier went well, with
everyone's help. Once Sam made it on the road, she kept checking
the rearview mirror to make sure the cage hadn't
shifted.

Driving gave her time to think. Like
about the name and phone number Detective Sutherland had left
behind, with a casual comment. "He's a strong psychic whom I've
worked with in the past. Call him if you need someone to talk
to."

Then
he'd left, seemingly not realizing what a bombshell he'd left
behind. Sam had snatched up the paper, read the
name
Stefan
, then
tucked the information away in her purse. She'd wanted to grab the
cell phone and call right away, but hadn't a clue what to say. Now,
excitement bubbled in the back of her mind. Terrifying her with the
possibilities. She hadn't been able to call yet. In truth, she'd
rather have Brandt with her when she made contact. Less awkward
that way.

Sad to
say, but this had gone a long way to improving her opinion of this
particular detective. She wrinkled up her face at another truth. To
have the handsome detective believe her would be great. To earn his
respect, now that would be a bonus. There was just something about
that look in his eyes. As if he cared. As if he cared
about
her
.

How sexy was that? To actually know
that someone was listening, paying attention. Just his focus on her
with such intensity made shivers go up her spine. His dynamic
features, so alive and always shifting, intrigued her. But then so
did his lean muscles cording his neck and forearms.

Goose bumps raised on her arms, even
though she drove in the heat of the melting sun. For the first time
that she could remember, she'd found a man that intrigued her. She
grimaced. That a cop had been the one to bring her dormant
sexuality back to life was beyond ironic. Women had been attracted
to men in uniform since time began. Just not her. Too many bad
memories.

The trip had to be hurting the dog in
the back, yet she hadn't heard him complain once. The cabin came
into view, surprising her at the speed of today's trip. Once home,
she backed the truck up to the porch.

Moses waited, wagging his golden
plume of a tail. She hopped out, gave him a swift hug, and went to
open the tailgate. It stuck, as usual. She pounded it a couple
times before it finally dropped. Moses bounded into the truck box,
eager to check out the new arrival.

He loved other dogs. Most of the
time, they loved him. Soldier curled a lip, but other than that
showed no reaction. Sam watched their interaction carefully. Except
for a low warning, Soldier ignored the other dog.

Sam, hands on her hips, spoke to the
dogs. "Now would be a good time for the detective to show up. We
could use his help – or rather his muscles." The cage rested on an
old blanket. She'd had plenty of help loading him, now she'd have
to tug on the blanket to drag him off.

Despite working alone, the blanket
system worked well. Although, by the time Soldier had been safely
moved to the porch and under the overhanging roof, Sam's limbs were
shaking from the effort. Soldier never made a sound.

Even now, he lay there and regarded
her with his huge eyes blackened with pain. They locked on her as
if he understood. Her heart melted a little more.

Sam collapsed beside his cage, her
breathing ragged. "There you go, boy. Life will be much nicer
here." Using the bottom of her t-shirt, she wiped the rivers of
moisture from her forehead.

Moses and Soldier sniffed each other
through the steel mesh as Sam rested and watched. The patient
needed fresh water, clean blankets, medicine, and food. Lord, she
needed food. And a shower.

With full bowls of food and water,
Sam returned to see Moses stretched out against the side of the
cage, staring at her reproachfully.

"Don't look at me like that. I can't
let him free. He might take off." Placing the bowl down, she
unclipped the front door.

"Hi, Soldier." Soldier's dark
pain-filled gaze locked on hers. He slumped lower.

"Shit. Are you hurt? Damn it. I knew
we shouldn't have moved you. I'm so sorry, Soldier. I had to. They
were determined to put you down."

He closed his eyes, his mouth growing
slack.

Fear clutched her heart. She
struggled to open the tight clasp on the cage door. The closure
snapped open and she stretched a hand toward him.

He didn't growl and only opened one
eye. Pain clouded his gaze, but a much less heated warning
remained.

"What's the matter, no more fight
left inside? Or are you prepared to give me the benefit of the
doubt after rescuing you from there?" She stroked the thick, lush
fur. Dried blood decorated his dark coat. As her fingers worked
deeper and deeper, she found sand and grime worked in to skin
level. "Poor guy. It's been a long time since anyone cared about
you, hasn't it?"

Sam's knees and back ached from the
cramped position. She scrubbed his back and neck for another
moment. While she worked, she told him about his new life, using a
quiet calm voice. She didn't know if it helped or not, yet knew it
was what she'd like done if she were in the similar
situation.

Stupid. It's not as if she'd ever be
huddling in a cage. She stopped, her fingers deep in his thick fur,
stunned by the correlation. She might not have been in a cage, yet
she'd been living as if she were an injured animal anyway. Wary,
hiding from the next blow that life would deal her.

She laughed. "Enough for both of us,
huh?"

The cage door clipped her as she
backed out, making her curse. Moses whined. Soldier even lifted his
head. With both dogs' gazes on her, Sam managed to extricate
herself from the wire. She stayed on her knees for a long moment,
considering the door. If she disliked it, imagine how the dog liked
it?

But if she left it open, would he run
away? Or worse, get hurt? The cage offered safety for him. But what
kind of life did he have without freedom? As he'd still be in the
cage, she wouldn't be going against her word to her boss. Not that
he'd see it that way.