“Rowan—”
“Please.”Now she looked up at him, her eyes brimming with tears, and he found himself swallowing roughly.
“Okay,” he said, and privately cursed himself.He should have listened to the voice of efficiency instead of his fucking conscience.If he’d done what he wanted to do she would have been emotionally attached to him by now, instead of deep in listlessness.“Whatever you need, angel.Let’s go.”
CHAPTERTWENTY-TWO
Rowan tookthe pill he gave her, and twenty minutes later reality retreated into dim fuzz.She curled into herself and watched the world slip by, uninterested.
She didn’t know where he got the pills from.She didn’t care.She only cared that he gave them to her without demur.He stopped for food at restaurants and supermarkets, told her when to go to the bathroom and stood guard outside the door while she did.She didn’t know or care how he was taking care of himself during that time.All she cared about was the warm blanket of chemical numbness wrapping around her.
She didn’t know how long it was, that zigzagging cross-country journey.She only remembered dim fragments—leaning against Justin’s shoulder while he talked to her in a low voice, telling her something important she couldn’t quite remember.His fingers laced through hers, leading her up a flight of stairs.A warm touch on her forehead while she lay, her eyes firmly shut, in yet another hotel bed.
There were other flashes—him swearing as the car bucked and shuddered, her own thin breathless scream.A dim intimation of danger as they slipped out the back of a Chinese restaurant, Justin saying something over his shoulder as they vanished into the night.
Then there was a long time of nothing, not even flashes.
A single image etched itself into Rowan’s memory.Justin, blood sliding down his face, holding the knife.Don’t move, Rowan.Justin whirling, his hand coming up, a roaring sound—and the constriction on her arm eased.She didn’t look, just closed her eyes, and heard him swearing.Goddamn it, Rowan, talk to me.
Another long time of no flashes.She simply abdicated control.
“What the hell happened toyou?” A vaguely familiar voice, sharp and crisply authoritative.
“I just ran a goddamn Sig gauntlet.”Justin sounded exhausted.Rowan leaned against his shoulder, her eyes drifting closed, and the world turned into meaningless colored blurs.“They had the whole damn western half of the country in an uproar.I saw Andrews; he says hello.”
“Jesus.What’s wrong with her?”Now the voice held an edge.“Delgado?”
“Nothing, she’s just sedated.Asked for it.Look, General, I’ve got to tell you?—”
“Save it.Get her in a room and get your ass up to Four East.I need you.You’re late.”
“I told you, I just dragged through every fucking Sig you’ve ever heard of.They want herbad.”
“How well trained is she by now?”
“Just some basic shit.You know you can’t do much when they’re sedated.What crawled up your ass and died?”
“I just had to live for three weeks without my right hand, that’s all.What the hell’s wrong with you?”
“Don’t push me, General.I’m in a mood.I’ve got news for you.Give me a few minutes and you can have my full attention.”
Slight pause.Sound of a hand meeting shoulder, a male greeting.“Good to have you back.”
Darkness closed over Rowan.She felt Justin catch her as she swayed.
Rowan came back to herself slowly.She stared up at a plain white ceiling for a long time before realizing she wasn’t alone in the room, and also realizing that the strange naked sensation was back, but oddly muted this time.
Dampers.He’d said something about dampers.And his voice inside her head, teaching her.Showing her things.How to shield herself, how to keep herself separate from the world around her—and also how to keepthemfrom seeing her, how to redirect people’s attention away from her more efficiently than pretending to be invisible.
Rowan blinked, pushing her hair back from her forehead with a limp hand.She was bone-tired.“Justin?”
“I’m here,” he said, softly.The room was dark, the ceiling softly glowing in the dimness.He was a shadow with a glimmering pair of eyes.“Just take it easy.You’re groggy from the sedation.It’ll wear off.I gave you a system flush to get it out of you, so you probably feel tired.”
“Are we safe?”She shook her head, trying to clear it.He was wearing dark clothing.She could see a paleness glimmering on his left arm.
“Of course.We’re at Headquarters.They’re working on the dampers now, but it’s no problem.You’re safe, angel.”
“Why is it so dark?”
