Training Rain (2 page)

“Just because following in the shaman’s footsteps is not
Rain’s destiny does not mean that dying in a psychic war is.”

“Is that what you think will happen?” Tessa asked.

“I think it’s very likely we could all die before this is
over and I’m sure you do too.”

The silence that followed his pronouncement gave him more
satisfaction than it should.

“She’s afraid.”

“She should be.”

Joshua pushed away from the wall and crossed until he was
directly in front of Jess. “Not of getting killed. Rain is afraid of failing.
She doesn’t think she has anything to offer and I’m not just talking about with
regard to being an agent.”

“What are you talking about? She was magnificent at the
Venetian. She never hesitated.”

Jess realized too late that he’d begun defending the idea of
Rain joining the Psi Alliance.

Tessa didn’t miss the switch. “No she didn’t. She’s got
natural instincts and some really interesting defensive psi skills.”

Jess had seen Rain block psychic waves and he also knew she
could heal. He had to agree that those were useful and rare skills. Part of him
was intrigued by the idea of training someone who had so much to offer the Alliance.
Another part of him had to acknowledge his own desire to see her silky dark
hair and warm bronze skin again.

“Where is she now?”

Tessa picked up the folder on the table and handed it to
Jess.

The biggest mistake she’d ever made, and she’d made some big
ones, had been agreeing to this stupid psychic agent training. She hated the
cold and of course the first place Joshua Lakeland, the head of the Psi
Alliance, had sent her was Yellowstone National Park in the dead of winter. The
park was closed, she was alone in a cabin and nothing was going the way she
thought.

Rain Silver had a perfectly normal life on the reservation
in Nevada. She wouldn’t have said she was happy, but at least she hadn’t been
terrified. The wind whipped through the trees, the roof creaked with the weight
of the continually falling snow and now a new noise had her pointing a shotgun
toward the front door.

Was it her imagination or was someone outside? The proximity
alarm had sounded, but stopped almost immediately. She didn’t think it was an
animal, her senses would have detected a wolf or mountain lion. She’d sensed a
dog not too far away for a few days but those types of animals were smart
enough to have taken cover before the blizzard set in. The only creature stupid
enough to be out in this kind of weather was a human.

She gripped the weapon a bit tighter, aiming for the center
of the door.

The noise outside became louder, boots trudging through the
snow. A dog barked not far away, not close enough to get a good reading or know
if the animal was in trouble. The lights flickered. Was that the storm or was
the intruder messing with the electricity?

“Who’s there?”

Someone beat on the door.

“Identify yourself.” The panic in her voice didn’t exactly scream
confident law enforcement agent.

More banging and then the doorknob turned. Rain’s heart
thundered so hard her ears rang. The room seemed to be closing in. The roof
continued to creak under the weight of the snow. Whoever pushed on the door had
it halfway open. She could see the sleeve of a white parka.

She fired!

The shotgun jerked against her shoulder, pushing her back a
step. Her hip came up hard against the back of the couch, but she held her
ground, ready to take the second shot if need be.

The door pushed all the way open. Freezing cold wind and a
swirl of snow whipped through the cabin. The lights went out. A body fell into
the room. “Goddamit! Put the fucking gun down, Rain. It’s Jess.”

The lights came back on. Jess McMean lay on the floor in the
open doorway. A red blotch was spreading out on the arm of his coat. The last
time she had seen him, he’d also been injured. She had healed his aura after an
attack in Las Vegas. She remembered him staring up at her from the marble
floor. He’d looked scared and pained all those months ago—now on the floor of
the cabin, he just looked angry.

Rain shook with the rush of adrenaline, but she still
managed to be annoyed with the wounded man. “Why didn’t you say it was you? I
called out.”

She put down the shotgun and crossed the room. Helping him
get to the couch, she then turned and used her full weight to push the door
closed against the wind and snow that had built up during the blizzard. Wind
rushed through the holes the buckshot had made, but it was still warmer with
the door closed.

Jess tugged at the hood of his parka and grimaced from the
need to move his wounded arm. “I couldn’t hear you with all the wind and I
didn’t imagine you would shoot at the door without knowing who was there first.
Plus only an agent with the code could have shut down the proximity alarm
system.”

