Burn Read online

  I turned toward her, my eyes low. “But I’d have to hide from everyone else,” I answered, eyes flickering up quickly to see her reaction.

  “Only until we can figure out a better way for you to protect yourself,” she said.

  To her credit, she had barely flinched at the orange glow. I allowed her to lead me to the car.

  Tray openly gaped for a moment when he turned in his seat to see me climb in. His expression morphed to his customary wide grin. “That is awesome!” he gushed. “I wish my eyes glowed when I used my powers. I just move things, and most of the time people don’t even realize it was me.”

  I raised an eyebrow and he shrugged. “What? I don’t like that we have to hide our powers. Wouldn’t it be better if people could learn about us and allow us to be ourselves?”

  I pursed my lips and nodded thoughtfully. “If it worked that way, sure. But how much would you bet that most people would freak out over knowing about people with powers like ours, rather than accept us?”

  Jade looked between us and nodded. “I hate to agree with a negative viewpoint, Tray, but I think Bren’s right. If people learned there were those who could read their thoughts, control their actions, start fires with their minds, cause earthquakes…” her voice trailed, and the happy grin faded from Tray’s face.

  The lack of a smile seemed foreign on him, and I hated that I’d been part of bringing him down. “Sorry, pal. I would love it if people were open-minded. And I’m sure some would be.”

  “No,” he shook his head, a small, sad smile on his face. “I think you’re both probably right. As much as I want to think the best, if people knew, they would want to control us somehow. We’d lose the ability to do what we need to do to keep the most dangerous of us contained.”

  “What do you think we need to do here?” I asked. I was a firefighter. A person who wanted to save lives. Even if it was someone like Kindred. Hurting people went against everything I stood for.

  Tray and Jade exchanged a quick look before Jade gave a slight shake of her head.

  “Dunno. Not for sure, anyway,” Tray answered. “Maybe with Lena’s help, we’ll be able to come up with a way to stop him without anyone else getting hurt.”

  He smiled. “She’s on her way. Says Jason is too stubborn for his own good, and practically forced her to go.”

  Jade snorted. “Sounds like some other people I know.”

  “The stubborn part?” Tray asked innocently. “We don’t know anyone like that at all.”

  Based on what this group of people aimed to do, I guessed every one of them would qualify as being a bit too stubborn for their own good. They’d have to be in order to get involved in cases and have normal people allow them almost free reign to do what needed to be done.

  Jade grinned. “You have us pegged, Bren. We’re all pretty stubborn and pushy. At least to some extent.”

  “At least we use our powers for good,” Tray added brightly. He’d turned back onto the road by now, and we were headed toward my house again.

  I wasn’t looking forward to figuring out what came next. My eyes closed, and I leaned back in my seat. I could almost feel the trepidation between my companions just before Jade spoke up again. “With our mental powers, there may be a way to protect your mind without you needing the fire wall.”

  Maybe. The question would then become whether I could trust any of them enough to allow them to serve as my shields. Considering what they’d already attempted to do for me, I was almost convinced I could.

  “You still aren’t sure about us, are you?” Jade asked, slight disappointment coloring her tone.

  I was about to respond, but couldn’t think of a way that wouldn’t make me seem even more ungrateful. “I don’t mean to sound ungrateful—”

  “I know you’re grateful, Bren. That isn’t the issue here,” she interrupted. “I’m just sorry you’ve had so much go wrong in your life that you find it this hard to trust people.”

  “Are you listening to my thoughts right now?” I asked. I strove to keep my voice soft with a lack of accusation, but it came out a bit more harshly than I’d intended.

  She shook her head calmly, and answered. “With your wall up, I doubt anyone could.”

  “So, when it’s down, you read everything? Can you ever stop listening?”

  She gave a half-shrug. “I can block things out with some effort. Usually—as long as it isn’t someone crying out for help or something—the thoughts merge together as white noise. Quite ignorable, and sometimes soothing.”

  Good. It was good that the thoughts didn’t overwhelm her regularly. “So, you can’t block out certain thoughts?”

