Could they jump into the water?
No. They had already reached the bulwark of large, jagged rocks that reinforced the shoreline.
All he could do was throw down his pack, grab Olivia’s hand, and run toward land, pulling her after him. Together, they pounded up the last few feet of boards behind Matt and Elizabeth, who had already made it to the lawn and were heading for cover behind a gazebo.
He and Olivia were seconds behind them. They had almost reached the other two team members when he felt the ground shake. Moments later, he heard an enormous boom behind him, like a barrage of artillery shells had gone off. He grabbed Olivia and pulled her down, covering her body with his as debris from the pier and the boat began to shower down. Wood and metal flew through the air like confetti, and Gabe braced for impact. But everybody else was focused on protection. He could feel himself and Olivia joining with Matt and Elizabeth to put up a dome over the four of them. As the deadly rain fell, it was deflected, bouncing off the invisible shield, preventing anything from hitting them. When one of the boat’s twin engines landed nearby, he shuddered.
He eased off Olivia, but cradled her against him, thankful that she was all right, vividly aware that he could have lost her in these first moments of the invasion.
I wish you hadn’t come.The silent words were from Travis.
I go where you do,she answered.
He couldn’t stop trembling, and he knew it wasn’t fear for himself. It was fear for her.
Whose emotions am I feeling, yours or mine?he asked the other man who had joined with him in his body.
Does it matter?
He could only answer,No.
But he knew this was not the time for a philosophical discussion. They had to save their lives—and get to Smith. The bastard had already proved he was tricky. This was just more evidence of his relentless ability to counter threats.
Gabe wasn’t sure how long they lay there, but finally, the immediate effects of the blast subsided.
How did you know? heasked Travis.
I can’t explain it, even to myself. I was on alert for the bastard to do something totally unexpected. Then I sensed it.
We’d all be dead if you hadn’t warned us,Matt said.
Or seriously injured if you hadn’t put up that shield.
You were part of it.
Can we assume Smith thinks he sent us to our maker?Elizabeth asked.
Assume nothing,Gabe shot back.We have to get to a more secure location. Men could be coming to investigate. Stay low. Stay in the shadows.Somewhere in his mind, he realized he was silently speaking to the others with sudden ease. He guessed that the emergency had juiced up his ability.
After weighing the pros and cons of staying together or splitting up, he decided that separating only gave the enemy the opportunity to pick them off one by one.
I’m going to contact the other team,Matt said.
Gabe waited tensely for word that Rachel and the other four were okay. When Matt shook his head, Gabe felt the terrible tension in his chest expand. What the hell had happened to Rachel’s team?
Or were they somehow being blocked from responding? He prayed it was that simple. At least he hadn’t heard another explosion—or gunfire.
CHAPTERTWENTY-SIX
Rachel kept crawling away from the mansion. Blacktop stretched in front of her. Was it taking too much of a chance to cross the road? If a car came, they were done for. But getting to the other side of the country lane might be the only way to cut off the effects of whatever device Smith was using on them.
When she heard an explosion, she felt a stab of alarm. What was that? Had Smith set a trap for the other team? Not the same thing as this, but something more immediately deadly.
She turned her head toward Jake and saw him force words out of his mouth.
“Keep going.”
She glanced down the road, then reached to put a hand on the blacktop. It was still warm from the day’s heat. Summoning an image of the Tarot Wheel of Fortune, she struggled to block out danger. But tonight the card failed her. When she was halfway across the blacktop, she saw headlights bearing down on her. Teeth clenched, she tried to move faster, but it was no good. Her body was too weakened by whatever Smith had thrown at them. There was simply no chance she could get out of the way in time. The headlights came closer, blinding her. Didn’t the driver see that there was someone on the pavement?