Even in her state of complete horror over shooting him, she
instinctively helped him out of the coat and carefully peeled back his flannel
shirt to get a better look at the wound. “I’m not trained for this kind of
thing. I got scared. No one said you were coming. Not that there’s any goddamn
cell service up here. They just told me to hole up in this cabin and wait for
further instructions. I don’t even know why I agreed to this.”

He looked down at the series of wounds on his upper arm and
shoulder and then up at her.

Considering the condition of the door, he was lucky his
injury was superficial. She tried to focus on the blood and healing, but
couldn’t help noticing how handsome he was. Dark golden hair, sharp blue eyes
and the darkest eyebrows and lashes she’d ever seen on a blond. Jess was the
kind of man who turned heads. She’d only met him once before when he’d come to
the reservation to help his friends and they had all gone to Las Vegas to
defeat Banta, a psychic madman. Troth Banta had been collecting the psi talents
of others and ripping their souls out in the process. One good man had died
that day and Jess had nearly been the second.

The small wound she had inflicted when the buckshot pierced
the door was nothing compared to the damage from having his soul nearly ripped
away.

“I’ll get the first-aid kit.” She was glad to have a few
minutes away from him. He looked angry, but there was something about the way
he stared at her that made her uncomfortable. The quivering she experienced in
her stomach didn’t help her feelings of insecurity either.

Retrieving the white box from under the bathroom sink, she
wet a towel and then had no choice but to return to the small living area. A kitchenette
on one side with a small folding table, two chairs and a leather couch in front
of a heavily mantled fireplace completed the common room of the cabin. It had
only one bedroom and one extremely small bathroom.

By the time she returned he’d stripped out of his flannel
button-down and thermal undershirt. His muscular chest had a light smattering
of golden hair and the fire reflected off his skin. Her stomach did a flip that
was not entirely unpleasant.

The lights flickered again.

Sitting down, she ignored her attraction and started
cleaning the wound. She pulled a small piece of metal from his puckered skin.
“I’m sorry I shot you.”

She expected a snide remark in his southern drawl, but he
just gritted his teeth. “I’ll live.”

“This is not bad, but it needs a few stitches.” She pulled a
hypodermic needle out and a vial of Novocain.

“I don’t need that. Just stitch it up and it will be fine.”

Rain took a deep breath and thought about how stupid men
could be.

“Are you calling me stupid?”

She put the needle down and stepped away. He held the gauze
over his bleeding wound and stared at her.

“Look, if we are going to be stuck here together, you have
to stay out of my head. I don’t like it. Joshua told me not to block other
agents within the Psi Alliance, but I don’t want you in my head.”

He didn’t say anything, but she felt his mind retreat. She
didn’t block his powers, though she did erect her own protective walls around
her mind. She couldn’t have him or anyone inside her head.

The wound only took three small stiches to close it up. Jess
never made a sound, not when she cleaned the wound with antiseptic or during
her tugging needle and thread through his tender skin.

When she was done, she put a bandage over it and taped it
down. Instinctively, she rested her hand on his upper arm. The muscles bulged
under her fingertips and the heat of energy rushing to the area sent tingles
down her digits and pulsed in her nerves. Closing her eyes, Rain used her psi
gifts to dull some of his pain and advance the healing process.

Her body shook as pain and surprise stung her arm. She’d
felt the effects of her gifts many times. That was the price of helping
another. She didn’t flinch away from it and then it passed.

When she opened her eyes, he was staring at her. Those eyes,
which she had admired as being far too pretty for a man, were locked on hers.
She wished she were more like Tessa Clark. The tall blonde could stare any man
down. Tessa and Joshua had both left the government agency and started their
own private one. They called the organization the Psi Alliance and had
recruited many agents away from the government agency.

Rain had never been in any kind of law enforcement, but when
her mentor, Adianca, had insisted she take the psychic couple up on their offer
to join the Alliance, she couldn’t say no. Adianca was a powerful medicine
woman and spiritual guide. Joshua Lakeland and Tessa Clark were a formidable
pair. Rain had to admit, though she was surprised by the offer, she had also
been flattered by their interest in her. Still, she had her doubts as to the
wisdom of their choice.

Her stomach knotted and she tried to move away. Jess gripped
her chin and held her gaze. “What did you do?”

She tried to pull away, but he tightened his grip. “It’s
difficult to explain.”

He released her chin, but the directness of his stare
continued to hold her. “Try. I’m smarter than I look.”