  “If someone is in trouble, even if they’re silent, their thoughts practically scream at me for help. When your foster father attacked you, your thoughts pushed right in. I would never ignore that, even if I could figure out how.”

  I could feel a smile crossing my face, though I kept my eyes closed. “Thanks. I’m glad you were there. If you hadn’t been… well, I think I’d be dead.”

  The car slowed to a stop, and I heard Tray turn off the engine. “There’s no one outside, Brennan,” he informed me. “Jade? Anyone you can feel looking outside at all?”

  There was a pause before she answered. “Not that I can tell. Brennan, you can open your eyes and come into the house.”

  A quick look showed them already getting out of the car, and I kept my eyes low when I followed. If my neighbors saw, I would have to move. I only relaxed once I was inside.

  “Interesting,” Cade said when I walked in. He tilted his head a bit. “Is that at all what my eyes look like when I use my power?”

  “Not exactly,” Jade answered. “Yours go white. They don’t flicker.”

  Cole wasn’t fazed at all; only said, “Looks about like I’d expect after what happened. You all acted like you were burned. I expected his mental shield to project as flames.”

  “Wait,” I held up my hand. “What do you mean they acted like they were burned? What happened?”

  The glare Jade sent toward Cole had the man practically squirming in his seat. “Sorry,” he muttered.

  “What happened?” I asked again.

  Jade sighed. “When your shield went up, Laurie, Rae, and Cade were connected to Kindred in order to try to find you. They managed a slight connection to you before you put your wall up.”

  “It was as if our minds touched an open flame,” Cade explained. “The effect was short lived, but it sent burning pain through my entire body.”

  Jade was tense as she waited for my response and seemed a bit puzzled when I scratched my head. “That explains why Kindred crashed the car then. If you guys got hit so hard by something not aimed at you, he must have almost felt as if he were burning alive.”

  “Not a bad defense mechanism,” Laurie said with an approving nod. “Might make him think twice about trying to take full control of you again.”

  I remained unconvinced. He’d been persistent so far. Dropping the shield, especially if he happened to be paying attention, would be an opening he wouldn’t allow to pass. “He wants me to be his toy,” I informed them. “He’s having fun with this, guys. I doubt he’s going to let me free simply because I just made things a bit more complicated.”

  Jade frowned. “Yeah. He might find it more fun now that it’s more of a challenge to get to you.”

  “Very likely,” Laurie agreed. “Jason wasn’t easy for him to control, and he bided his time until his mind was fragile enough to take over again.”

  As we continued speaking, the odd burning had begun to fade, and now felt only like a calming warmth. But the flames were still there. I glanced at my reflection in the window and frowned. The glow was still there.

  “What’s going on in that head of yours, Bren?” Jade asked.

  It had to be strange for her to not know. Knowing my thoughts had always seemed so automatic for her.

  “It doesn’t feel uncomfortable anymore,” I answered. “I just feel w
arm and safe. But my eyes…”

  “Yeah,” she nodded, “they’re still glowing. I’m glad it isn’t uncomfortable for you anymore. Did it hurt you?”

  They hadn’t asked before. Only mentioned the pain it had caused them. Honestly, I was more worried about that as well, so I didn’t take it personally. She might, though. This might be my only chance to tell a little white lie in order to stop her from being upset my powers had hurt me.

  “It did, didn’t it?” Jade continued at my silence.

  I had paused for too long. She’d sense a lie at this point. Honesty it was, then. “Yeah. Felt like every nerve was on fire. It seems more controlled now.”

  Everyone was listening, and Cole approached. “If you want, Cade and I can take shifts and try to keep your mind protected. It would eliminate the glow, and still help keep Kindred out.”

  I frowned at that. If they’d been capable of shielding minds, then how did Kindred erase a conversation from their memories? “You can do that?”

  My doubt was clear, and even Tray seemed a bit taken aback by my reluctance.

  “We’ve done it before,” Cole answered calmly. “We simply hadn’t taken the precaution earlier. A mistake on our part, and I apologize. We should have considered the risks earlier.”

