Page 52 of Peace Under Fire

Mandy scowled. How could she ram her point into their thick, stubborn skulls? She had to go back. She had to find her sister. Jo had never been on her own before. Jo wouldn’t know how to cope in the world on her own. She might be snarky as hell, and full of bravado, but she was also vulnerable. Probably desperate.

That last thought gave her pause. Yes, Jo was vulnerable and desperate. But she was also deadly. And if she was scared enough, that could make her even more dangerous.

If Tex’s team did find her, if they tried to force her to leave with them, if they touched her…

Mandy groaned beneath her breath. If someone grabbed her, if they even touched her, they could trigger a defensive reaction which would end in their deaths. Probably JoAnn’s as well.

“Um…” Mandy coughed. She’d meant to tell them about the full extent of JoAnn’s ability earlier. How could she have forgotten something so important?

“Tell Tex to tell the men he’s sending not to touch Jo.” She frowned. That was an awful weak warning. “Make sure his men know that touching her can be dangerous.” She paused and frowned harder, then amended the warning yet again. “Tell them that touching her would be lethal.” There. That should be sufficiently ominous.

Jacob narrowed his eyes. Brick cocked his head. They both steadily stared at her.

“What’s so dangerous about the ability to heal by touching someone?” Jacob asked, his voice flat, eyes suspicious.

Brick said nothing at all, just stared at her. But judging from his raised eyebrows and the knowing look in his eye, he’d already figured out what she was alluding to. From the hard sheen in Jacob’s eyes, she was certain he’d figured it out, too, he just intended to make her say it.

Mandy sighed. “Healing and killing are two sides of the same coin,” she said baldly. “JoAnn can stop someone’s heart as easily as she can start it. And if she’s scared—which she must be under the circumstances—she’ll instinctively do whatever she has to in order to protect herself.”

Jacob shook his head. “Jesus.”

“She’s only dangerous if they’re touching her. There has to be skin on skin contact for her talent to manifest,” Mandy offered with a shrug. “Just make sure everyone knows not to touch her, and they’ll be fine.”

Although…

She froze and frowned. Up until recently, Giulia had never been able to read minds unless she was touching the person. Yet, two days ago, she’d fused with Mandy’s mind across hundreds of miles. And somehow, in the fleeting amount of time they’d been connected, she’d changed the landscape of Mandy’s dreams, completely.

At some point, Giulia’s ability had evolved, and nobody—except for maybe Giulia—had been aware of it. True, her sister had been under tremendous pressure. She’d been terrified too. The combination might have spiked her normal ability. That would account for the sudden increase in her ability.

But JoAnn was under just as much pressure. She was just as terrified. What if her ability spiked too? What if she could cause someone’s death now, without touching them? If that were the case, then anyone who even approached Jo could be in danger.

“What?” Jacob asked, his narrow gaze locked on her face. “You’ve gone as white as a sheet.”

“I need to get back to the compound. Your team can’t go after Jo without me.”

Jacob was already shaking his head. “It’s too—”

“Listen to me!” Mandy snapped. “Giulia used to only be able to touch my mind if she was touching me. Yet two days ago, she reached out to me across hundreds of miles to tell me to run.”

“What the fuck?” Brick’s eyebrows shot up into his hairline. “I thought you said she called you.”

“She did. Mind to mind. Across hundreds of miles,” Mandy stressed. “Which she’s never been able to do before. Maybe the fear jacked her ability up. I don’t know. But she connected with me without physical contact. And if she can do that—”

“JoAnn might be able to do that as well,” Jacob finished for her. “Son of a bitch. If that’s the case, it won’t matter if our boys touch her. She can kill from a distance.”

“Exactly.” Mandy closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Judging by the worried looks on their faces, she’d finally gotten through to them. “I have to be there. I’m the only one she trusts. I can intercede before she melts down. Before she hurts someone. Or before one of Tex’s men freaks out and kills her.”

* * *

“Thanks, buddy,” Squish said on a silent expulsion of relief. “I owe you one. A whole lot of ones,” he added wryly. “We’re on our way.” He lowered the phone and turned to Brick. “Head to the Roanoke–Blacksburg Regional Airport. He’s booking us a jet.”

Brick frowned thoughtfully, before glancing between Mandy and Squish. “He got a plan to get you two through airport security? Even private jets have TSA protocols. There’s a good chance your names are on somebody’s watch list, and we don’t want to advertise that you’re headed to Sandpoint.”

“He’s got new ID’s coming for Mandy and me, along with a special conceal/carry license under the new alias for my Glock and Sig. I’ll be able to carry my weapons.” Which was a huge relief since they could be walking into an ambush. “Once the paperwork is complete, he’ll email them to your phone, as well as Blue Star’s passenger liaison.” He turned to Mandy. “For reference, we’ve been in an accident and lost everything during the crash.”

With that lump on her head, the nicks and scrapes on her face, along with the white-faced utter exhaustion enveloping her like a shroud, she certainly fit the scenario Tex had come up with.

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