The lights flickered again and Rain used it as an excuse to
go to the kitchen and get a large electric lantern out of a lower cupboard.
Just then, the lights went out. She placed the lantern on the small table near
the couch.

She didn’t want to get too close to him, but it was cold and
he was half naked. Plus his body was distracting her. Taking the blanket off
the end of the couch, she draped it over his shoulders. “What are you doing
here, Jess?”

In the light from the fireplace and the lantern, she could
see his lips lift up in a smile. “My question first.”

She moved to the other end of the couch and sat down.
Wishing the cabin and the furniture were bigger was not going to make it so.
She’d have to deal with his closeness since the blizzard was going to keep him
there for a while. “The best way I can explain it is that your body has natural
chemicals to suppress pain and to heal itself. I can call those natural systems
forward and increase their effectiveness.”

He smiled, and her heart pounded faster. “Now that wasn’t so
hard to explain, was it?”

“What are you doing here in the middle of a blizzard?”

“Our fearless leaders sent me to train you.”

Her entire body heated. She was glad for her dark Native
American skin and hoped he couldn’t tell she was blushing. “Train me in what?”

Jess’ head cocked to one side. His voice suddenly dripped
with the Louisiana accent that was always hinted at. “To be an agent, but if
you’d like training in some other skill, Rain, just let me know and I’ll be
glad to help.”

Now she was sure he could see her blushing. “I mean, I can’t
shoot lightning from my fingertips or make a chair fly across the room. I don’t
read minds. What is it you’re going to teach me to do?”

“How about we start with not shooting through a door when
you don’t know who’s on the other side of it?”

“I said I was sorry.” She couldn’t believe how completely
lame that sounded. She’d shot him. He didn’t say anything. The tension was
choking her and her cheeks were on fire. She got up and added a log to the
fire.

Keeping her back to him helped calm her nerves. It was
almost possible to breathe while she poked at the fire. “I’m probably not cut
out for this kind of thing. It might be best if I just went back to the
reservation and took over for Adianca.”

“Becoming an agent can get you killed. You saw that in Las Vegas.
But is being a shaman what you want to do with your life?” It sounded as if he
was really concerned with what she did or didn’t want.

Taking over for the aging medicine woman and spiritual guide
on the reservation in Nevada had always seemed as if it was the natural course
for her life. She had healing gifts and she could perform most of the rituals
necessary to assist the people. Still, the idea of living out her life in such
a small world had never really appealed to her. It was more of a debt requiring
payment.

She remembered clearly the battle they’d both been in at the
casino in Las Vegas in the summer. Jess had nearly been killed and a man named
Trip had lost his life. If she hadn’t blocked Troth Banta from using his
gathering skills, Jess and maybe more people would be dead. She had liked
helping and she relished being part of something bigger than herself. During
the battle she’d felt good. The rush of adrenaline suited her, but afterward
she had also been terrified by everything she had done and seen.

She turned back to the couch. He had not gotten less good-looking
in the last few minutes. Her heart pounded and her cheeks warmed as she looked
at his rippled abs peeking out from under the blanket.

“I have no idea what I want. I’ve never really known. Did
you know you wanted to be a government agent?”

“Is there any food in the cabin?”

“I made some stew earlier. Would that do?”

“That would be wonderful. I’m starving. It took me twice as
long to get here because of the storm.”

Happy to have a distraction, Rain went to the stove and
ladled some stew into a bowl.

When she returned he took a bite and grinned. “Delicious.”

“Thanks. I’m glad you like it.”

After a few more mouthfuls, he said, “I was recruited into
the Psi Agency when I was a boy. I didn’t have a choice. My parents were
resistant but poor and thought it would be a good opportunity for me to get out
of the small town and use my gifts to do some good.”

“Do you see them?”

If it was possible, his smile became even brighter and she
felt a bit weak-kneed. “Whenever I can.”

“That’s nice.”

“Do you want to work for the Alliance, Rain?”

“Adianca said it’s my destiny.”

His frown was no less attractive than his grin. What was
wrong with her?

“Destiny is a funny thing. You can follow it or it can
follow you.”

“I don’t know what that means,” she said.

He watched her a bit too closely for longer than was comfortable.
With a quick shrug, he changed the subject. “For tonight, it means I’m going to
find something to fix that front door with and then I’m going to sleep. You
should get some rest too. We can talk about destiny and desires in the
morning.”