  I studied them all. Cole’s dark eyes met mine, unflinching. Cade raised his blue eyes and I nodded slightly at the confidence I could see in them. Jade’s green eyes bored into mine, almost daring me to question their resolve to help me. Everyone else just nodded when I glanced at them.

  Finally, I gave a quick nod. “Let’s do it. One problem, though.”

  “What’s that?” Tray asked.

  I gave a wry chuckle when I answered. “I have no earthly idea how to drop the shield to let you in.”

  TWENTY-TWO

  Jade

  Mentally kicking myself, I looked around at the others for any sign that they might have an idea how to help. Of course Brennan wouldn’t know how to drop his shield. He had only ever tried to ignore the majority of what his abilities were capable of. The fire wall had sprung up as an automatic defense mechanism. He probably had no idea how he’d accessed it.

  “Ideas? Anyone?” Brennan’s flickering orange eyes moved around the room.

  The glow gave him an aura of power that was completely alien. Even with our experience and the way Cole and Cade’s eyes would go white, this was a bit odd. His power should allow him to start fires outside of his body. To have them turn inward was unexpected. The fire had manifested psychically as a shield, but yet reflected in his eyes as flames.

  Laurie cleared her throat before she spoke up. “You told me on the phone that you were worried the shield would drop if you felt comfortable enough. Maybe you just need to let yourself relax and picture the fire being extinguished.”

  He tilted his head slightly before giving a slight nod. “Worth a shot,” he grunted.

  It was odd being unable to read him. All I could work with now was body language. His mind was a giant, flaming warning sign, and his eyes showed no hint of how he felt. His facial expressions and tone of voice were helpful, but he wasn’t the most expressive of people.

  There had only been a handful of people I’d come across who I couldn’t read decently. I had a feeling Kindred would be one of them. The others were normal, everyday people. None had special abilities, but still, their thoughts eluded me.

  Now, I added Brennan to the list. Of course, I could read him normally. It was only when he put the wall of fire around his mind that I couldn’t. Still, it made him part of an exclusive group.

  He walked to the couch and sat. The way he relaxed into the cushions and allowed his eyes to fall closed made me think this was how he normally unwound after a stressful day. After he took a couple slow breaths, his whole body seemed to release. The tension melted away and I heard, “Wonder if that worked? I don’t feel much different.”

  I perked up immediately. “It worked, Bren. Your shield is down. Cole or Cade, try to shield him now. See what happens,” I ordered.

  There was no way I would allow him to be unguarded at this point. After nearly losing him already… I couldn’t risk it.

  “I’ll try,” Cole offered. “Cade needs a bit more rest after that psychic trap.”

  Cole sat straight and touched Brennan’s arm. His eyes closed, and within moments Brennan’s thoughts were hidden from me once again.

  “Whoa… Bit of an unexpected side effect,” Cole said as he opened his eyes. “Now I can read your thoughts.”

  Brennan’s eyes flew open—now their normal brown color—as he whipped around to look at Cole. “I thought this would just shield me?”

  Cole shook his head incredulously. “That’s what I thought, too. But somehow, the connection opened so I can read you now.”

  I was able to catch a glimpse of Brennan’s eyes as he glared at Cole. The literal fire had been extinguished, replaced now by the figurative version.

  “Why are you so mad, Bren?” Rae asked. “We’re able to protect you from Kindred, and Jade could read your thoughts anyway. And two of us could read your emotions.”

  He shook his head and grimaced. “Yeah, but that was okay. I didn’t mind…”

  “You didn’t mind Jade because you know and trust her. Still not quite sure of us?” Cole finished.

  Brennan almost flinched, but shook his head. “No. That’s not… well, that’s not the only thing. Jade trusts you, and I trust Jade. So by extension, I trust you too. Only… it’s kind of odd to have someone I met less than twenty-four hours ago reading my thoughts.”

