Page 45 of Peace Under Fire

How much should she tell them?

Not all of it. They didn’t need to know how their individual talents had been acquired. They only needed to know enough to rescue Giulia and the rest, along with the specifics to keep the rescue team safe.

“My only talent is sharing people’s dreams. At first it was Jacob’s dreams. Now, I dream of Giulia.”

Tex made an interested noise. “You said in the voicemail that you saw the fiasco at the cult compound in a dream, an event that hadn’t happened when you left the voicemail. Are your dreams set in the present, or the future?”

“Both,” Mandy admitted. “Most of the time I dream in the present, but once in a great while I dream future events.”

“Like what happened at the cult compound,” Jacob murmured.

“Like that, and like I dreamed about those two men following you to the clinic.” Mandy caught the sunglasses as they slid down her face. “But I dreamed a couple other future events about you, too. Like I dreamed of you getting pinned with your trident months before you went through BUD/S.”

“What about recently?” Tex asked. “Have you dreamed of anything taking place in the future? Anything concerning Jacob, or your sisters? Maybe we can use a precognitive dream to set a trap for whoever took your family.”

That would certainly be handy, but… “No. I’ve haven’t had one of those dreams since the one I had of Jacob at the clinic.”

“You said that your sisters have different talents.” Jacob leaned his forearm across his seat’s backrest. “What did you mean?”

Mandy hesitated. It felt like such a betrayal to share her sisters’ secrets. She’d spent her entire life hiding what her family was capable of. Was she doing the right thing now? But what choice did she have. She couldn’t rescue her sisters on her own. She needed these men and they needed to know what they were up against.

“As I said, I’ve only dreamed a couple of future events. But Patti, my youngest sister, she’s predicted many events that subsequently came true.”

“It’s too bad she never dreamed about being kidnapped,” Jacob said dryly, and Mandy knew he didn’t believe her.

Why was it so hard for him to believe that Patti could tell the future, when he’d accepted that Mandy could? At least when it came to him. Or maybe he didn’t even believe that. Not completely.

“Patti never dreams about herself. She was in an accident a few years back and her dreams never warned her ahead of time. She sees things that happen to other people, never herself. Maybe that’s why she didn’t dream about the attack on the compound.”

Jacob frowned, steadily watching her. “Like you dreamed of those two men who’d followed me to the clinic, but didn’t dream about them attacking us when we tried to escape in your car.”

Mandy’s mouth fell open. Maybe that was why she hadn’t dreamed of the danger to Jacob. Her own life had been at risk too and apparently precognition didn’t warn of the dreamer’s fate. “Yeah, like that.”

“Okay.” Jacob seemed to accept that. “What about the rest of your sisters? What can they do?”

The one they’d be most interested in was Giulia. She was the only one who could identify their traitor. Heck, they might even be willing to rescue Giulia in the hopes of putting her talent to use.

“Giulia can read minds,” Mandy blurted out.

“The hell you say.” Brick sounded unnerved.

“She has to be touching you, but she can read minds.” She watched Jacob’s face. His expression was wild, like he was torn between hope and horror. “She avoids touching anyone,” Mandy hastened to add. “Her talent is as uncomfortable for her as it is for those whose minds she accidently touches.”

“Would she be able to identify the mole in SEAL command?” Tex asked. He sounded hopeful. But then, unless he was in the room when they introduced Giulia to Jacob’s superiors, he wouldn’t need to worry about all his secrets being exposed.

“Sure. But she’d have to be able to touch him.”

“We can arrange that.” Tex sounded grim.

Could they? It would mean forcing everyone who might be their spy into proximity with Giulia. Some of these men must be high up the command ladder. What if they refused Giulia’s touch?

Although any refusal would give Jacob and his friends a place to look.

“What else?” Brick sounded curious.

“Excuse me?” Mandy caught Brick’s eyes in the rearview mirror.

“The rest of your sisters. What can they do?” Brick asked, turning his gaze back to the endless miles of icy gray pavement unfurling in front of them.

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