In fact, the chuckled so hard tears blurred his eyes.His chest hurt; curling his hands into fists, he sank into the chair’s embrace and guffawed until he thought he would never catch his breath.
Rowan stared at him, perplexed at first, then seeming to relax.A slight smile crept over her face.She relaxed, waited patiently for him to get over it.
When he finally did, she sighed and folded her arms.“Finished?”Her eyebrows rose slightly.
Good God, I don’t think she knows how beautiful she is.“I guess.”He wiped at his eyes.“Christ, Ro.Don’t look at me like that.You’re dangerous.”
“Dangerous?”She was back to perplexed.“What are you?—”
“Why don’t you like Jilssen?”
It was a little too abrupt.She paused, her gaze dropping.Weak icy-morning sunlight flooded in through the window, making her glow.She pushed up the sleeves of her blue sweater, kept staring at the floor.
“I don’t know,” she said finally.“I… I just don’t want him to touch me.”
Delgado felt his eyes narrow.“He tried to touch you?”His tone abruptly dropped, became serious.
“When you left.I don’t know.I just… He always seems to be watching.I’m just nervous.”Her shoulders eased.
“Don’t worry about Jilssen.I’ll keep him away from you.”He’d better not try anything.Del had to take a deep breath, invoking control.
“He wants me in a telem rig.You know about those?”
“Oh, yeah.We’ve been working on ‘em for a while.They just amplify a psi’s talents, Rowan, but some of the telepaths don’t like them very much.It’s hard to shield.”He settled himself more comfortably.He shouldn’t have been so tired after just a weak workout and the walk back to his room, but he was.
It was damn near a miracle that he was still alive, even if Rowan had performed the impossible.That’s not the only miracle she’s worked.He watched her pull her hair back and twist, nervously.If Sigma ever gets wind of the fact she can cure Zed addictions, we’ll have a lot more trouble on our hands than even I can handle.
“I don’t like the way he looks when he asks me.I’d prefer you there if I ever use one of those things.”
That warmed him clear through.“No problem.Nobody here is going to hurt you, Rowan.”
She shrugged, looking down again.“I’ve got a bad feeling.”As if she expected him to laugh again.
“What kind of bad feeling?”His attention sharpened.
“Just… I’m uneasy.Really uneasy.The nightmares.When I can sleep, that is, and—” She bit her lip, stopping as suddenly as she’d started.“What if Sigma can still track me?”
“They would have scooped you up before now.”While I was bringing you in.And that was bloody well close, as Brew would say.Andrews nearly had us both.
“But this is the Society’s Headquarters,” she pointed out.“They can’t just walk in and try to grab me.They have to go a little more carefully, don’t they?”
Justin shrugged.Her face fell; he cursed his own clumsiness.“I’ll take a look, Rowan.I know most, if not all, of Sigma’s procedures.I’ll ask a few questions.And if anything seems off, we’ll go to Henderson.All right?”
“You believe me?”
“Of course I do.”He made his tone flat and matter-of-fact.“If you told me the moon was made of green cheese, I’d get out crackers, angel.”
The smile that broke over her face made his chest ache with an entirely unphysical pain.“I’m glad you’re back.”
“Good.I promise I’ll keep Jilssen away from you.”Unease pricked at him.“Anything else?”
She shrugged, her fingers playing with the bedspread.“Nothing, I suppose.”But her eyes were dark.Something else, then.
“Are you sure?”He didn’t want to press—it wasn’t the time.But she looked so uneasy.
“Nothing.Just… before you left.”
Ah.He had to squelch a flare of comprehension—and satisfaction.That’s right, angel.You and I have unfinished business.“Before I left,” he echoed, finding enough energy to lean forward from the chair’s embrace.