  I shrugged. “Not much different than what he was doing before Kindred took you. He was getting a very thorough read on you. Honestly, the way he was working before was more invasive than this.”

  Brennan narrowed his eyes and looked at me thoughtfully. “Can you still read Cole?”

  Most of the thoughts I was getting had been reduced to background noise. In order to test, I concentrated on Cole. And I got absolutely nothing. Basically, the image of a brick wall filled my mind.

  “Nope. I guess when he’s protecting you he has to also protect himself.”

  Cole nodded matter-of-factly. “Well, yeah. It would do me no good to shield him and leave myself open for psychic attack. That would only serve as a pathway to get to him.”

  “Okay,” Laurie interrupted. “So, now we have a way to keep Brennan protected while out in public. But he still needs to practice with his power, so he can use it on demand.”

  “It’s late. Can we try in the morning?” Cole asked after eying Brennan with some concern.

  She sighed, but nodded. “Yeah. When do you have to be back at work, Brennan?”

  “Ten,” he answered.

  She nodded and stood. “All right. Cole and Cade, you stay here and take shifts protecting Brennan. Get some sleep. The rest of us will head to the hotel and meet you back here at about what? Seven-thirty? Eight?”

  Brennan sighed. “Yeah. Come around seven-thirty. I’ll be up.”

  “Good. We’ll meet in the morning and start working on getting you some control over your power.”

  With a plan in place, we left the brothers and Brennan and headed out to the cars. Now that Brennan’s mind was protected, I thought I might actually be able to sleep tonight.

  Or I would be awake trying to figure out different ways to help him learn control. It would most likely be a matter of pushing him in ways he wouldn’t appreciate. At least not at first. Hopefully he would be a quick study.

  Then we would buckle down and do whatever it took to stop Kindred.

  TWENTY-THREE

  Lena

  Once I’d allowed Jason to talk me into leaving, it didn’t take long to get in touch with Paul and get packed up. Not that I had a lot of stuff to pack. Now that I had a semi-stable home to live in, I’d managed to accumulate some clothing and a few odds and ends—including a cell phone. Before, I’d basically only had the few items of clothing I could fit into a
small duffel bag.

  Paul and I had said a quick good-bye to Jason and Hannah before heading out. The drive would take us somewhere around five or six hours, depending on traffic. And whether we needed to make any stops along the way.

  While we drove, I used my phone to check any news relating to the arsonist. As much as I’d wanted to find my family, I hated that Jeremiah was related to me. He’d had a chance to change. To go back to being the good man he’d been before my father had tortured him, turning him into the killer he now was. Jason had given him that chance, and he’d thrown it away.

  He still had his own version of a moral code, it seemed. Tray had emailed me a copy of some of the files, and their discovery that the properties had been a part of my father’s criminal empire. Jeremiah—or Kindred, as he preferred—still seemed to only target criminals in his homicidal fury.

  I huffed and dropped the phone on the seat next to me. Paul peered at me from the driver’s seat. “What’s up, Lena?”

  I sighed and turned a bit toward him. “I just hate that my cousin is this manipulative killer. He doesn’t seem to see anything wrong with using other people to do his dirty work. I just… I guess I’d hoped he would be able to take the olive branch Jason extended, and stop killing.”

  Paul nodded. “Yeah. Jase was pretty upset about that as well. Once he was able to focus enough to realize what had happened, anyway. Are you sure that’s it? Or maybe you were hoping that finding out he had you would help him come back to his old self?”

  The guy was fairly observant. I grinned sheepishly. “Yeah. I guess part of me wanted that. He was so messed up by the time I finally met him… I know it was super unlikely.”

  He reached to rest his hand on my knee. “Trust me. I know at least part of how you feel. You want family to be steady and loving. Sometimes your blood relatives just can’t do that for you. And sometimes, even the family you choose lets you down in some way.”

  Paul was so well-adjusted that it was easy to forget he’d spent much of his childhood living on the streets with Jason. Or by himself before he’d met Jason. It wasn’t hard to put together that he’d been disappointed in how Jason had dealt with certain things.