“If you need help, Leila, I can give that to you. There’s no need to be afraid. Just come out where I can see you.”
Diego was shocked to feel the compulsion embedded in the voice. The notes didn’t affect him—compulsion rarely did—but he hadn’t expected this man to have such a strong talent in that area. He should have, given the way his fellow soldiers regarded him.
He came out of the trees, ensuring Jim wouldn’t see him until he was within throwing distance of his knife. He didn’t want to use a gun and hoped his own voice would work on the soldier to keep him from attempting to shoot him. He would prefer for Jim’s friends not to have a clue what happened to the man.
“I’m not the Leila you’re apparently looking for,” Diego greeted. “I live up here; you’re actually on my property.”
He kept his image somewhat blurred so it would be difficult for Jim to see his features. He’d been told he could look predatory, and that was the last thing he wanted his adversary to think.
Jim immediately gave him a friendly smile. “A local? Maybe you’ll be able to help me.” His voice was very amicable. He stood up slowly, taking several steps toward Diego. “My sister was hiking the trail, and she didn’t check in with us. I was worried about her, so I came looking. It hasn’t been long enough to call for search andrescue.” As he spoke, he continued forward toward Diego, closing the gap between them, looking completely at ease.
As Jim approached, the hairs on Diego’s body reacted, standing up. He’d had a similar reaction when he was close to his sister-in-law, Jonquille. She drew lightning to her, and the ensuing electrical storm was always life-threatening. But there was no storm overhead. Diego couldn’t sense one brewing. No rain. No thunder. The clouds weren’t right for an electrical event. It was Jim generating the electrical reaction in Diego’s body but without the help of a storm. That was puzzling.
Jim’s smile was friendly—and practiced. It didn’t quite reach his eyes. The female owl screeched a warning. Deliberately, Diego took a step toward the enemy, coming straight to him at a casual, steady pace. He didn’t look at the sky when the shadow of the owl moved over him. Instead, he took another step into his enemy’s space.
Jim stretched his hand out in greeting. “Jim Volter. I’m glad to meet a local who knows the area.”
Diego gripped his hand, taking care not to use strength. Jim didn’t either. There was no bullshit vying to see who was stronger, yet the moment Diego came into physical contact with Jim, he knew he was in trouble. The touch might be light, but the man instantly connected with Diego’s heartbeat by pressing one finger over the pulse point in his wrist.
Diego felt the mild disruption, so faint that it was only the healing well inside him that allowed detection of the electrical pulses moving toward his heart. He smiled, looking straight into the soldier’s eyes, allowing Jim to see his true character, the one hidden from most people. The killer.
“Nice to meet you. Name’s Diego. Diego Campos.”
Healing energy could go both ways. Diego had discovered that as a child when he’d first been trying to learn how to help animals.He could use that same energy to humanely kill a suffering animal. It wasn’t that different from what Jim Volter was doing. He smiled as he introduced himself. His first step was to protect himself, to neutralize the electrical activity Jim pushed into his body.
“Whitney knows better than to send his soldiers after us, but he just can’t help himself.” He tightened his grip on Volter to hold him in place as he allowed the deep well inside him to open fully. “The dead bodies you and your friends found in the gorge? Those are my kills. Stupid to enter my terrain and challenge me.”
At hearing Diego’s name, Volter started to pull away, and then he relaxed, grinning, sure of himself and his ability to kill using his talent.
“None of them were friends of mine,” Jim said. “Where’s the woman? Did you kill her too?”
Diego’s body was flooded with electrical pulses, but that healing well of energy slid through his veins and arteries, settling the activity until it was normal. He brought up his other hand, palm out, inches from Volter’s chest as if he was showing him that he had no weapons—or he was about to push him away. They stared at each other, neither giving an inch. Volter was confident he could kill Diego and he remained relaxed, even when the heat pouring into one spot on his chest increased.
Diego shrugged casually as he continued to raise the temperature of Volter’s heart. “Leila? You’ll be happy to know she’s alive and well. Why would Whitney want her when he has her sister? He knows if you take her, it’s going to piss off some pretty important people.”
“Whitney knows there’s something special about her. He’s been talking to someone in that lab for a long time and knows all about Leila. He says he needs her to create the perfect soldier.” Volter’s grin turned evil. “You know what that means, don’t you? She’ll be up for grabs. I intend to be her partner, so if you had anyaspirations in that department, you can forget them.” As he spoke, he sent a jolt of electricity arcing through Diego’s veins.
The healing energy rushed to swarm around the snapping, crackling massive charge of electricity bent on short-circuiting Diego’s heart. All the while, Diego continued to turn up the heat on the one location in Volter’s chest, directly over his heart.
Diego never looked away from his enemy. The intensity of the heat grew quickly. He’d always found it difficult to control when there was so much energy, and it gathered fast and was centered in a precise spot. Repairing arteries and veins had been a huge learning curve when it was done with heat.
Killing was so much easier. A concentrated amount of heat he didn’t have to control was all it took. With an animal, he euthanized as quickly and as humanely as possible. He had heated the body much slower than he normally would have to prevent Volter from realizing he was in trouble. Now, it was too late. By the time the soldier realized his chest felt as though it was on fire, his core temperature had risen too high and his organs were already shutting down. His heart couldn’t take the elevated temperature. His brain faltered.
Jim Volter fell to his knees and then collapsed on the trail. Diego was relentless, following him down, ensuring the man died quickly. He left him on the edge of the trail. There would be no visible signs of injury. No bullet wound. No knife stab. Diego removed the few tracks he’d left in the dirt when he’d confronted the soldier.
It wasn’t long before the others came looking. Russ and Bobby arrived together. Both rushed to Jim’s side and crouched low. Russ examined the body while Bobby kept a lookout.
“It looks to me like he was alone when he bought it,” Russ said.
At the uneasiness in Russ’s voice, Bobby twisted his neck and hissed in agitation. His body undulated, contorting continually.
“Knock it off, Bobby,” Russ snapped. “Get some control. We allhave to learn control or we’re going to end up like this. I think his own talent killed him from the inside.”
Bobby cursed and put his hands on his hips. His arms were long and thick, the muscles moving incessantly.
Diego left them to it, taking to the trees to go back to the gorge. Dean would be looking out for Billy. Billy had to teleport back up to the main trail. He would be weak when he did so, and it would be Dean’s job to protect him until the weakness passed. Diego moved through the trees as quickly as his cat DNA allowed. He needed to see to Dean before Billy was out of the gorge and completely recovered.
He called to the red-tailed hawk to find Dean’s position, although he was certain the soldier hadn’t left the tree overlooking the gorge. Sure enough, the hawk gave a confirming cry. Diego didn’t hesitate. He moved with ease through the trees, using the abilities of a leopard. Fortune favored him in that the wind was picking up, going from a slight breeze to a stronger one. And it was blowing in the direction he was traveling. If foliage moved and caught Dean’s eye, he would put it down to the wind.
