“They’re like us. I mean, they bonded–mentally.”
“But they can’t stand the idea of sharing their power with anyone else,” he muttered.
“It’s not sharing! We have nothing to do with them.”
“Maybe they can’t think in those terms.”
“Why?”
“I think it’s coming from Kira. I caught the edge of her thoughts. She’s needy, and shenever learned to share.” He cleared his throat. “But it’s more than that. I think she may be a psychopath.”
“And she controls Mickey?”
“Apparently.”
“Both of us were needy.”
“Not like her.”
“Thank God.” She dragged in a breath and let it out. “They didn’t even try to be friendly. They just attacked.”
“They’re a lot stronger than we are. We were lucky to get away.”
“Did they?”
“I don’t know. I was pretty out of it by the end.”
“There was a lot of smoke,” she murmured. “I couldn’t see them.”
“If they escaped, can they find us?” she asked in a voice she couldn’t hold steady as she remembered the attack.
“I don’t know,” he answered, his voice weaker, and she knew he didn’t even have the strength for this conversation.
She wanted to drag him out of bed, out of the city. Away to some safe place.
“They knew we were in New Orleans,” she whispered.
“But they had to tell Patrick to call me,” he whispered.
That calmed her a little. They were safe here. At least for now. “You need to sleep.”
“Yeah.” When he closed his eyes, she felt her chest tighten. But she reached out with her mind, feeling him with her. It was all right. He was just going to sleep. It wasn’t like when he had slipped into unconsciousness.
“Let me cover you.”
Mmm.
He raised his legs, and she pulled the quilt free before spreading it over him and settling down beside him.
She was exhausted, too, and she was asleep almost as soon as she closed her eyes.
For a long time, she was at peace. Then she slipped into a dream that she and Jake were far away, on a tropical island, lying in the warm sun. He leaned over to kiss her, and she smiled in her sleep.
When she felt his hand on her breast, she knew that the dream was part of their reality.
You’re awake.
How are you?she asked.
